Tua Tagovailoa – October 28, 2020
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Wednesday, October 28, 2020
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(How did you spend the bye week? I know it was time to prepare for the Rams. How exactly did you use that time?) – “Yeah, I was up here a lot. I spent a lot of my time up here at the facility just watching some film but also working out. I would say I got with some of the guys as well, just so we could work on some timing with certain things, certain routes. Really, the only off day I had was Sunday.”
(It’s only human nature to have at least a little … about the hip. So I’m wondering, what do you anticipate that first hit is going to feel like, especially because it’s been a long time coming?) – “Yeah, it’s been a long time coming but that’s just the nature of the game. I don’t know what the hit is going to feel like. Every hit is different that you take in football. I’m really not too sure. I don’t think you can ever prepare for hits. It’s just something you have to go out knowing it’s going to happen – whether it’s the first play of the game, the first quarter or maybe third, second or fourth. You just never know.”
(I noticed that you were on social and posted a video where you had a sweatshirt that said Humble Over Hype. It stood out to me because obviously you’ve had a lot of hype coming into the league. How have you sort of managed everybody talking about you and sort of keeping yourself even-keeled?) – “I think what helps for me is my family. My family is not too big on the hype and whatnot. It’s more so just being a good son for them. A lot of the times, when I do come home and I talk to my parents on the phone, they don’t really necessary want to know about how football went. They just want to know how everything is with me as a person, just how my day was and things like that. I think what also helps me too is the coaches here and my teammates. You get joked on and whatnot and just the competition that you have with the guys at the facility. I don’t think anyone here at this organization can kind of get too caught up in any of the hype. Everyone is just so focused on what they’ve got to do to help the team be successful.”
(Your relationship with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick you characterized as a father-son relationship. How has it been this week as far as ‘Fitz’ supporting you and do you feel he’ll support you on the sidelines on Sunday?) – “It’s the same thing as when ‘Fitz’ was playing. Nothing really feels any different. Now that I’m in, the only thing that’s different is that I’m getting the reps now. With ‘Fitz,’ after a series – when we have our first team series, second team series, third team series – I come off to the sideline and ‘Fitz’ always has something that he wants to say to me, whether it has to do with protection, with what he would look at as far as progression reads and how he would read certain things out. That can make it easier for me, hopefully, come time on Sunday.”
(What’s your thoughts on facing a guy like DT Aaron Donald, a DB like CB Jalen Ramsey and players on that defense on Sunday?) – “I think it’s really exciting for our offense and our team. It will show what kind of team we kind of have after a bye week and whatnot; but we know what we’re going up against. We’re going up against one of the top NFL defenses in the league and it’s not just Jalen Ramsey, it’s not just Aaron Donald. You guys have Leonard Floyd, you’ve got (Michael) Brockers, (Kenny) Young and then Troy Hill and guys on the back end. They’re very sound defensively. We’re really trying our best to prepare as well as we can against these guys. Their DC (defensive coordinator) and their OC (offensive coordinator) and their head coach, they all know what they’re doing, so we know this isn’t going to be any easier from here on out.”
(Back in Indianapolis, I had a chance to talk to your former teammate S Xavier McKinney about some of the interactions you guys had post-practice in what you saw and what he saw. Come to find out we heard from S Bobby McCain, he said the same thing about you and him this past training camp. I’m curious what those conversations were like and what you’re able to glean from Bobby as far as his defensive perspective on your game?) – “I think the best thing for me to do is get into the mind of those DBs, of those safeties. Like what are they thinking in a 3×1 set? Just things like that. What are some little things that can help me better my game and improve my game, whether it’s my eyes or whether it’s staring down a guy and then throwing it somewhere else. It’s just trying to get a little edge on what to look out for when it’s time for a game situation.”
(At the quarterback position, obviously leadership is arguably the most important element. What is your – now that you’re the starter – what is your leadership plan?) – “I think my leadership plan is just to be the same Tua I’ve always been. I don’t got to go out yelling at guys. That’s just not the way I lead. I’m just going to be me – how I am on the sideline, how I am off the field, that’s pretty much how I’m going to be on the field. There might be certain instances where we might get into it a little bit with the receivers or the linemen, but everyone is just so competitive here that that’s just the nature of how the game goes sometimes.”
(Knowing Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey and just all the experience he has both in college and the NFL, how much do you think your relationship will help in your development just knowing all the reps that he has in the league?) – “You look at the resume of (Offensive Coordinator) Chan (Gailey) – he’s been in the NFL, he’s been in college, he’s been a head coach, he’s been an OC (offensive coordinator). You know this is someone who knows what he’s talking about, and he knows what he’s talking about when he talks about the defense and he knows what he’s talking about offensively. So for me, it’s just a great opportunity to be able to learn under someone like Chan, and I think the really good thing about Chan is he puts all of us as an offense, that he feels like, into the best situation possible. So whether it’s play calls or just trying to maneuver guys into areas to put the offense in a good position, I think he does a great job at it.”
(I’d like to ask you about being a left-handed quarterback. It’s unbelievably rare in this league now. I’m wondering if you have some thoughts on why it’s so rare and in doing research, I found that there have been some notable left-handed quarterbacks who coaches were so reluctant to coach them, that they may have asked them to change positions or what have you. And I know you’re a right-hander. I don’t know if anyone ever asked you, ‘hey, why don’t you start throwing right-handed?’ But can you just describe your progression as you came up as a lefty?) – “Yeah, I do everything right (handed). I eat with my right, swing the bat with my right, golf with my right, do all that. But anything that has to do with shooting, throwing; it’s left. And I think lefties are so rare in football because all of them are in baseball. (laughter) So I think that’s why it’s so rare. It’s also probably a lot difficult as probably an OC (offensive coordinator) and probably a little difficult for the receivers as well because the ball spins a different way; but luckily I’m surrounded by professionals that can adjust pretty quick to the ball.”
