Taulia Tagovailoa, Tua's younger brother, announces transfer to Maryland
Taulia Tagovailoa is headed to the Big Ten.
Tagovailoa, after spending his freshman college football season at Alabama with his older brother Tua, announced on Friday night that he is transferring to Maryland.
God bless! #GoTerps pic.twitter.com/BvOSv8CsG7
— Taulia Tagovailoa (@tauliaa12) May 15, 2020
Taulia officially put his name in the NCAA’s transfer portal last week. He was Alabama’s No. 3 quarterback to start the year last fall, though became Mac Jones’ backup after Tua suffered his season-ending hip injury against Mississippi State.
In total, Taulia went 9-of-12 for 100 yards and one touchdown in three games.
Taulia was a four-star Rivals.com recruit out of high school, which he finished in Alabama after his family moved to the Tuscaloosa area from Hawaii while Tua finished school. The former Heisman Trophy finalist was selected with the No. 5 overall pick by the Miami Dolphins last month.
Taulia became the first high school quarterback in the state to record four 400-yard passing games in his career, which he accomplished while leading his team to a state title in 2018.
Taulia was expected to have to compete with both Jones, who held his own in Tua’s absence, and five-star recruit Bryce Young for the starting job at Alabama this fall. Young was the top dual-threat quarterback in the country and the No. 2 player in the entire class, according to Rivals.
Instead, Taulia enters a Terrapins program with two quarterbacks having entered the transfer portal this offseason. He’ll also be with Maryland coach Mike Locksley, who was Tua’s offensive coordinator at Alabama for two seasons.
Taulia will have to sit out the 2020 season.
“Taulia has outstanding field vision and excellent pocket awareness,” Locksley said in a statement. “He’s a twitchy passer that has the ability to make and extend plays in and outside of the pocket because of his above-average athleticism. Taulia has terrific touch and trajectory on his throws and delivers the ball with above-average accuracy. He’s a highly competitive player that will bring great competition to a good quarterback room.”
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