Tua Tagovailoa’s career with Alabama football might very well be over, but Tide fans owe him all the thanks in the world.
Alabama football has had their fair share of dominant athletes. It dates back to before Saban’s time, but the number has grown exponentially since his tenure at the Capstone began. It might be a recency bias, but the one that comes to mind when you think of the Tide won’t be the one with the most rings. It likely won’t be the Heisman-winner. It’s the lefty from Hawaii, Tua Tagovailoa.
Tua’s story started years before Tide fans learned how to pronounce his name, but we learned about him as soon as he stepped onto campus. In the spring before his freshman season, he tore up the A-Day game with incoming freshmen across the board. Fans wondered what an offense of the future would look like with Tagovailoa handing off to Najee Harris and throwing to Henry Ruggs and Jerry Jeudy.
That future turned into the present sooner than most expected. With the Tide blowing teams out in multiple games, Tua razzled and dazzled with the second unit. Murmurs started about whether or not he was better than Jalen Hurts, the reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Year. With the offense struggling in his final two games of the regular season, the question kept rearing its head.
It all came to fruition in the national championship game against Georgia. Even when the offense wasn’t scoring, Tua was making plays that gave the Tide hope. He kept chipping away at the deficit, and he made every play he needed to convert. Whether it’s a fourth down in the red zone or a third-and-long where he had to scramble out, he somehow got the game to overtime. Even when he took a sack on his first play, he silenced the Bulldogs with 2nd-and-26, one of the greatest plays in college football history.
Over that summer, we got to know more about Tua the person. He took every opportunity he had to share his culture, his faith, and his talents off the field. Whether he’s singing in Bryant-Denny or playing Fortnite, he became the face of Alabama. With his actions both on and off the field, parents were proud to buy their kids a jersey with the number 13 on it. At the end of the day, Tua has been an ambassador just as much as he has been an athlete.
You can look at the stats. You can watch the highlight reel. You can use any metric you want to talk about the Flyin’ Hawaiian. But in my opinion, any conversation that does not involve everything outside of the game of football will never do the man justice.
He might return for his senior season. He might go onto the NFL. At this point, there’s still a chance that (God forbid) Tua never plays another snap of football. Whatever he does, all you can do as an Alabama fan is thank him for what he’s done. Thanks for the memories, the wins, and putting your body on the line in the name of the Crimson Tide. Thank you, 13.