Tua Tagovailoa – May 26, 2021
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Wednesday, May 26, 2021
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(I know you’ve addressed this with other audiences in the past few months but now that you’ve had some time to reflect on last year, in what ways would you say that your rookie season was not up to your season? I know you’ve expressed that and said it in the past.) – “I’d say in every aspect – getting to the line of scrimmage, getting that order of operation down, my cadence, pre-snap reads, my post-snap reads. Just the whole shebang with that. I felt I wasn’t comfortable during my rookie year. So I’m just working on a lot of those things in Year 2 to be better.”
(What is your comfort level in May of 2021 and where do you sense the biggest difference in that regard?) – “I’d say it’s still a work in progress with all of those things – having the guys hear my cadence, getting the order of operation of hearing the play call in the huddle, getting to the line, shifting guys, moving guys and getting everyone in the right spot. I still think that’s something that I’ve got to continue to work on.”
(I don’t know if you heard TE Mike Gesicki’s nice little rant about you just now, saying that people were saying stupid and incorrect things about you and having the wrong views about you. What do you think about him going to bat for you and what do you think about those things yourself?) – “Well, that’s very kind. I actually didn’t hear that. I don’t know if Mike just said that. Yeah, that’s very appealing to hear when guys like Mike and other teammates can kind of help with rallying in that sense, a rookie quarterback coming into Year 2. But to be honest, that’s not really something that I’m focused on. I mean I really appreciate Mike saying that but I’m really focused on making this jump from my rookie year to this upcoming Year 2.”
(I know when we saw you during your documentary, it was watching you kind of watch the TV during the Combine process and what people were saying about you pre-draft and if you would come back from the hip injury and how much that affected you. I think we all saw that. How has this offseason been for you for doubts after your rookie season and trade rumors and things like that?) – “Really, my focus is just continuing to work on those things that I couldn’t work on last year, which is getting stronger, bettering myself like I said with things off the field and then strength training and conditioning looks a lot different this year than it did last year. I’m trying to get on the field more, trying to be able to move, run, make cuts and then also work with my drop-backs and get some throws in with guys.”
(You have clearly worked out a lot more since the season ended than I have. What areas did you target in your strength and conditioning program and do you feel that it’s going to lead to a stronger arm and greater arm strength?) – “I wouldn’t say that I focus on just one specific part. I would say it was full body. I wanted to get stronger with my upper body, my shoulders, triceps, biceps, my core. Then I guess you could say the focus, if we had leg day, would really be the glutes to kind of help support the hip. I think my hip feels 10 times better than it did last year and the confidence level for myself, I feel really confident coming into this second year after that injury two years ago.”
(I was going to ask you about how you were physically last year. I know during the season, you wouldn’t want to disclose too much; but do you feel that you might have been a little early getting back onto the field and having a full year-plus now has been to your advantage?) – “As I said before, you never know you’re ready until you actually go out there and kind of showcase that you’re ready. I don’t think the Dolphins organization would have let me go out there without the medical staff clearing me, without them thinking I would be someone that could be injured if I went out there. They wouldn’t let me go out there. Yeah, if you’re ready, you never know off of injuries. You just have to go in there and you have to go and try to play fast.”
(I guess the better way to put it was this: were there limitations – not that you were putting yourself at risk but that you weren’t the real Tua last year?) – “I think that brings up a lot of ifs and buts. What happened last year, it happened; and that’s what my rookie year looked like. It wasn’t what I expected, so that’s why I’ve been working really hard this offseason to help our team this Year 2 for me, this upcoming season.”
(Besides what TE Mike Gesicki said – about having your back like your other teammates do – he’s said this and with prior Zoom interviews with some of your offensive teammates, they all say the same thing that you have a comfort level right now. And I know it’s early, but where is that right now and where does that come from? That you’re more comfortable now than you were obviously in your rookie season.) – “I would say that comes from having the first year under my belt, kind of going through the terminology of an NFL offense, going through Mike (linebacker) points, understanding what problems we have in certain runs and certain plays. Then also, I’ve been working a lot on trying to voice my opinions out and kind of be very vocal as a leader towards the guys in the huddle and then towards guys individually.”
(On a lighter note, TE Mike Gesicki was talking about the beard and the longer hair, the new look. Some of your other teammates were talking about that. Is that just something that’s going to continue and you’ll let the beard grow, like QB Ryan Fitzpatrick maybe?) – “I don’t know. What do you guys think? (laughter)”
(I sort of like it myself. I wish I could grow a beard at work but I sort of like it.) – “(laughter) Yeah, my mom and my grandmother have been telling me to shave it. (laughter)”
(And are you going to? Or are you going to keep it?) – “I’m not too sure. My dad likes it but you never know. Maybe one day I might come with all of it shaven off. Who knows? (laughter)”
(I know as a player and as a quarterback, you talk about ignoring the outside noise; but I’m sure you heard it this offseason, whether it be QB Deshaun Watson or the criticism towards yourself. Is there any extra motivation for you this year to prove those people wrong or maybe prove the Dolphins right in sticking with you?) – “I would say there’s no extra motivation for me. It’s really just playing to the standard and the level of expectations of this organization; but then also the standard that I have for myself, and expectations I have for myself.”
(You guys made some improvements this offseason with WR William Fuller V and WR Jaylen Waddle, your old teammate. What were your thoughts on those two acquisitions and what it can do for you and this offense?) – “Well, I don’t think you can talk about Jaylen and Will without the entire group of receivers. I think when you look at all of our guys that we have, we have a variety. We have guys that can make catches in double coverage, guys that can catch the ball on a swing route and make a man miss, guys that can just flat out out-run guys and you just have to throw it to them and get it to them. I’m very excited to see what we have when it is time to go full speed. But to your question, you can’t kind of talk about one or the other without the entirety of the group.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores mentioned earlier today that he was discussing your decision to kind of stay in South Florida as opposed to going back to Hawaii in the offseason – staying here and working out with your teammates and the pass catchers that you just mentioned. Can you describe the importance of that and what went into the decision to stay here and work with them?) – “Yeah, I don’t think it was much of a hard decision. You look at the weather here, it’s year-round weather. I wouldn’t be wasting money to go all the way back to Hawaii. (laughter) Aside from that and visiting family back in Hawaii, I thought it was a very easy decision to stay here and train. I had the opportunity to kind of gather a group of guys – receivers and gather some of the linemen as well – to go over some cadences at the line of scrimmage, what it will sound like this year and kind of have that operation going at the line of scrimmage with the guys. I wouldn’t be able to throw to my guys too if I was all the way in Hawaii. So we’re working on the timing and all of those things that you don’t just wake up and do, as ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) would say. You don’t just wake up and you’re able to do this. You have to do it consistency and build a discipline to do it.”
(I was interested at the very beginning about how you were describing all of the difficulties you went through last year and what made you uncomfortable, and use that phrase, ‘the whole shebang.’ Given that you’ve been playing quarterback for as long as you have, why do you think that was? Do you think it’s just attributed to the hip or were there other factors? Why was that?) – “Well, it’s the NFL. (laughter) It’s the NFL. I can’t remember but somebody said that I said the NFL is easy, which is kind of not what I said. I kind of (compared) it to our coaches help get the defense into whatever looks that they’re going to run and they help us on the offensive side, make it easier for us, so that we see the looks and we know what’s coming, which obviously is going to be different every game. But yeah, it’s the NFL. You never know what to expect.”
(You’ve talked about the conditioning and the workouts this offseason and we’ve seen the videos and photos and stuff. I’m wondering as far as how that applies to the physical aspect. You’ve talked about the confidence you’ve gotten back. Where does that added strength and the mass that you’ve cultivated show up from your perspective? Where can you see the biggest difference when it comes to throwing the ball and the physical aspect of the position?) – “I’d say I can feel it. That’s one thing I can say. Then also from recordings, I can see the difference. But as far as how I feel overall, just physically and mentally, I think I’m at a better stage than I was last year.”
(Was that something that you kind of thought about when you tried to really get your motion into the throw and drive the football? Was it kind of in the back of your mind or is it something that’s been removed this year?) – “Can you elaborate?”
(Just with how the hip kind of felt for you last year when you were trying to drive the ball down the field. Did you ever kind of feel any hesitation or just knew it in the back of your mind? And if so, has that gone away this year?) – “To be honest, I wasn’t worried about my hip last year. I wasn’t necessarily thinking of it while I was making throws or was on the run making throws. I just think that coming into this year, throwing it isn’t as much arm this year as it was last year. It’s kind of everything like using my legs, using my core and then the arms just following. Very similar to golf.”
(In terms of chemistry with your weaponry, that was something that a lot of people felt like wasn’t there late in the season last year and I know a lot of injuries played a part in that. How much do you feel that can help you improve from a performance standpoint?) – “Well, I think last year for me, last year wasn’t – I wasn’t as comfortable just in general. I wasn’t comfortable calling plays. I think the guys that we had last year were phenomenal. I just didn’t have the comfortability of kind of checking plays, alerting plays and doing that. I just rode with the play even if I knew in a way that it wasn’t going to work. I was going to try to make it work still. But the firepower that we have this year, it’s good but you’ve got to get it out to them too. If you’re able to protect yourself and then get it out to them and have them make plays, then you’ll be good.”
(So you’re saying that there were instances last year where you were executing plays that you didn’t feel comfortable with, and you didn’t feel comfortable checking into other plays – checking out of those plays into other plays?) – “Actually, what I’m saying is that I didn’t actually know the playbook necessarily really, really good; and that’s on no one else’s fault but my fault. Our play calls were simple when I was in. I didn’t have alerts and checks whereas now, feeling more comfortable, I can kind of maneuver my way through these things now.”
