Tua Tagovailoa – August 4, 2021
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Wednesday, August 4, 2021
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(How much of the accuracy we’ve seen on the deep ball and other throws has been physical changes? Are you that much farther removed from the hip surgery? Is there something physical that you feel is helping?) – “I guess to that – I’ve been playing football since I was little. I’ve been playing the quarterback position for as long as I can remember. Really, it’s just coming out and working on your timing with the guys, seeing the speed of players. Not everyone is really fast. And I guess just everyone coming out to practice and being able to work on it. That’s what helped.”
(Where do you fee like you are right now in terms of the comfort level of this offense and understanding of it?) – “I would say I’m very comfortable. I think the biggest thing with my position is you can never get overly confident with the position that we’re in. You’ve got to stay even-keel with the ups and the downs. For me it’s just continuing to learn the offense, continuing to learn my guys up front, the receivers; and really just working towards what we want as a team.”
(How much do you feel your work with guys like WR Albert Wilson, WR Jakeem Grant and WR DeVante Parker, all outside of practice, has helped you from a chemistry standpoint?) – “I think being able to get with the guys throughout the offseason has helped tremendously with the timing. But I think until you’re able to put the pads on, come out and really work against an opposing team or guys on the opposite side of you, that’s when I think those things come up and show.”
(Has the previous chemistry you’ve established WR Jaylen Waddle helped in this camp? Are there things you just know he’s going to do in anticipating throws from the time at Alabama?) – “It’s not necessarily me knowing all the time where he’s going to be, but us really talking through it in the film room and then kind of getting an understanding when we’re coming out here of what we’ve seen previously from the defense and what they’ve shown. We work off of that.”
(Yesterday, LB Jerome Baker talked about how you come into the linebacker’s room and ask them questions and you’re super curious in asking different position groups questions. What can you gain from talking to the defensive guys at this point?) – “For me, it’s being able to see their alignment and their positioning. Why do they align this way? For me, it gives me an edge to know where to go with the ball a lot quicker and it speeds up my process. I think it’s always good to nitpick the other side. We have a veteran like ‘JMac’ (Jason McCouty), so being able to ask ‘JMac’ some questions. And also seeing how they disguise things.”
(Beyond just comfort level, what would you point to as the area that you feel there has been the most improvement for you?) – “I think every day I’m trying to get better. I’m not looking at the things that I do right; but most of the things I don’t do right. It’ll keep coming back to me just continuing to get better and continue to work day by day.”
(We’ve seen the deep ball out here a lot. I know you talked about it a little bit; but does it feel like a different ball that you’re throwing than last year? Or are we just seeing it more? How can you gauge where you are with that?) – “I mean, if the guy is open, I’m going to throw it to him. That’s what I can say to that. I would say it’s very much no different than my time I had at Alabama throwing deep balls.”
(What’s it like for you to have a veteran receiver like WR Albert Wilson back in the lineup after he opted out last season?) – “It’s good, being able to see what Albert is able to do. The coaching points he gives to the receivers when we have our group meetings, I think it’s really good to have someone like him, his work ethic, his mindset, to help not just the receivers; but to also help us in the quarterback room.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores said today about throwing guys open … that some guys might be hesitant; but to throw a guy open, what is the difference between throwing a guy open and knowing where it’s supposed to go?) – “I personally think those two kind of fall hand in hand. You know where the guy is supposed to be, he has a guy right on him; but you throw it to the spot and he has an inch of separation from the guy and he makes that catch. I think that’s what it means.”
(The confidence in the group that you have, to be able to do that. You’re obviously getting more chemistry together.) – “I think all of us in the quarterback room have a lot of confidence with the guys we have right now.”
(This is a rough deal; but with the Olympics going on, there has been a lot of attention on the pressure that athletes have on them, especially when they are on a major stage. You’ve been in that position at Alabama and now here as a first-round pick. Is that something you can identify with and how do you deal with that pressure?) – “Luckily for me, I’m not on social media too much. I don’t see as much of what the talk is going around. For me, it always comes down to my family, being able to spend time with my family, spend time with my dogs – Dallas, Star, Gotti, if you guys see this, daddy loves you guys. (laughter)”
(What has it been like to have WR DeVante Parker out here today? Even though you haven’t had the chance to work with WR Will Fuller, have you been able to build a chemistry with him off the practice field?) – “Yeah, I’ve been able to find a chemistry with the guys. I think it’ll just continually have to be reps with a lot of the guys. But in the film room, we’re all sitting down, we’re all seeing the same thing and we’re all talking about the same thing. That’s what a veteran sounds like. (laughter)”
(How much did you and WR Will Fuller work together on the field? In June obviously with the mandatory minicamp but were there any other days that you’ve thrown to him beside the mandatory minicamp?) – “Yeah, there has been a couple of days in the offseason and throughout the month of July where I’ve been able to get with Will a couple of times and throw with him.”
(The times you were holding onto the ball for a couple of reads, was there something you need to see better or do you just chop it up to the coverage? – ‘Well, I’m not as tall, so I’ve got to get back and try to maneuver my way to see where the guys are going to be. But for me, it’s really spots on the field.”
