While the defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide probably have the most hyped quarterback battle in the country heading into next season, another recruit announced Saturday that he’ll be heading to Tuscaloosa to hopefully start under center when his time comes.
Taulia Tagovailoa made his plans clear as he committed to Alabama, following in his older brother’s footsteps. The highly touted prospect is the younger sibling of Tua Tagovailoa, who rescued Alabama in the College Football Playoff Championship Game and will be competing with Jalen Hurts for the full-time starting job. The pair of signal callers, originally from Ewa Beach, could be on the verge of creating a family dynasty at a school that has become the elite on-field dynasty in college football.
Saturday’s Alabama spring game was the fans’ first look at what the 2018 Crimson Tide have to offer, but Taulia’s commitment certainly added to the day’s drama and keeps the school’s recruiting train rolling faster and stronger than anyone’s.
After bringing Alabama back from a 13-point halftime deficit following Hurts being benched against Georgia, things seemed to be aligning for Tua to become the highest-profile quarterback for the highest-profile program. But a finger injury in the first week of spring practice has derailed that process for the time being. He didn’t take the field on Saturday and Hurts is currently the top guy on the depth chart.
But Tua’s eventual promotion seems inevitable, despite Hurts owning a 26-2 record as a starter. The halftime switch in the title game indicated that the coaching staff had its doubts about Hurts’ ability to create plays when necessary against a strong defense. Tua’s performance under those same circumstances showed that’s a skill he clearly possesses.
So while the quarterback battle has been put on hold temporarily, the addition of Taulia in 2019 is now an extremely interesting wrinkle to the story. The Tagovailoa family all moved from Oahu to Alabama when Tua began his college career, so they are fully integrating with the community. Taulia told ESPN prior to his commitment that he wants to be viewed as his own person, but clearly the family bond is strong enough that everyone felt keeping the brothers within the same program was the best option. Ranked as the No. 6 quarterback by 247Sports, Taulia had plenty of offers from top-tier schools. Obviously the appeal of remaining with his family and going to the most dominant program in the country was too much to pass up.
Once fully healthy, it seems that Tua should overtake Hurts as the starting quarterback for the Tide. What that means for Hurts, who will be a junior when the upcoming season gets underway, remains to be seen. He’s a stellar athlete but his passing numbers were mediocre in 2017.
The promise that Tua has shown, beginning at Saint Louis, then when pressed into emergency duty in January, has been impossible to ignore. He will be the starter when the time is right and the Alabama jersey stitchers may be spelling out “TAGOVAILOA” on that crimson backdrop for quite a few years to come.
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David Simon can be reached at dsimon@thegardenisland.com.
