It turns out Tua Tagovailoa didn’t have to wait too long to hear his name called during Thursday night’s NFL draft. The Alabama quarterback became the first Crimson Tide player selected when he was taken No. 5 overall by the Miami Dolphins. The selection extends Alabama’s streak to 12 straight years with at least one player drafted in the first round, the longest active run by any school.
Tagovailoa is the first Alabama quarterback to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft since Richard Todd went No. 6 overall to the New York Jets in 1976. The left-hander was the second quarterback taken Thursday night behind LSU’s Joe Burrow, who went No. 1 overall to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Tagovailoa completed 71.4 percent of his passes for 2,840 yards and 33 touchdowns with just three interceptions last season before suffering a dislocated hip and posterior hip wall fracture against Mississippi State on Nov. 16. According to Tagovailoa’s agent, Chris Cabott of Steinberg Sports and Entertainment, the quarterback “is fully cleared and ready to compete without any restrictions.”
There was thought that Tagovailoa’s injury history at Alabama would cause him to slip in the draft. During his three years with the Crimson Tide, he sustained a broken left index finger (March, 2018), sprained right knee (October, 2018), left high-ankle sprain (December, 2018), right high-ankle sprain (October, 2019), dislocated right hip and posterior wall fracture (November 2019).
“I think Tua needs to learn a little bit about self preservation,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said on ESPN before the draft. “I think most of his injuries here occurred after he could have gotten rid of the ball. He didn’t have to take the hit that he took. And I think that he’s a great competitor, and he’s always trying to make the plays. You don’t want to take that competitive spirit away, but I do think there’s a time when he needs to get rid of the ball so he doesn’t get hit. But everything else, he can do as a quarterback.”
Ultimately, Tagovailoa’s potential proved too high to pass up. The former Maxwell and Walter Camp Award winner leaves Alabama as the program’s leader 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 last season.
With Tagovailoa’s selection, Saban became the first coach to have a player drafted in the first round in every position outside of specialists.
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