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Tua goes in-depth on future at Alabama

There has been a lot of talk about Tua Tagovailoa, Rivals100 quarterback from St. Louis High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, in the last few weeks. It started when he broke the career passing yards record in the state of Hawaii after passing for 243 yards which includes 52-yard touchdown pass in the state championship. He added a 30-yard touchdown run in 30-14 win.

Tagovailoa completed his high school career with 8,158 passing yards with 84 touchdowns. He added 1,727 rushing yards and 27 additional scores. His passing record broke a 17-year-old record held by former Hawaii quarterback. Timmy Chang.

Tagovailoa received an offer from LSU shortly after his performance in the state championship game prompting many to speculate Lane Kiffin's possible destination. Tagovailoa said thanks, but no thanks to the Tigers since he is locked in with the University of Alabama despite a likely change at offensive coordinator.

"When I went on my official visit they (Alabama coaches) didn't talk about any of that," Tagovailoa said when asked of the possible change with Coach Kiffin. "Out of all the coaches I got to see while I was there he was the only one I didn't see.

"I think he might be leaving. Everyone else was there, but him. I wish him well wherever he goes. Alabama is where I am going."

Tua brought his mother, brother and quarterback trainer on the visit. The Alabama coaching staff and team were in Atlanta playing for the SEC Championship.

"We watched the game on the big screen in the team room," he said. "We got to eat some food. We then had dinner after the game. We then went and saw the players when they arrived back at the airport.

"I got to hang out with JK Scott for a little bit on Saturday night. It was really good. On Sunday, we went to church with Coach Saban. We then went to Coach Saban's house. We had breakfast there.

"We went back over to the school. The team had a big meeting. From there, we ate dinner. They had a banquet that night. It was off-campus, so I did not attend.

"We had some really good food while we were there. We got to eat at Chuck's. We ate some pizza. We ate at Nothing But Noodles. Those were really the only places we went to."

The sales pitches are over for the Crimson Tide coaching staff. They know where they stand with the winner of the Elite 11.

"It was good to spend time with the coaches again," Tua said. "Every chance they got they spent as much time with me as they could. I spent the most time with Coach Tosh (Lupoi) and Coach Saban. It was all good. The conversations were like it always is.

"They appreciated me coming out and making the trip. They really liked the fact we took time to come there instead of spending it with family. I will be back soon to start college. They didn't do any recruiting pitches. They talked more so of when I come in to know the job is not secure. You always have to compete and the best will play.

"I am really excited about getting there. Coach Tosh told me to be ready. If they make it to the championship game I will be out there running the scout team going up agains the No.1 defense. So I will be ready and excited to help them."

The success of freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts this fall could have played a role in Tua looking elsewhere. Other schools hoped it would happen, but he never wavered on his decision.

"It really hasn't been that bad for me," he said. "You are going to get people's opinions. You are going to hear coaches say you are going to sit behind them for a few years. They are going to tell you that you will start automatically if you come to their school. It really doesn't matter to me. You have to compete either way.

"I am going to a place where you have a great defense, great offensive line, running backs and wide receivers. I am going to a place where you will have a great running game that can off-set the passing game. If Jalen is the guy right now you want to go up against the best. That's what I want to do."

Tagovailoa has been very pleased with the Tide's performance on the field this fall. Alabama enters the college football playoff with a 13-0 record and No.1 overall seed.

"Everything speaks for itself," Tua said. "I don't need to explain how well they are playing. They sometimes get off to slow starts, but they tend to pick it up in the second quarter and second half. They have the best defense in the country. They are not arguably the best team in the country. They are the best team.

"I don't know if a Pac-12 team like Washington can stop their offense or maybe even score. They have a pretty good offense. They have a good quarterback in (Jake) Browning and good receivers. It should be a good game.

A good game come December 31 between the Tide and Huskues?

"If Washington’s offense can move the ball it might be a good game,"!Tua said. "Teams that have been passing on Alabama could rarely even get to 20 points on Alabama. We will have to see what happens. I've heard Washington may even try to practice with the Seattle Seahawks to get ready for them."

Alabama has the No.1 ranked class in the country which includes plenty of offensive playmakers and elite offensive linemen. Tua is excited about the future in Tuscaloosa.

"We have a very good class," he said. "We have some good offensive linemen, receivers and running backs. You have top guys every where. I don't know what else to say. We have so many guys willing to do the right things in this class. We all have the same mind-set. We want to win and put in the work at the same time."

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