Taulia Tagovailoa, the younger brother of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, is heading to the NFL after his efforts to play a sixth collegiate season didn’t pan out.
Tagovailoa, who played four of his five college seasons at the University of Maryland, had his waiver request to play a sixth year of college ball denied, according to multiple reports.
He had hoped to enter the transfer portal, skipping the Terrapins’ bowl game with the possibility of being healthy to join another team for one more season.
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Tagovailoa’s petition led with the fact he played only five games as a freshman at the University of Alabama, his older brother’s alma mater.
However, football players are allowed to make an appearance in up to four games while keeping a redshirt. Tua hurt his hip during that season in 2019, and two of Taulia’s five appearances came after the injury, including the game it happened — a blowout against Mississippi State.
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ESPN reported that Nick Saban, who just retired as Alabama’s head coach, supported Taulia’s waiver. But it didn’t go through, and Taulia will have to set his focus on playing the game at the next level.
Following his brother entering the draft, where he was selected fifth overall by Miami, Taulia transferred to Maryland.
In four seasons with the Terrapins, Taulia threw for 11,256 yards with 76 touchdowns to 37 interceptions with a 67.1% completion rate. He also rushed for 207 yards with 13 touchdowns on the ground as well.
Unlike his brother, Taulia isn’t expected to be the cream of the crop in this year’s draft class. The quarterback, who throws right-handed, stands at 5-foot-11, which will be the first measurable that will be criticized by teams because it isn’t prototypical quarterback height.
It’s not uncommon for shorter prospects to be a good quarterback in the NFL, with the likes of Russell Wilson, Drew Brees, and others being successful. However, in a class filled with top quarterback talent like Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels, Taulia’s draft stock likely lands him in the second or third day of selections, if at all, by teams.
We’ll see if a team ends up taking Taulia with one of their picks in April.
