Tua Tagovailoa – December 30, 2020
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Wednesday, December 30, 2020
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(I was wondering about your freshman year at Saint Louis School and then your freshman season at Alabama, how do you think those moments prepared you where you weren’t the guy, so that you’re able to handle moments like Denver, like Las Vegas and even earlier in the season when you take a backseat, that you were mature enough mentally to be able to handle that?) – “I think there just needs to be understanding, like situational understanding, what we’re trying to get done as a team; and then just from that perspective, you’ve just got to get out of yourself and into the team and see it from that perspective instead of yourself. I would say my freshman year, I played junior varsity because in our league, you couldn’t play varsity right away. But it’s all about what you can gain from everything. For me, it’s a learning experience. And like I said, in all of the previous interviews that I’ve had, it’s not like a one-and-done thing. It’s continuous, especially in your rookie year.”
(I wanted to ask you about the pressure you may or may not be feeling this week given the stakes and given how last Saturday went. Is there any extra pressure that you feel on your shoulders to pull out this victory and show that the Dolphins made the right choice?) – “I’d say for me, there’s really no extra added pressure for me. I would say the expectation for myself is very high in how I perform and how I go out there and try to lead the guys to victory. Obviously this past weekend, I didn’t play to that standard. It’s more so me knowing that we’ve got to go out there and got to get the job done. If you can’t get the job done, then that’s on you. That’s on no one else.”
(Sixteen weeks into your rookie season, when do you most still feel like a rookie at this point?) – “I’m not too sure how to answer that question. I just think it’s a continuing learning process whether you’re a rookie or a second-year or third-year (player). There’s always things that you can learn but it’s how quickly you can digest those things, and then kind of go out there and execute them. That’s the biggest thing for me.”
(I have two questions and the first one is pretty easy. Have you ever played in snow before and what was that experience like? There could be some snow on Sunday. And two, going back to your college days, you’ve obviously had big-time performances on the biggest stage. Can you draw on that experience and what specifically from national championship games can prepare you for a weekend like this?) – “To your first question, I’ve never played in snow. To your second question, I think at the end of the day, it just comes down to our 11 guys against their 11 guys. It’s football. This time it’s a lot different because there’s no fans. But you do know that there’s a lot at stake. It goes back to what I said before, you’ve got to go out there and perform. This is crunch time. Now is not the time to be making mistakes and all of these things. You’ve got to really zero in on what you’ve got to do to help the team become successful and get a win.”
(I was thinking about when you just mentioned that, have you ever seen snow? You’ve lived in Hawaii, Alabama and Miami – have you seen snow? That’s not my question but I was curious about that. My actual question is I’d say how the quarterback situation has worked out this season has been unorthodox maybe is the right word. What is it about how Head Coach Brian Flores has handled it that makes you and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick both comfortable with whatever happens?) – “Yeah, I’ve seen snow. I’ve gotten to play with snow a little bit. That was in Alabama my freshman year. It was snowing there. It snows like every four years there, so I was lucky. (laughter) With our whole quarterback situation, I think ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) does a good job in communicating with me, ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick), as well as our coordinator and our quarterbacks coach, and kind of seeing ‘hey, are you in a groove?’ Or ‘what can we do better?’ And if not – it’s always communicated. There’s really good communication between all of us. I trust that he has the interests of not just for us, but in the whole team. He has the best interests for the whole team.”
(I’m still learning about RPOs. You’ve played in it for quite a while right now. Because you have to get the ball out of your hands so quickly to prevent offensive linemen from being illegal downfield players, how do you produce big plays in the RPO? How does that happen, if it has to be such a quick progression?) – “You get the ball in the hands of our playmakers and you let them make plays. I would say that’s how you do it. That’s one way. Then other ways are just pushing the ball downfield, and I would say that’s what I need to do a better job with. Especially this past game and games prior.”
(I’m really looking forward to the College Football Playoff. I’m wondering could you give me a little thumbnail on WR Devonta Smith and how do you think Alabama will do?) – “Devonta Smith is a really good player. I got to play with him from my freshman year until last year so I was with him for three years. He’s very smart, very instinctive. He’s very athletic and he’s fast too, and he goes up and he gets the ball. I’m no magician and I’m not Houdini. I don’t have a crystal ball to say who is going to win this game and whatnot, but you just wish the best to our guys at Alabama. Notre Dame is going to be tough, too. You can never be too sure when it comes to football.”
