On a recent March morning, Maryland’s indoor football stadium was silent enough to hear the sound of the ball striking the hands of receivers during the Terps’ pro day, for around two hours.
The tryouts were important and occasionally uncomfortable, with 51 representatives from all 32 NFL teams there and taking notes, until the loud reggae music started to play.
Hawaii native Taulia Tagovailoa, the all-time top passer in the Big Ten, requested the song specifically from Lucky Dube as he started to show off his arm strength with some deep passes.
After his throwing practice, Tagovailoa grinned and remarked, “I’m an island boy,” citing his braids growing out of his head as proof of his carefree, pro-day attitude.
Given that Taulia Tagovailoa is the younger brother of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, it is hard for him to lose sight of his origins or his goals. Although the two brothers are still on separate paths, Tua’s achievement serves as a constant benchmark by which Taulia will always be judged. The brothers were teammates at Alabama. Despite the fact that Taulia leaves Maryland as one of the most decorated quarterbacks in school history, he finds himself in a similar situation as he watches his brother, the No. 5 overall pick in 2020, should he not be selected.
“That was one of my concerns when Taulia came here because I knew the dynamics of the family and what it was like to be in Tua’s shadow,” Maryland coach Mike Locksley said. Taulia was recruited by Locksley during his time as offensive coordinator at Alabama and again at Maryland. However, from what I’ve seen—and if you ever have the chance to meet the child—he’s a young man who has truly stood on his own.
“The information in his stats indicates that he is a player capable of making such kinds of plays. I believed that rather than seeing it as a barrier, he accepted living in that shadow as a mark of respect for his brother.”
Selected for the Pro Bowl in 2023, TUA has made 51 starts in the NFL, completed 66.9% of his throws, which is second best in team history, and holds the highest passer rating (97.1) in Dolphins history. Tua, who is only 24 years old, led the NFL in passer rating in 2022 and was only one point ahead of the current Super Bowl champion, Patrick Mahomes, with a score of 105.5, making him the youngest quarterback to do it since Dan Marino in 1984.
It is customary. Taulia described it as a “huge boon” as he strives to become a professional member of Tua. However, Taulia’s wish that he would have entered the draft later was influenced by the NCAA. To increase his draft ranking, Tagovailoa applied for a sixth year of eligibility through the NCAA waiver process early in January by logging onto the transfer portal.
“The opportunities these kids have with the extra year, the NIL piece, that’s a smart business decision that Taulia made, his family and his group decided,” Locksley stated. “I thought it was a great decision on his part to maximize the financial gains of college if you’re not maybe where you see yourself at the next level.”
The conditions surrounding Taulia’s 2019 rookie season, in which he finished behind his brother, the starting quarterback, and backup Mac Jones as Alabama’s third-string quarterback, were the main subject of his waiver request. Taulia appeared in just five games that season.
In two of those contests, he participated in four total snaps, one of which was a 38-7 route at Mississippi State, where he entered to pay tribute to Tua, who had sustained a serious hip injury earlier in the game. Redshirting is only possible if you participate in four games. Taulia would have had one additional year to play if he had redshirted in 2019, but regulations that were discovered during the COVID-19 outbreak prevent the 2020 season from counting toward eligibility.
“Going into college you always have goals, and I just wanted more,” he stated. “I thought I left a lot of plays unfinished, and I thought that another season would provide me a chance to exhibit my abilities and perhaps do better at some of the things I struggled with in the previous two years. I was only attempting to obtain an additional year for that purpose.”
According to ESPN sources, Alabama and coach Nick Saban submitted a letter of support to the NCAA, and Maryland filed the waiver on his behalf. A few weeks later, the NCAA rejected his appeal, and Tagovailoa headed to California to prepare for Maryland’s pro day.
Regarding the matter, the NCAA chose not to comment.
“When the NCAA didn’t accept it, I felt like it was God’s plan for me to — I mean, I only had one decision,” Taulia stated, “to go to the NFL draft.”
Despite starting at Alabama, Taulida’s path was more deceptive than his brother’s from the beginning.
When Saban made the historic coaching choice to bench Jalen Hurts in favor of Tua during halftime of the national championship game against Georgia in 2017, Tua instantly gained notoriety as a freshman. He was voted the offensive MVP of the game after he completed the game with a touchdown pass in overtime.
His older brother, Taulia’s freshman year at Alabama in 2019, had played his best college ball before getting hurt at Mississippi State in mid-November. Tua ended his junior season as the school leader in total touchdowns with 96 (87 passing, nine rushing), despite having his Alabama career cut short due to injury.
Taulia, meanwhile, completed nine passes in five games for 100 yards and one touchdown. After the 2019 season, Taulia relocated to Maryland in quest of more playing time, with Jones appearing to be Tua’s heir apparent at Alabama.
He located it.
With 11,356 passing yards at the end of his collegiate career, Taulia broke nearly every passing record held by Maryland. For career completions (955), career touchdowns (77), career completion percentage (67.1), and career 300-yard games (15), he set school records.
Taulia didn’t receive an invitation to the NFL combine despite his amazing stats. Additionally, Taulia is not included in the 257 players that ESPN NFL draft analyst Matt Miller predicts will be selected in the first seven rounds.
Scouts’ assessments of Taulia on Maryland’s pro day were unanimous: he is a “camp player only right now.”
“He is very athletic, has experience, was very productive in college, and can extend plays,” an NFL scout told ESPN. “He escapes the pocket too soon, though, and his accuracy on film is not good.””
According to Taulia, his brother has been advising him.
“I want to be where he’s at, and he helps me a lot,” Taulia stated. The most important thing to me is that he can communicate with me. More like, “What should I do?” Don’t waste time explaining things to me; just tell me. Basically, just enjoy yourself and be authentic.
“If I perform poorly, it’s not a make-or-break situation. All I have to do is make sure I’m at peace with everything, be true to myself, and put in the proper amount of work.”
At the East-West Shrine Bowl, Taulia had an outstanding performance, completing nine passes for 142 yards with no interceptions. He added a touchdown on the rush as well.
Although he had 201 career rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns for the Terps, he noted that his strengths are throwing the ball from the shotgun, being mobile, and scrambling. However, he thought that one of the scouts’ main concerns has been his arm strength. According to an NFL scout who spoke with ESPN, Taulia is “not a pocket passer and plays small” overall.
The scout stated, “He needs to be outside the pocket to make throws and see.” “He’s not consistent enough.”
Since his freshman year at Alabama, Taulia has grown most, according to Locksley, in his “football intelligence piece.”
“It’s not a question of throwing the football,” Locksley stated. “With a father who has coached two NFL quarterbacks, Taulia has demonstrated the mental fortitude and maturity that come with knowing when to make the right choice. Taulia has grown and matured as a football player, and I have witnessed it. He has the talent to make an NFL squad.”
Taulia has excelled in Maryland’s pro-style system, according to Locksley, so he should be able to play for any NFL team.
Taulia remarked, “I know I’m a leader and a hard worker.” “Every locker room I’ve visited has shown me respect, and I’ve earned it. I adore my teammates and I’m a competitive person. The most important thing is that you are gaining their respect. I’m going to put everything I have into whatever I do.”