Tua Tagovailoa – April 23, 2020
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Thursday, April 23, 2020
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(When you heard your name called or when you got that call from the Dolphins, what first crossed your mind?) – “It was a dream come true, man, to be able to have this opportunity. I would honestly like to just thank Owner Stephen Ross. I’d like to thank GM Chris Grier. I’d also like to thank Coach (Brian) Flores for giving me this opportunity. This is special for not just me, but for my family as well.”
(What do you think are going to be your plans now given the distance and where you are? When do you expect to come to Miami? Where are you going to spend most of your training leading up to training camp?) – “With the given circumstances, I’m just going to be talking to the coaches and kind of seeing how we’re going to go about doing things as an organization. From there really, we’ve just got to hope and pray that everything works out and that we can get back to spending time as a team. I think for me, the most important thing is probably getting everyone’s phone number on the team and just creating relationships. Maybe starting out with the quarterbacks and then working my way down to the linemen or starting with the linemen, but just creating relationships a little at a time. Especially during times like this, it’s hard, so I think that’d be best.”
(You said earlier that you felt confident that you could play in 2020. What makes you confident and did the Dolphins talk to you about what their plans for you were?) – “I think what makes me confident in the aspect of me being able to play would be what the doctors have told me. As far as rehab, as far as the medical rechecks, I’ve checked off all the boxes, so that’s what I’ve been really standing on and that’s kind of what I’ve been going with. That’s why I would say I’ve been really encouraged to say that I’m able to play if need be; but I think the biggest thing for me right now is just being able to take it in, soak it in, enjoy it with my family and get to work.”
(I’m not sure if you’ve kept up with all of the fans’ expectations and hopes and dreams with you, but are you prepared to deal with that and do you think at any time, you would ever tell the fans to chill out or would you tell them to “keep hyping me up, let’s enjoy this?”) – “I think that’s something that is out of my control. I can’t control whether the fans like me or whether the fans dislike me; and so for me, I’d say it’s all about worrying about what I can control … It’s what you do from here on out. It’s how you … You just look forward to getting your playbook, understanding it, trying to get good at it, and if an opportunity is presented…”
(Playing at Alabama, obviously the spotlight’s on you there – obviously it’s the biggest program in the nation. How do you think that’s helped prepare you for the NFL?) – “I would say I think Alabama’s prepared me with how hard everything was there. It wasn’t just the workouts. It wasn’t just the guys you were competing against, but it was also the coaching. It was also your nutrition. It was just everything – your academics. Everything was made hard. It was really about embracing hard and kind of how you become successful through those hard times.”
(What are your goals as a quarterback in the National Football League?) – “I would say first off, I just want to be able to get the ball rolling as far as understanding my plays. I just want to know my plays, build relationships in the quarterback room, build relationships with guys in the locker room and also getting to know more about the coaching staff and building relationships with them as well.”
(I just wanted to ask you in terms of this process, was there any frustration with all the talk about your health and whether or not that hip was going to hold up and if it might drop you down the board? Did you get a little nervous there at any point?) – “I would say I didn’t get nervous at all. For me and my family the biggest thing was whoever decided to take a chance on us, whoever decided to pick me up, that’s where I belonged. Like I said, I’m very grateful and honored that I had this opportunity to play for this organization. My biggest thing is I’m trying to prove that this is the right decision for the organization.”
(How would you say your relationship or your developing relationship with Head Coach Brian Flores and General Manager Chris Grier has gone throughout this draft process leading up to tonight?) – “It’s continuing to grow and that’s my biggest thing. We created it at the Combine, and I got to talk to Coach Flores and Chris (Grier) as well as Stephen Ross on Zoom calls maybe about three times in one month, so once every week almost. So I got to speak to them and build my relationship in that sense, but now that I’m a part of the organization it can only go up from here.”
(I wanted to ask how will you approach having a 37-year-old veteran quarterback like QB Ryan Fitzpatrick available to you? What if anything do you know about Ryan?) – “I would say it’s – First off, just being able to understand the kind of person he is. I know he’s been a great leader for this organization, he’s been a great team player. Guys like that, he’s played behind Jameis Winston and then he has an opportunity to play here. He has so much knowledge of the game to where I think it’s best that I nitpick him, ask him how he goes about preparing for a defense, what are the differences between this and this. Just being able to question him and learn under him, I think is going to be my biggest thing.”
(Last year there was all of this talk about “Tank for Tua.” How did that strike you back when that was going on and then how ironic is that you end up with the Dolphins?) – “I would say the funniest thing is I haven’t really heard too much of it last year. It was more so after the national championship from our loss to Clemson when I heard most of it. I would say that’s – I’m very grateful and I’m honored that the fans think so (highly) of me. It’s a different ball game. What I did in college can’t translate to the NFL. It’s a clean slate. What I’ve got to do is I’ve got to go out there and earn my respect and earn the trust from my teammates. It’s how you go about doing things.”
(How familiar are you with Dan Marino and the Dolphins’ past and have you thought about what number you may have to pick because 13 might be off the books?) – “For me, I’m not too worried about what number I have. I understand number 13 is retired and it should be. Dan Marino, he – he’s the GOAT. He’s like the mayor out there, and I have much respect for him. Whatever number I’m given by that organization, if it’s 78 or 99 – I’ll wear it. It doesn’t matter. I just want to have an opportunity to go out there and …”
(Do you expect to compete to start this year? Do you expect to compete to play or have they told you that this is going to be a redshirt year for you?) – “I’m going to go out there and compete as if I’m preparing to be the starter, even if I’m not going to be the starter right away or the entire season. But I think that has to be the mindset, because you go in there and – competition is usually always healthy. It’s usually always healthy. And you not only get yourself better by doing it but you get the other guy better and you get the entire quarterback room better that way.”
(What has this year been like for you, with so much expectation about you coming out in the draft and then the two injuries and the rehab and now this whole draft process? If you maybe had to put this in words to maybe your grandkids 40 years from now, what would you tell them this was like?) – “I would tell them this has probably been the hardest process for me to go through. I’ve gone through a lot with making this decision. I went to Nashville, I went through that tornado that came through. My car got destroyed. I’m going through rehab during that process. And then there’s a lot of uncertainty at the same time. There was just a lot of things piling up. So I’d just tell them that this was probably the most difficult time for me in my life.”
(I was going to ask you about your injury history and do you think you should’ve still been the number one drafted quarterback, but tell me about your car being destroyed in Nashville. What happened there?) – “Yeah, so I believe it was March 3rd. I was about 1 o’clock in the morning. Sirens were going off and I was asleep. I ended up waking up to I guess warnings on my phone. Right when I woke up, about three or four minutes later, a tornado just swooped right over my complex, destroys my car and everything there. It was pretty bad.”
(What would you say your best attribute from an intangible standpoint is?) – “That’s a good question. For me – I’ve said this many times – I’m not one to really speak on myself or really speak about what I’m good at. I try to let others do that. So, I’m not too sure. I like to go out there and compete, have fun and then try my best to win games.”
(What are you looking forward to most about playing in Miami?) – “I played there once. I played there against Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. I’m just looking forward to an opportunity to play in front of the fans, play with my new teammates, kind of get the feel for everything, get into the groove of everything.”
(Tell us about the phone call when the Dolphins called you and said they’re picking you? Who did you talk to? How did that conversation go?) – “I got to talk to everyone. I got to talk to Coach Flores. I got to talk to the GM, Chris Grier. I got to talk to the owner, Stephen Ross. And man, it was awesome. It was very emotional for me and my family. It hasn’t just been a dream of mine to make this happen, it’s been my entire family’s dream. I’m blessed to say that I carry all of them here with me.”
(I’m curious what Head Coach Brian Flores has told you about what he’s trying to build in Miami and how you feel like you can contribute to the culture, the mindset, whatever it is that he’s told you about?) – “I would say what Coach Flores said was, ‘I want you to know that we think you’re very special.’ They think highly of me. But they were just really excited – (Coach Flores) was just really excited. He also had his kids kind of hop on and kind of say hello and say congratulations. So, that was pretty cool.”
