It’s widely expected that junior quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will leave his final season of collegiate eligibility at Alabama on the table and make himself available for the 2020 NFL Draft. It’s also a widely-held belief that he could be among the first, if not the first, player selected next April.
As such, there’s already, ala “Suck for Luck” years ago, “Tank for Tua” talk among fans of teams that could very well have the No. 1 overall pick in the draft (I see you, Miami Dolphins. What’s up, Cincinnati Bengals).
Even as it’s expected, Tagovailoa has given no indication (yet) that he’s leaving college early. With the Crimson Tide in the midst of a run that appears likely to end with yet another College Football Playoff berth, Tagovailoa is not inclined to listen to such chatter, even if it is flattering on a personal level.
“It’s flattering, but we have a season to worry about now,” Tagovailoa, who in January of 2018 was placed on the negotiation list of the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats, said. “Everyone is saying ‘Tank for Tua’ now, but if we end up losing the rest of the season, all our games, they won’t be there saying it then. We just have to worry about what’s in front of us now, worry about the games we have to deal with now.”
Through half of the 2019 regular season, Tagovailoa is first in the country in passing touchdowns (27), third in passing yards (2,011), third in passer rating (214.3), fourth in yards per attempt (11) and fifth in completion percentage (75.6).
Alabama is currently ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 and will face rival Tennessee this coming weekend. At the moment, the Crimson Tide is listed as a 35-point favorite over the Volunteers.