Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (13) looks to throw during the first half of an NCAA college football gameagainst New Mexico State, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

Tua Says He’s Ready

The NFL Draft is still expected to commence as planned on April 23.  As it approaches, former quarterback star at Alabama Tua Tagovailoa shows off he’s good to go.

In an interview with ESPN SportsCenter, Tagovailoa said he was “100 percent right now.” He feels he could play as a rookie, too.

Tagovailoa said he felt he could go out there as he has been doing.

He posted on Twitter back on March 23 how he’s preparing for the big day (while also observing social distancing).

https://twitter.com/Tuaamann/status/1242268847127830528

Another note to be made from watching the video is that his hip looks fine.

For those out of the loop, or just need a refresher, Tagovailoa suffered a severe hip injury on Nov. 16 game against Mississippi State. He had to be carted off the field and was sent to St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Birmingham. Heisman Trophy hopes were cut short. His draft stock fell into question immediately. Maybe Tua ends up staying in school for his senior year now?

Well, guess again.

He Kept Pushing

He declared for the draft shortly after Alabama’s Citrus Bowl victory over Michigan, foregoing his senior season. The Dolphins still want him. A recent story published in Sports Illustrated predicts the Dolphins trading up to take Tagovailoa third overall. CBS Sports writer Ryan Wilson made the same prediction in a CBS NFL mock draft. 

Dolphins exclaimed “tanking for Tua” at the start of the 2019 NFL season. It could happen. Currently, the Dolphins possess the fifth-overall pick in the draft. Rumors suggest that the Dolphins could make a deal with the Lions to trade up to third overall if they feel their coveted QB might not drop to number five. They could very nab Tua unless the Los Angeles Chargers have anything to say about it.

Wait, the Chargers?

Yes, the Chargers. Long-time Chargers quarterback, Philip Rivers left the Chargers after 16 seasons and signed with the Colts. A spot is for a new franchise quarterback is up for grabs. Another CBS Sports mock draft and a recent NFL.com mock draft showed the Chargers trading up to the third-overall pick to get Tagovailoa. The same NFL.com story has the Dolphins trading with the Bengals to move up to the first-overall pick to claim the top player in the draft, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow. 

There even projection the Redskins just take him with the second pick and, goodness gracious, it’s clear the consensus on where he goes just is not there. Let’s face it, we really won’t get to know until draft day who gets to be the team that gets to sell his jersey.

About Harrison Smajovits

Harrison is a sports coordinator at ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM WRUF. He served as a beat writer for Florida Gators football for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He also contributes to WRUF's Gainesville Sports Center segments and makes appearances on the Clash on Harp on Sports. Harrison has been a content writer for WRUF since January 2019 as well.

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