Tua Tagovailoa – August 24, 2022
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Wednesday, August 24, 2022
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(You set the tone with the first one, right? You had to set the tone with the first one to WR Tyreek Hill in the corner?) – “As ‘Coach Bev’ (Darrell Bevell) – because me and Tyreek were going back and forth about what route he wanted to run first. He told me any route. I said, ‘what route do you want to run?’ He said any route. So ‘Coach Bev’ jumped in and said, ‘Hey, I want to hear the crowd cheer.’ So I said, just run a go. So we ran a go route and Tyreek caught the ball, so that was cool.”
(That will get the crowd going right?) – “Yeah. That was really nice.”
(We heard Head Coach Mike McDaniel do an interview earlier this week talking about how it’s cool to watch you become a professional before his eyes. I just wanted to get your perspective on what he means by that and kind of your development and command of this team and this offense.) – “Yeah, I think just being able to understand the concepts of the plays we’re given on a day-to-day basis. There’s some plays that are installed day of and for us to go out there, be able to walk through it, kind of see it come to life, and then execute it against our defense or an opposing team’s defense, I think that that’s what he’s kind of talking about.
(Did it feel like homecoming today) – “Homecoming?”
(With all the Alabama…) –“I think it was cool seeing my ex-Alabama teammates. It’s good to see that they’re doing good for themselves and their families, being able to compete at the highest level, and it’s not like they’re backup guys. They’re starters. So that was awesome to see.”
(Did you talk to Jalen Hurts at all?) – “I got to talk to Jalen. I got to talk to Gardner Minshew. I also got to talk to Reid Sinnett. I know as you guys know, he was here a couple years back with us. I think that was awesome to be able to see those guys, talk to them. It was very brief.”
(With Jalen, you guys are both going into your third season. Obviously you had an interesting dynamic at Alabama. How do you think overall that really prepared you for your first couple of years in the NFL and particularly the changes that you went through in college, you stepping in and Jalen stepping in at quarterback?) – “Yeah, I knew when I went to Alabama, I’d have to compete and compete against a guy that was really good. The year before that he was the SEC Player of the Year at the time and he led his team to the national championship. So I knew what I was up against. But at the same time, when you go to a place like that, the standards are high, expectations are extremely high as well, because of the success that they’ve had. And really just you’ve got to go out there and compete every day. And I would say that’s how being at a place like Alabama has helped set up success for me coming into the NFL is nothing’s given to you. You got to earn everything.”
(A while back you mentioned that you talked with Jalen Hurts around his first NFL start. Can you talk about how you guys kept in contact and why is that relationship important to you two?) – “Yeah, I think all these relationships are important to me, not just with Jalen, but with Mac (Jones) and the younger quarterbacks that are coming up from Alabama. It’s good to be in contact with those guys. They’re starters and having a good relationship with them throughout the years at Alabama helps, then you can call them ask them about what they’ve seen with previous teams that they’ve played against in the NFL, how did they scheme you guys up and just things like that. And it doesn’t always have to be football. It can also be how are you doing? How’s the family life? How’s everything like that? I would say all of our relationships have been good.”
(This yea,r how ready are you right now for Week 1?) – “I think we’re all ready as a team. I think we’re ready. It doesn’t hurt that we get these extra days to continue to work on our craft, but I would say we’re ready.”
(We get all the talk about WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle and their speed, but we see plenty of big plays from WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. and WR Erik Ezukanma with their size and physicality. How does that balance in the receivers room make your job easier?) – “It makes it a lot easier. Jaylen gets Tyreek open. Tyreek gets Jaylen open. Tyreek and Jaylen get everyone else open. And those – all three, all four, whoever’s out there; they get their running backs open. And so it opens up a lot of things for our run game and our run game opens up a lot of things for our play pass, so everything really complements kind of the scheme that we play football on offense.”
(As this preseason and training camp comes to a close, what’s felt different about this year than the previous two?) – “Everything. Everything. The offense is different. The confidence that the guys have coming out to practice is different. The confidence that the guys have coming into the building is different. The way we do things around the building is different. Just everything. I can’t necessarily point to one thing and I think that’s what’s going to help make us a better team is us spending more time with each other, not just in the building, but outside the building. And we’ll see where this thing goes for us.”
(Just to follow up, where is that confidence coming from for you and the team?) – “Yeah, I think for the team, it’s the guys that that are helping us get to where we want to go. And I would say it’s our position coaches. It’s obviously our head coach, who is probably one of the most optimistic people I’ve ever been around, and I would say just those guys and kind of the leadership that Mike (McDaniel) displays for everyone to see. I think that’s what gives the entirety of the team confidence.”
(We’re from Philadelphia and apologize if it was already asked, but with Jalen here, what did you learn about him when you guys were together about his character with everything that went down there at Alabama?) – “I think first thing’s first, for Jalen, when I went to Alabama, the dude’s a hard worker in the weight room, in the classroom and then on the field. The dude had to be the first into the weight room, he had to be the first out onto the field. Like sprints, he had to be first. So it really tells you how he goes about his life. It tells you about how he kind of sees things and how he looks at things. Obviously he’s a competitor. He never wants to be last, so that should tell you a lot about him.”
(How has your relationship with Jalen Hurts evolved? Do you guys spend time in the offseason together? How is that?) – “I would say we don’t spend time together in the offseason, but we text each other. Really just checking in. And then I remember last season, we’d been texting each other quite a large amount. Just you know, for me when I ended up playing the Saints, he played the Saints prior. I texted him about that. He gave me some tips. He texted me about playing another team. I gave him some tips. You know, just things like that. So I think that that was cool. I know our relationship with me and Jalen is not going to go anywhere. My relationship with me and Mac (Jones) is not going to go anywhere. Regardless of how many times we talk throughout the year throughout the week, or if we don’t.”
(Did you have a chance to talk to Jalen Hurts prior to practice today at all?) – “I didn’t talk to him prior. I talked to him during practice, so yeah. They were telling me it was hot. (laughter)”
(On Philadelphia’s physical defensive front and Haason Reddick) – “Yeah, I think their defense, they’re good. Obviously it’s a little different with climate change and I do understand that they just got done with a game in Cleveland. They just went back to Philly and they had to come here to Miami and practice already, which I know they don’t want anyone feeling bad for them but I think they did a great job coming out here and showing us some really good looks. They gave us opportunities to have to execute really well on offense.”
