Hip to be rare: Miami Dolphins draft star Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa
Tua Tagovailoa. Miami Dolphin.
A pick 15 months in the waiting finally came to fruition Thursday night.
The Dolphins have their franchise quarterback.
And his name is Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Buy those jerseys, Dolphins fans.
The new face of Miami sports is a 6-foot Hawaiian football prodigy.
The Dolphins selected Tagovailoa, arguably the most talented passer in the draft, with the fifth overall pick despite major concerns about his health. Tagovailoa underwent three surgeries in his last two seasons at Alabama, the most serious of which being to repair a dislocated and fractured hip.
But Tagovailoa seems to have made a full recovery, and any remaining fears were allayed after Tagovailoa’s recent medical recheck. The Dolphins were able to choose the hip specialist who performed the exam, ESPN reported.
Tagovailoa, speaking to reporters during a video news conference, said he’s confident he can play in 2020 because of “what the doctors have told me. As far as medical rechecks, I’ve checked off all the boxes. That’s what I’ve been standing on and what I’ve been going with.”
He added: “Man, it was a dream come true, to be able to have this opportunity. This is special for not just me but my family as well.”
Tagovailoa was the player the fans of Miami wanted. And Chris Grier, Brian Flores and Stephen Ross complied. But it wasn’t an easy decision. The coronavirus limited their post-Combine interaction to video conferences, which Tagovailoa said the team requested three times in the last month.
What are the Dolphins getting in Tagovailoa? A national championship game MVP. An All-American. A Maxwell and Campbell award winner.
And perhaps the best passer to ever come out of Alabama — the school that produced Joe Namath.
Tagovailoa in three seasons at Alabama completed 69.3 percent of his passes for 7,442 yards, 87 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions. His career passer rating? An absurd 199.4.
Now, he becomes the highest-drafted Dolphins quarterback since Bob Griese, all the way back in 1967.
He will someday be the Dolphins starter — and is going to prepare as if that someday is Week 1. He wants to compete with incumbent Ryan Fitzpatrick for the starting job.
“That has to be the mindset,” Tagovailoa said. “Competition is usually always healthy. You get the entire quarterback room better that way.”
So how did the Dolphins — who were rumored to prefer Justin Herbert or even take a tackle with their first of three first-rounders — land Tagovailoa?
The first round unfolded perfectly for them.
The top two picks have been known for months, and went according to plan: The Bengals rebuffed Dolphins trade offers and took Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow at 1. Next, the Redskins took Ohio State defensive end Chase Young at 2.
But at 3, the draft truly began. The Lions had been openly shopping the third pick for the better part of a month, but ultimately found no takers. So they stayed put and selected star Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah.
The Giants likewise didn’t trade out of their spot, and as expected took an offensive tackle. Their choice? Andrew Thomas.
That left Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert. The Dolphins went with the star. Herbert went a pick later to the Los Angeles Chargers.
This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 8:58 PM.
