Taulia Tagovailoa
Taulia Tagovailoa is an American professional football quarterback for the Orlando Pirates of the Indoor Football League. He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins and Alabama Crimson Tide. He holds the Big Ten Conference record for most all-time passing yards and holds the Maryland single-season and career school records for both completions and passing yards, as well as a tie for Maryland's single-season touchdowns record. He is the younger brother of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
College career
Alabama
Tagovailoa spent his true freshman season at Alabama in 2019 as a backup to his older brother, Tua Tagovailoa, and Mac Jones. He saw his first collegiate action in the season opener against Duke but did not record any stats. On September 21, 2019, Tagovailoa completed his first career pass for a gain of 20 yards against Southern Miss, finishing 1-for-1 on the day. He entered in the third quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks on October 26, 2019, for his most extensive action to date, finishing 6-of-8 passing for 45 yards while adding one rush for no gain. He came in late for the Tide against Mississippi State, handing the ball off to run out the clock in Starkville. Tagovailoa finished 2-of-3 for 35 yards against Western Carolina with his first career touchdown. He finished the season 9-of-12 for 100 yards and one touchdown.Maryland
2020 season
On May 15, 2020, Tagovailoa announced he would be transferring to the University of Maryland.He started all four games in which he played, only missing the final game vs. Rutgers. In his 4 games, he led Maryland to a 2–2 record, in which he beat [2020 2020 Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn State] and Minnesota. He broke the 5-game losing streak Maryland had against Penn State. He threw 75-of-122 passing for 1,011 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. He ranked top five in the Big Ten in multiple passing categories: first in yards per completion, second in passing efficiency, second in yards per pass attempt, third in passing yards per game and third in total offense. At the end of the season, Tagovailoa was named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.
2021 season
Tagovailoa returned to Maryland as the team's starting quarterback in 2021, starting in all 13 games and again earning All-Big Ten Honorable Mention. He led Maryland to the program's first winning season since 2014 and the program's first bowl bid since 2016, beating West Virginia, Howard, Illinois, Kent State, Indiana, [2021 2021 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team|Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team|Rutgers], and [2021 2021 Virginia Tech Hokies football team|Virginia Tech Hokies football team|Virginia Tech]. He broke the 1992 single-season completion record set by John Kaleo in a loss against Michigan and then the 1993 single-season passing yards record set by Scott Milanovich in the subsequent win against Rutgers, then tied Milanovich's 1993 single-season touchdowns record in the bowl win. Tagovailoa was named MVP of the 2021 Pinstripe Bowl against Virginia Tech where he went 20-of-24 with 265 passing yards and two touchdowns, along with 42 rushing yards on four carries in their 54-10 win. He led Maryland to the program's first bowl win since 2010.2022 season
Despite missing one game with a knee injury, Tagovailoa passed for 3,008 yards and 18 touchdowns along with eight interceptions in 2022. He set a school record for career passing yards during the season and earned second-team All-Big Ten Conference honors. Despite leading Maryland to an 8–5 record and an appearance in the 2022 Duke's Mayo Bowl, Tagovailoa was benched for the opening drive of the game due to a minor team rule violation. He returned to play the remainder of the game, which the Terrapins won.2023 season
On January 18, 2023, Tagovailoa announced he would forgo entering the NFL draft and return to Maryland to play his senior season. In a week 5 matchup against Indiana, Tagovailoa threw for a career-high 5 touchdown passes with 352 passing yards as well as a rushing touchdown. He was subsequently named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. In the season finale, Tagovailoa passed Curtis Painter to become the Big Ten's all–time passing leader with 11,256 passing yards.Records
''Updated: December 21, 2023.''Big Ten records
Most passing yards, career: 11,256 Highest completion percentage, career: 67.1%Maryland records
Most completions, career: 955Most passing attempts, career: 1,424Highest completion percentage, career: 67.1%Most passing yards, career: 11,256Most passing touchdowns, career: 76Most interceptions thrown, career: 37Highest passer rating, career: 145.9Most 300-yard passing games, career: 15Most total offensive yards, career: 11,473Most touchdowns responsible for, career: 89Most completions, season: 328 Most completions, sophomore season: 328 Most completions, junior season: 262 Most passing attempts, sophomore season: 474 Most passing attempts, junior season: 391 Highest completion percentage, season: 69.2% Highest completion percentage, sophomore season: 69.2% Most passing yards, season: 3,860 Most passing yards, sophomore season: 3,860 Most passing yards, junior season: 3,008 Most passing touchdowns, season: 26- * Tied with Scott Milanovich Most passing touchdowns, sophomore season: 26
- * Tied with Scott Milanovich Highest passer rating, season: 151.06 Highest passer rating, sophomore season: 151.06 Most 300-yard passing games, season: 7 Most consecutive 300-yard passing games, season: 3 Most total offensive plays, sophomore season: 554 Most total offensive plays, junior season: 469 Most total offensive yards, season: 3,941 Most total offensive yards, sophomore season: 3,941 Most total offensive yards, junior season: 3,069 Most touchdowns responsible for, junior season: 22
- * Tied with Scott McBrien
Professional career
Tagovailoa went undrafted in the 2024 NFL draft, but was invited to the Seattle Seahawks minicamp for a tryout. The Seahawks did not sign him after camp ended.Hamilton Tiger-Cats
On June 10, 2024, Tagovailoa signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. He spent nine games on the practice roster before making his professional debut on August 23, 2024, against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, as the third-string quarterback. In the next game, on September 2, 2024, Tagovailoa recorded his first career touchdown on a three-yard rush against the Toronto Argonauts during the annual Labour Day Classic game. He dressed in eight games in 2024 where he completed one pass for six yards and had three carries for 10 yards and one touchdown. He was released as 2025 training camp opened on May 11, 2025.Hamburg Sea Devils
On May 22, 2025, it was announced that Tagovailoa had signed with the Hamburg Sea Devils. On June 14, Tagovailoa was released by the Sea Devils.Massachusetts Pirates
On June 25, 2025, Tagovailoa signed with the Massachusetts Pirates of the Indoor Football League.On November 25, 2025, Tagovailoa re-signed with the team, now rebranded as the Orlando Pirates.