Tua Tagovailoa – December 7, 2023
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Thursday, December 7, 2023
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(Your experience on Monday Night Football and showing everybody your guitar skills. Can you tell us a little bit about that night?) – “Yeah, that was an audio recording. I don’t know how to play the guitar, so don’t ask me how to play the guitar. (laughter) I’m kidding. It was cool. I have a lot of instruments at my house. To me, that’s a getaway for me is to play music. I do my best to teach myself how to play things. I taught myself how to play the guitar, how to play the bass, was teaching myself how to play the drums and some piano. My mom can play the piano by notes. I don’t know it by those. To me, it’s through hearing, and then through progressions of chords. I grew up in choir, so I grew up around music in church.”
(Did you start out playing Guitar Hero?) – “Yeah. I did start out playing Guitar Hero. I knew how to play the ukulele before I knew how to play any other instruments. From there, I had a couple of buddies that played the guitar and I thought it was really cool they knew how to play it, and the way they played it. It sounded really good so I wanted to get really good at that. You go on YouTube, you learn C, F, G, and then you build it off from there. Then your picking skills come alive as well, and then you use your imagination from there.”
(I know earlier in the offseason, we talked to you so much about what you did during the offseason to stay healthy and protect yourself. I know quarterbacks have various stuff they do during the week in terms of recovering. I was curious if there’s anything in particular that you do or have picked up to make sure your body is fresh on gamedays?) – “Yeah, I have a process and a routine that I do with our head of strength and conditioning, Dave (Puloka). We have a routine after games and throughout the week with what we do as far as conditioning, sprint yardages so that in the game, the first time I’m sprinting is not in the game. It’s not that long period before the first time you’re sprinting in a game. Then we have two lifts throughout that period outside of the recovery day.”
(The sprinting help you stay prepared for when you get into a game even though you’re not known for running a lot?) – “Yeah. It helps a lot, and the conditioning as well. There is only so many times we can run full speed reps of keepers or extending the plays in practice with our guys running full speed. I have to find other ways to keep myself in check with that.”
(How often do you cold tub and/or recovery chamber?) – “I use the cold tub every day. Every morning I jump into the cold tub.”
(Do you still take jiu-jitsu classes?) – “I don’t take any jiu-jitsu classes. From what I’ve learned, I’ve just been practicing what has been given throughout the process where I’ve been learning to fall, and really just going over that on Thursdays.”
(Do you think you’d continue the training in the offseason? Is that something you want to continue to do?) – ‘If I want to become dangerous then sure. (laughter) But no, I’m just learning how to fall.”
(With the Titans’ record 4-8, is there anything that surprises you this week preparing for a prime time game?) – “Not necessarily. I think one of the things we’re going to have to see is who is going to fill in for 98 (Jeffery Simmons). I think personally that is a big loss for their d-line and the things they do in the back end and with their ‘backers. But outside of that, they are who they are. They play what they play. We’re going to have to be ready with some answers with the pressures they have.”
(You had those two long touchdown connections with WR Tyreek Hill. You also had to like that you had a zero in the interception and turnover section. What were your thoughts after that? That was something you were trying to get over in recent weeks.) – “Anyone can do it once. I got to continue that throughout this back stretch of the year. Zero turnovers is good one time, but anyone can do that once.”
(In a game where you have those two long touchdown connections with WR Tyreek Hill, you also had to like the zero in the interception and turnover section. What were your thoughts after that?) – “Anyone can do it once. I got to continue that throughout this back stretch of the year. Zero turnovers is good one time, but anyone can do it once.”
(Speaking of that, we saw on Hard Knocks this week that Head Coach Mike McDaniel encourages you to use extreme frustration and focus it. Have you been able to do that? To use that? Because you have obviously talked a lot in the past about getting frustrated when you do turn the ball over. Are you able to do that?) – “Yeah, I’m able to move on from it a lot quicker than I have in past years. I think that’s just the level of growth for myself as a football player, as a person. Not everything is going to go your way, but how you react to it, you have control over that. I’ve said it many times, you never win the game in the first, second or third quarter. So if you throw interceptions, you always have however much time left to redeem yourself and to go help your team put points on the board and win the game.”
(Obviously you guys get up for every game being professional athletes. But the fact that on Monday Night Football you’ll be one of the only game on. Do you get more amped up knowing more eyes will be on you guys?) – “To me, personally, I don’t think our team cares if we’re Monday night, if we’re a one o’clock Sunday game. Our team is just excited to go and play. Once you get a taste of what it feels like to put a good work week together and you see the results, for our guys, what I’ve seen is it’s addicting to them. You see guys staying in longer. You see guys doing a little more. I don’t think any of us necessarily matter if it’s a prime time game or not, we just want to go out there and play.”
(How do you feel about OL Austin Jackson as your long-term blindside protector?) – “Oh, that was awesome. Can we all give him a round of applause please? Seriously, can we give him a round of applause? I mean I’m not saying you guys, but it could be you guys. (laughter) The media, everyone wants to say whatever they want to say about Austin Jackson, but it’s almost a heroic story or something for how he’s turned his career around within last year up to this year, and all the things that have been said about him. I’m very proud of him. I know he’s very happy. But out there at practice, you wouldn’t see it because of the person that he is. I’m sure his family is very happy for him, but this dude just loves ball. He wants to do anything and everything he can do to help the team. We’re all happy for him. That was awesome.”
(Can you tell us about OL Austin Jackson’s personality through all this for these last couple years and just his work ethic?) – “Kind of like what he said about me. He’s been a more vocal person. You can hear more bass in his voice. He’s been more vocal to me. I just smile because of where he’s come from early when we got here together. There’s a lot of things that have been said about him in front of team meetings, in the media and things like that. So, I’m just happy. I don’t want to get choked up about it. What he’s done is tremendous. What he’s done is tremendous. I’m very proud of him. Very happy.”
(I’m just wondering in the moment, when you identify WR Tyreek Hill has single-man coverage on him and the safety is not going to be able to get there, what is going through your head? What are you thinking in that moment?) – “I mean, I hope I don’t miss the layup, really. I’m always thinking Tyreek is going to win his one-on-one matchup. I’m always thinking Jaylen (Waddle) is going to win his one-on-one matchup. It’s really based off if it’s a one-high look and they’re playing man, it’s really off where the safety goes. If it’s not a matchup deal, then we’ll just read it throughout the progression of the play. Outside of that, it’s just don’t miss the layup.”
(Just to clarify, you said in past years things were said about OL Austin Jackson in meetings, right? Not this year?) – “Yeah, not this year. Past years. It’s awesome. Truly remarkable to sit in those meetings and have things told about you that you know aren’t true but get planted in your head. And you have the media on you as well. Then you have someone like Mike (McDaniel) and his coaching staff come in and basically just build you back up. And it’s not just Austin, it’s really everyone that’s been here for some time and kind of give you that renewed confidence in yourself to go out there and be yourself and play the way you’ve played. That’s why the organization chose you. You see the fruits of his labor. I’m very happy for him. I think we’ll probably have a couple other guys as well, hopefully, within the near future. I’m excited about them.”
