Tua Tagovailoa announces he will leave Alabama and declare for NFL Draft

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Tua Tagovailoa era has come to an end at Alabama. After weeks of speculation, the Crimson Tide quarterback announced his intentions to declare for the NFL Draft during a news conference inside Alabama’s Naylor Stone Media Room on Monday.

"I've had a difficult time making this decision about my future," Tagovailoa said. "First and foremost I want to thank my lord and savior Jesus Christ for this opportunity to stand before you all with my decision. My love for the University of Alabama, our coaches, our fans and my teammates has made this especially hard for me.

"I have had the advice and counsel of my parents, my family and coaches in going through a thorough analysis of the alternatives. And without further ado, with lots of prayers, thoughts, guidance, I have decided that I will be declaring and entering the 2020 NFL Draft."

Once projected as the No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL draft, Tagovailoa saw his draft status put in doubt after dislocating his hip during the game against Mississippi State in November. Last month, the junior described the choice of leaving for the NFL Draft or returning for his senior year as “the biggest decision of my life.” Tagovailoa met with doctors in New York on Friday before making his announcement.

"I don't think any of the doctors can tell the foreseeable future. None of the guys rehabbing me can tell that," Tagovailoa said. "From what they've seen in New York, everything looks good. But you can't really tell until the three-month mark or the four-month mark."

Tagovailoa said he plans to stay in Tuscaloosa to continue his rehab and will determine what he is able to do physically through the advice of trainers and doctors over the coming weeks and months.

Before last week’s Citrus Bowl, Alabama head coach Nick Saban revealed that Tagovailoa was the only Alabama junior to receive a top-15 grade by NFL evaluators. The left-hander has been consistently projected inside the top-10 of several mock drafts even after his injury.

When asked how many NFL general managers he has spoken with, Tagovailoa joked by responding "probably too... many."

While he said he wasn't positive that he would be a high first-round pick, the quarterback said he is optimistic he will be able to play by the beginning of next season.

"A lot of the guys, the general managers, the owners that I've got to talk to said the same thing," Tagovailoa said. "They kind of look as this injury as like a knee injury almost although it's not. You know, in the way of 'are we going to take a chance on this guy, or will he be able to possibly do a pro day before the draft and whatnot.' Really the biggest thing they want to do is see just see that we can move and come back to how we were playing."

Despite playing in just nine games this past season, Tagovailoa recorded 2,840 yards and 33 touchdowns with three interceptions while completing 71.4 percent of his passes. He holds Alabama’s career records in total touchdowns (96), passing touchdowns (87) and completion percentage (69.3) as well as single-season records in total touchdowns (48), passing touchdowns (43) and passing yards (3,966). He also set Alabama’s single-game record for total touchdowns (7) and passing touchdowns (6) against Ole Miss this season.

“Tua has probably had as much of an impact on our program here as any player that we’ve ever had, and I’m not just talking about as a football player,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “He’s got great character, he’s a great leader, he’s done a wonderful job in the classroom. There’s a spirit about him that has impacted myself and everybody around him in a very, very positive way.

“He’s had great accomplishments on the field, but you probably don’t really fully understand the significance of the contributions that he’s made off the field with his teammates and the people who are around him every day — an unbelievable, positive spirit."

With Tagovailoa now out of the fold, Alabama will need to find a new leader for an offense that ranked in the top three nationally in scoring the past two seasons. Redshirt sophomore Mac Jones started four games in Tagovailoa’s absence this past season, completing 68.8 percent of his passes for 1,503 yards and 14 touchdowns with three interceptions over 12 appearances. Alabama also has Tagovailoa’s younger brother, Taulia, who completed 9 of 12 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown over five games, as well as fellow freshman Paul Tyson, who did not record any stats over his lone appearance.

Another intriguing option will be quarterback signee Bryce Young, who joined the Crimson Tide as an early enrollee this week. The five-star prospect is rated as the top dual-threat quarterback and No. 3 player overall in this year’s class and is coming off a stellar senior season in which he completed 72.6 percent of his passes for 4,528 yards and 58 touchdowns with six interceptions while adding another 357 yards and 10 more scores on the ground.

Tua said he's looking forward to watching Alabama's quarterback competition develop, stating, "If you love competition, you know, now is the best time for it."

Tua's decision was followed up by an announcement from receiver DeVonta Smith, who revealed he will be returning for his senior season. Later in the day, fellow receiver Henry Ruggs III announced he will enter the draft.

Over the past week, linebacker Dylan Moses and left tackle Alex Leatherwood committed to their senior seasons, while right tackle Jedrick Wills Jr., receiver Jerry Jeudy and safety Xavier McKinney all announced their departure to the draft. Alabama is still waiting to hear back from running back Najee Harris who is expected to be an early-round pick.

"We all got to talk," Tagovailoa said. "A lot of their decisions were based off whether they played good in the last game or not. We all pretty much knew what everyone was going to do kind of prior to the game, but it wasn't set."

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