Tua Tagovailoa
Tuanigamanuolepola Donny Tagovailoa is an American professional football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide and was named the Offensive MVP of the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship during his freshman season. As a sophomore, Tagovailoa won the Maxwell and Walter Camp awards en route to an appearance in the 2019 National Championship.
After his junior season was cut short by a hip injury, Tagovailoa was selected fifth overall by the Dolphins in the 2020 NFL draft. He spent his rookie season alternating as a backup and starter before becoming the team's primary starter in 2021. Tagovailoa led the league in passer rating in 2022 and passing yards in 2023, earning Pro Bowl honors in the latter, and helping the Dolphins qualify for the playoffs both seasons. He currently ranks second all-time in completion percentage with at least 1,500 pass attempts and is ninth in the NFL's all-time regular season career passer rating.
Early life
Tagovailoa was born in ʻEwa Beach, Hawaii, to Galu and Diane Tagovailoa, as the oldest of four children in a Samoan family. He was said to have grown up with an intense interest in football, with his parents noting that he slept with a football under his arm every night as a small child. During Pop Warner games when he was eight years old, when his peers could typically throw a football little more than 10 yards, he routinely threw passes of more than 30 yards.As a child, his main inspiration was his grandfather Seu Tagovailoa. He was highly respected in the local Samoan community and was regularly addressed as "Chief Tagovailoa". Seu believed that Tagovailoa would eventually grow into a football star and he requested that he visit him after every game to report his progress. Tagovailoa briefly considered quitting the sport after Seu's death in 2014 until he and his father agreed that he could best honor him by continuing to play.
Tagovailoa attended Saint Louis School in Honolulu, the same school as 2014 Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, where Mariota served as a mentor to him when they were growing up in Hawaii. As a high school varsity player, Tagovailoa threw for 33 passing touchdowns during his first season with three interceptions and 2,583 passing yards. Tagovailoa said his father pressured him to perform in high school, and would beat him with a belt if he threw an interception. In 2016, Tagovailoa played in the All-American Bowl, and in his regular season threw for 2,669 passing yards with 27 passing touchdowns and seven interceptions. He was also chosen to be a part of the Elite 11 roster as one of the top high school quarterbacks in the nation, where he was named MVP of that roster. Throughout his career, fans and announcers alike had difficulty pronouncing Tagovailoa's name. He educated people on his culture by teaching them the correct pronunciation.
Tagovailoa was deemed a four-star recruit during the 2017 recruiting cycle and was ranked the top high school prospect in the state of Hawaii. He had 17 offers to play on a college football scholarship before eventually enrolling at the University of Alabama in January 2017. Tagovailoa likened Alabama's hospitality to Hawaii's when picking the school, and credits Alabama's church-going culture for making it feel more similar to his home state. Tagovailoa's 'pastor dad' also had a vision that he would go on to play at Alabama, despite the lack of recruitment out of Hawaii by the school.
College career
2017 season
As a true freshman, Tagovailoa was the backup to sophomore quarterback Jalen Hurts throughout the 2017 season. However, he experienced significant playing time due to a couple of blowout victories for the Crimson Tide. On September 9, he made his collegiate debut against Fresno State in a home game at Bryant–Denny Stadium. In the 41–10 victory, he finished 6-of-9 for 64 yards and his first career passing touchdown, which was a 16-yard pass to wide receiver Henry Ruggs. On September 23, in a 59–0 victory against Vanderbilt, he got more playing time and recorded 103 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. In the next game, against SEC West rival Ole Miss, he recorded his first collegiate rushing touchdown in a 66–3 victory. In the annual rivalry game against Tennessee, he finished with 134 passing yards, one passing touchdown, one interception, and one rushing touchdown in the 45–7 victory. On November 18, in a game against Mercer, he threw for three passing touchdowns in the 56–0 victory. On January 8, 2018, he replaced Hurts in the second half of the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship due to ineffective play by Hurts. He threw the game-winning 41-yard touchdown pass in overtime to another true freshman, wide receiver DeVonta Smith as Alabama defeated Georgia, 26–23, claiming their 17th National Championship. He finished the game 14-of-24 for 166 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and one interception, along with 27 rushing yards on 12 attempts. Tagovailoa was named the Offensive MVP of the game. After winning the National Championship, Tagovailoa emphasized how important it was to him to make his home state of Hawaii proud of his success on the football field.2018 season
On September 1, 2018, Tagovailoa made his first career start at the season's opening game, against Louisville, in Orlando, Florida. He finished 12-of-16, with 227 passing yards and two touchdowns in the 51–14 victory, before Jalen Hurts replaced him in the third quarter. During Alabama head coach Nick Saban's weekly Monday press conference following the victory, he announced Tagovailoa as the starter for the Crimson Tide's home opener against Arkansas State on September 8. In the 62–7 victory over Ole Miss, he was 11-of-15 for 191 passing yards and two touchdowns to go along with 47 rushing yards. He continued his efficient season against Texas A&M with 387 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown in the 45–23 victory. In a limited role against Louisiana, he was 8-of-8 passing for 128 passing yards and two passing touchdowns in the 56–14 victory. In the next game against Arkansas, he had more passing touchdowns than incompletions as he went 10-of-13 for 334 passing yards and four passing touchdowns in the 65–31 victory. Following the regular season, he finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting to Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, but he won the Walter Camp Award and Maxwell Award for 2018, both awarded to the top player in college football. While recovering from the high ankle sprain he suffered during the SEC Championship against Georgia, Tagovailoa put on a nearly flawless offensive performance against Oklahoma in the 2018 Orange Bowl to lead the Tide to their fourth consecutive CFP National Championship appearance. He was also named Offensive MVP of that game. In the 2019 National Championship, Tagovailoa went 22-of-34 with 295 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in a 44–16 loss to Clemson. He also set a new NCAA FBS passer rating record of 199.4 for the season, surpassing the record 198.9 set by Baker Mayfield in 2017.2019 season
Tagovailoa began his junior season at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game with a victory against Duke in Atlanta. He finished 26-of-31 with 336 passing yards and four touchdowns before sitting out the fourth quarter. The second game of the season was a home opener victory against New Mexico State. Tagovailoa finished that game 16-of-24 with 227 passing yards and four total touchdowns before sitting out the fourth quarter. In his third game of the season, a victory against South Carolina, Tagovailoa finished 28-of-36 with 444 passing yards and five touchdowns. In the Tide's 49–7 victory against Southern Miss, Tagovailoa finished 17-of-21 with 293 passing yards and five touchdowns. In the Tide's fifth game, a victory against Ole Miss, Tagovailoa finished 26-of-36 with 418 passing yards and seven total touchdowns. In the Tide's 47–28 victory against Texas A&M, Tagovailoa finished 21-of-34 with 293 passing yards, four touchdowns, and one interception.Tagovailoa left the Tide's seventh game against Tennessee early in the second quarter after suffering a high ankle sprain. He underwent surgery to repair the ankle the following day, and did not play in the next game against Arkansas. Tagovailoa returned three weeks post-surgery to play in the 46–41 loss to top-ranked LSU. Despite some struggles in the first half of that game, Tagovailoa rebounded after halftime to finish 21-of-40 with 413 passing yards, four touchdowns, and one interception.
In the Tide's matchup against Mississippi State, Tagovailoa led the team to a 35–7 lead before leaving the game after a sack that saw his knee driven into the ground, causing his hip to dislocate and fracturing the posterior wall of his acetabulum, as well as suffering a broken nose and concussion. He was carted off the field and flown to a Birmingham hospital before undergoing surgery in Houston two days later.
In January 2020, Tagovailoa announced that he would forgo his senior year and enter the 2020 NFL draft. Tagovailoa finished his collegiate career as holder of numerous Alabama football records, as well as notable NCAA career records, including: passing yards per attempt, adjusted passing yards per attempt, passing efficiency rating, and total yards per play. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in communication studies in August 2020.