Tua Tagovailoa – June 15, 2021
Download PDF version
Tuesday, June 15, 2021
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(Expectations – probably for you, you put so much on yourself. Where does your drive to chase perfection come from?) – “I’d say my drive to chase being great at what I do, it came from when I was very little. I’ve been playing football my entire life and all you try to do at the end of the day is try to win the game. When the outcome doesn’t go your way, that’s a feeling you don’t like feeling. For me, I don’t like feeling the losses. Obviously we want to win. That’s why I harp on putting all of that pressure on myself.”
(How would you describe what it was like practicing in these conditions? Was it as crazy, in terms of the weather, as anything you’ve ever experienced?) – “It was really good. We’re going to have to play in the rain. We’re going to have to play in conditions where the ball is going to be wet, where it’s going to be cold, where it’s going to be hot. You’ve got to expect the unexpected. It was really good for our guys to go out there and compete in the rain. I thought today, overall was an all right day. There’s things we’re going to have to fix here within the next couple of hours, to look over film and correct for tomorrow.”
(The Dolphins made it a priority this offseason to get you some help at wide receiver. What’s it like now that WR Will Fuller V is here, WR Jaylen Waddle is here and you guys were able to get out there and get the first one in the books?) – “It’s really good to be able to throw to all of these guys and get good timing with full-speed routes, looking at a defense and also communicating on what they see within the defense and how we’re communicating, how we’re going to run our routes, where we’re going, landmarks and so forth. It’s been really good to throw with all of these guys.”
(When you look at a practice day like this where it’s raining and a lot seems to not be going right for you as far as throws, what can you take out of that, going into the next day?) – “I think today, the emphasis for us quarterbacks – we wanted to be aggressive today within the pass game. We wanted to see if we could fit throws in, we wanted to see what throws we could make under these conditions. We were just trying to push the ball vertical down the field. There are some plays that didn’t go our way, but (those are) plays that we can take a look at in the film room and move forward with.”
(That’s kind of what my question is for you, was how much do you want to push the ball in these practice situations? What does it do to increase the likelihood of completing these passes on gameday when you can be more aggressive on the practice field?) – “Kind of like what I said the last question, that’s just been the emphasis for us coming out to this first day of minicamp, was just to be aggressive and push the ball down field. Obviously you want to be smart; but if there is a time to make mistakes, now is the time to make mistakes. We’re trying to see what we can fit in the hole, what we can throw within coverages, come into the film room and then learn from it.”
(I haven’t heard you talk about QB Ryan Fitzpatrick moving on to Washington. I was just curious – because you guys had a really interesting relationship – on the one hand he served as this great mentor for you and on the other hand, you were kind of going to take his job; and late in games and late in the season there were times where Head Coach Brian Flores would go to the bullpen for Fitzpatrick. I’m just curious how you process him moving on and what it means to your career moving forward?) – “I understand the game of the NFL and how the NFL works. For me, ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) has been a great mentor. ‘Fitz’ is a great person. Just the kind of characteristics that he has as a person is kind of slim to none. I’m actually very happy that he has an opportunity to go to Washington and compete. The impact that he’s had within my first year and the things I can take from him are going to be very big this upcoming year.”
(At OTAs, you talked about the decision to stay in South Florida this offseason. What has Nick meant to you – Nick Hicks – being able to train with him and have him in your close corner this offseason?) – “It’s been good to have Nick. Nick has been a good resource for me to be able to help train the things that I need to work on and whatnot. I have a lot of respect for him and the things he’s helped me accomplish. That’s really it. He’s helped me to get better with my strength and whatnot; but I think a lot of the things outside of that is going to be mental for me, the mental aspect of the game.”
(I know you haven’t looked at the film yet and today was a learning day – I get that – but was there a consistent thread to the interceptions? Was there something you were trying that just wasn’t working or was there nothing consistent you could put your fingers on as far as the cause?) – “That’s kind of how I answered it earlier. Those are the things that we were trying to work on. We were trying to be aggressive and push the ball downfield, and try to move guys to fit the ball in tight windows and spaces. Now that we put that on film, it gives all of us as a quarterback group (a chance) to go back into the film room, talk about what we’ve seen, what we were trying to do as far as leverage the defenders with our throws, then take the coaching from our coaches and also one another.”
(What’s next for you after minicamp wraps? What are your plans in terms of yourself personally, and also working out with the guys?) – “As far as next week, I’m not too sure yet. I’m focused on what we have to do within the next couple of hours to fix what we’ve got to fix with today’s practice, and then worry about tomorrow’s practice to finish out strong for this minicamp.”
