MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tua Tagovailoa’s career at Alabama was basically nonstop success except for two terrible moments that were painful in starkly different ways:
The Crimson Tide’s 44-16 loss to Trevor Lawrence and the Clemson Tigers in the 2019 national championship, and the traumatic hip injury he suffered on his final collegiate play 10 months later.
On Wednesday, Tagovailoa discussed both ahead of the Miami Dolphins‘ season opener against Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa Talks Trevor Lawrence, Hip
The biggest news made by Tua? That his gruesome 2019 hip injury — a dislocation and a fracture — is still impacting his game a half-decade later.
Tagovailoa intentionally dropped a bunch of weight this offseason. Asked how that transformation has improved his mobility, he replied:
“I would say it’s not anywhere near where I was in Alabama,” Tagovailoa said. “And I say that with humbleness because I wasn’t as fast still in Alabama, but I was able to move a lot quicker when I was there.
“But I think after the hip injury, it kind of did take a toll still on my mobility. But I think I’m a lot better than I was last year and the year prior. So I feel a lot better.”
If Tagovailoa still doesn’t have all of his quickness back all this time later, it’s hard to imagine he ever will. But what he can do is plenty good enough for the Dolphins, who made him the fourth-highest-paid player in NFL history this offseason (four years, $212.4 million).
No. 1 on that list? Lawrence, who also got paid (five years, $275 million).
Tagovailoa and Lawrence have a lot in common beyond their tax bracket. They were both the No. 1 quarterbacks in their respective recruiting classes, and they both led their respective schools to victory in the national championship game as freshmen.
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But Tagovailoa is 0-2 against Lawrence (including their only NFL meeting in 2021) — something he surely wants to change Sunday.
“[He came] in the national championship game leading his team, and we had a really good Alabama team too, and, you know, he did what he had to do, and they killed us. They killed us,” Tagoaviloa said.
Tua added: “When I’m trying to connect both of our journeys, I would say definitely two different journeys, that’s for sure.
“But also, there’s some similarities in a way, but I think the way he’s handled everything that he’s gone through there in Jacksonville has been really commendable, and it’s been really good for him. And, as you can see, it’s worked out really good. So I’m very happy for him.”