Tagovailoa discusses new receivers, throwing in snow, how his parents help and McDaniel
Two things that became obvious during Tua Tagovailoa’s news conference this week:
He loves his new offensive weapons. And he appreciates that new coach Mike McDaniel isn’t trying to change his leadership style.
Having six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Tyreek Hill on the team is “fun,” Tagovailoa said, three days after the team began on-field offseason workouts.
“You catch glimpses of his speed and you obviously have played against him and seen him play in other games, seen his highlights. He’s explosive. He can turn a negative 2-yard swing route into a 20-yard touchdown or a 20-yard gain. It’s pretty cool. It’s exciting.”
And Tagovailoa said of new wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr.: “I thought [the 6-2 Wilson] was a lot smaller for some reason. Maybe the No. 1 made him look extremely slim when he was with the Cowboys. I thought he was a very small, shifty guy but he’s actually really big.
“He’s tall, he’s lanky and he can move, which surprises me. Normally tall guys can’t move as quick and aren’t as shifty. It’s cool to see him out there running routes. He’s done a good job thus far within our voluntary veteran minicamp. So I’m excited.”
Tagovailoa said “the most important thing is timing with these guys. These guys are going to get there. You just lay it up to a spot for them and have them go get it. That’s what we’ve been working on throughout this voluntary veteran minicamp and I think we’ve done a good job.”
After struggling in cold-weather games in Tennessee and Buffalo during the past two seasons, Tagovailoa said after the season that he would go to a cold climate to work on throwing under those types of conditions.
“I went to Maryland to see my brother, got to throw there for some time and it was actually snowing in Maryland when I went up there,” he said.
“In the snow, I don’t know for some reason, [but] it was a lot easier. It might have been a lot better to throw in the snow whereas if it’s just cold and windy, the ball just freezes up for some reason.”
Tagovailoa and McDaniel sat down and studied about 150 of his throws last season.
“Throws that need to be better, throws that were good, all sorts of throws,” Tagovailoa said. “The reason as to why he showed me that is it transitions to the way he kind of schemes up the offense. Really, the biggest thing for us is [yards after catch].”
He said the point of emphasis in his development this offeason “has really been my footwork.”
As he learns a new offense, he leans on his family for help.
“For me, I like to draw it up when I can say it,” he said of different schemes and plays. “So I’ll say it, I’ll draw it up, where everyone goes, and then I’ll have my brother or my dad, someone test me and quiz me on it. Then from there, I’ll go outside in the back yard and then I’ll move my dad or my brother or whoever is out there, my mom sometimes.
“I’ll move them, telling them ‘Hey, you’re at the Z now.’ Or ‘you’re the X,’ or ‘you’re the Y.’ Just so I can picture it better. So when we do come out there, it’s a lot easier when guys do ask, ‘Hey, where do I go? And what do I run?’”
His parents are good sports about doing that.
“They really enjoy it,” Tagovailoa said. “My brother, it’s one of those things where it’s like ‘Hey, how many more do we have?’ But my parents, they do everything that they can to help me succeed so they don’t mind at all.”
On another front, Tagovailoa made clear he appreciates that McDaniel isn’t trying to change his leadership approach.
“I think the cool thing about being on this team under Mike is that Mike doesn’t force you to be what you’re not or what you don’t want to be,” he said.
“If this is how you lead, that’s all he wants you to do is lead the way you lead. He doesn’t want anyone to pull that guy to the side and tell him how bad his route was and come back to the huddle. It’s more like ‘Hey, go talk to the guy. Tell him what your thoughts are. He’ll tell you what his thoughts are. Meet in the middle.’
“For me, I’m not a guy to go screaming at the defense if they bust a coverage and we’re trying to get some work. After all of that, when our set is done, I’ll go over and talk to them and say: ‘Hey, we really need you guys to help us on this because if you guys don’t give us the looks, then we’re not going to be able to execute that right in the game.’ For me, my leadership role on this team hasn’t changed. Just be myself. What more can you ask?”
Besides cultivating a bond with McDaniel, Tagovailoa also has forged a good relationship with new quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell.
“Coach Bevell coached Brett Favre, coached Aaron Rodgers, coached Russell Wilson,” Tagovailoa said. “Those aren’t some small-time names. Those are big-time guys. It’s a privilege to have him in our quarterback room, to have Teddy [Bridgewater] in our quarterback room and also Dan [Marino] sitting in our quarterback room, as well. There is a lot of knowledge there. So being able to pick all of their brains and hearing what they have to say, I think it’s good.”
Bridgewater has not publicly acknowledged the obvious — that he’s the backup quarterback — but Tagovailoa said: “You can learn a lot from Teddy. Teddy’s been in the league for quite some time. He doesn’t talk much, but when you do decide to talk to Teddy, he’ll open up a little and he’ll share whatever you ask him.”
