As the 2018 season dawned, a limited film library of Tua Tagovailoa existed for opponents to come. They’d seen his iconic relief effort against Georgia in the previous national title game, but the lefty from Hawaii had thrown just 53 collegiate passes before that night in Georgia.
The presumptive starter entering the ensuing fall camp ultimately won the job. He quickly confirmed the title performance wasn’t a fluke and became one of the most electric players in college football, culminating in becoming a Heisman Trophy finalist. Tagovailoa rewrote Alabama’s record book with an explosive offense that tossed the tradition of Nick Saban quarterback game-managers off a cliff and into a new era.
With it, the wrapper came off and the novelty faded.
The scouting report for Alabama’s junior quarterback is no mystery as talented defenses late in the 2018 schedule proved.
AL.com spoke with 11 mostly former defensive players who faced Tagovailoa in his breakout season to get an understanding of what made him unique and how teams adjusted to that skillset.
“It was a great experience,” former Mississippi State safety Mark McLaurin said. “He’s a very good quarterback. A lot of accuracy, a very high IQ quarterback. His knowledge of the game is great.”
The Bulldogs in November held Tagovailoa to 164 passing yards, the fewest in SEC play for the Heisman runner-up. Clemson surrendered 295 but was perhaps the most effective of limiting the damage in a 44-16 national-championship game win over Alabama in January.
The Tiger defensive backs had the most insightful window into defending Tagovailoa and what was effective.
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Stepping onto the field at Levi’s Stadium in January was a symbolic return to the stage that made Tagovailoa a nationwide household name. Georgia’s secondary wasn’t fully prepared for the rookie backup when he relieved Jalen Hurts after halftime down 16-0.
Clemson, to put it bluntly, was more than ready.
Cornerback A.J. Terrell stepped in front of Tagovailoa’s third pass of the night for an interception he returned 44 yards for a stunning 7-0 opening salvo.
“Really, we knew that he wasn’t reading the defenses that well in the backfield,” former Clemson defensive lineman Bert Huggins said. “So, we were disguising the defense pretty well and then we would move into a different defense. He just couldn’t read the defense.”
It was the first of two interceptions Tagovailoa threw that night after entering the game with just four in 14 games.
Clemson linebacker Kendall Joseph credited defensive coordinator Brent Venables for exhausting game planning.
“We understand what he wanted to do and we wanted to exploit it,” Joseph said. “It started with trying to knock him off rhythm and get some pressure and get some hits on him and try to rattle the quarterback and I think we did a good job of that.”
The 14 game tapes provided the blueprint.
“What they did all year,” Joseph said. “They were a big RPO team -- a deadly RPO team so we had some plans in place to knock out the RPO and break off his rhythm. That’s how their first downs and just moving the ball. The RPO was the biggest thing we saw.”
Alabama moved the ball between the 20s fairly effectively, given the final score. It was the 1-for-4 red zone touchdown success rate and the two turnovers that swung the momentum several times that night.
Stopping the run-pass option plays were a challenge.
“You have to definitely have the numbers in the box for the run but you have to be physical,” Joseph said. “You can’t play soft because they were just getting six or seven yards on teams on first- and-second-downs. It’s hard to call a defense on third-and-3, third-and-2. Just stopping them on first down, getting physical, rotating those safeties and that’s what we did.”
Cornerback Trayvon Mullen called Tagovailoa a definite NFL first-round draft pick of the future noting his speed.
“He has a great arm on him and he can run,” Huggins added. “I think the injuries were bothering him a little bit but he’s a great quarterback. I think he’s going to do good and I wish the best for him.”
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The knee injury and two sprained ankles were still well in the future when Tagovailoa played his first SEC road game as a starter at Ole Miss. The 62-7 blowout allowed Saban to sub twice at quarterback with Tagovailoa throwing just 15 passes. The 11 completions included two touchdowns and 191 yards with five carries for 47 more yards.
Former Rebel safety Zedrick Woods remembered how versatile a healthy Tagovailoa was that night.
“You just have to be very attentive to details,” Woods said. “You just have to trust the preparation because every mistake that you make, he’s going to capitalize on it. If you bust a coverage, he’s going to see it. You just have to go in with that mindset because, like I said, I really don’t think he made a mistake in that game. Always finding ways to move the ball. No bad decisions.”
The Tide scored touchdowns on five of the seven possessions Tagovailoa quarterbacked in the first half. Keeping the shifty passer in the pocket was the plan, Woods said, but it wasn’t always effective.
“He doesn’t look rattled by anything during the game,” Woods said. “If you look at his facial expression during the game, straight faced the whole time. No pressure. Just wants to play football.”
A week later, Tagovailoa torched Texas A&M on 22 of 30 passing for 387 yards and four touchdowns. Safety Donovan Wilson saw how well Tagovailoa understood every receivers’ route and how they worked in concert to deliver passes quickly.
“Oh man,” Aggie defensive lineman Keke Kingsley said, “he could zip it.”
Tua Tagovailoa leads the Alabama offense against Texas A&M.
The quick delivery separated Tagovailoa from the other passers Texas A&M faced, Kingsley said. There was a sharp focus on stopping the run that afternoon, he added, and the Aggies were effective there. Alabama was held to a season-low 109 rushing yards in the 45-23 win.
Kingsley, a fifth-round pick of the Green Bay Packers, had advice for his old team when Alabama visits College Station Oct. 12.
“Definitely have to blitz him a lot more, I would say,” Kingsley said. Have to bring the pressure to him. You have to make him feel uncomfortable very early.”
Tagovailoa had little resistance in October before heading to Baton Rouge for a showdown with the first truly elite secondary on the schedule.
Another primetime CBS game against top-5 LSU would be another statement.
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Playing in possibly the loudest venue in college football, the first series of Tagovailoa’s Tiger Stadium debut didn’t end as planned. After a promising start, the passer said he was “hit in the goodies” on a second down throw at the LSU 22.
The next drive was an efficient five-play, 78-yard march ending in Henry Ruggs III’s 15-yard touchdown catch. Star cornerback Greedy Williams was in coverage on the play “which still haunts me,” he said in March before becoming a second-round draft pick by the Cleveland Browns.
“(Tagovailoa) had a strong arm,” Williams said. “He can break plays with his feet. We definitely had to keep him contained. Guy can read a defense very well.”
Safety John Battle said Tagovailoa had “the best feet in college football as a quarterback.”
“You know you have to start your clock earlier with him,” Battle said. “In comparison between him and (Mississippi State’s Nick) Fitzgerald, with Fitzgerald, he’s more of a long, lanky type. So, it’s a process for him. But with Tua, it’s kinda (snaps fingers) so he can vroom and he’s going to have that slant right there coming in a couple of seconds, so you have to make sure you have your eyes on the right keys. You can’t wander around and have your eyes in the backfield. So, he’s definitely going to make you play disciplined.”
The first interception in 195 throws was recorded by Todd Harris Jr. in the second quarter and Tagovailoa threw his first fourth-quarter pass of the season that night. He completed 25 of 42 passes for 295 while running for a 44-yard touchdown on a bad knee in the 29-0 win.
“Just the quick game,” safety Grant Delpit said. “Man, the quick guys they’ve got, the RPO offense that they’ve got. They get the ball in their playmakers in space. Tua is great at putting the ball in there quick, like a couple seconds after the snap. So, he definitely knows where it’s going pre-snap. He’s a great quarterback pre-snap. I have nothing but praise for Tua.”
Alabama clinched the SEC West that night in Tiger Stadium in what was ultimately as good as the Tide’s season got.
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A week after the emotional win at LSU, Alabama faced one of the nation’s top defenses with Mississippi State in town. And things started well with touchdown drives on the first two possessions spanning 73 and 83 yards respectively.
That, however, would represent a majority of the 305-yard total and the Tide would find the end zone just once more that afternoon. It didn’t matter for the outcome since Alabama’s defense pitched a second straight shutout in a 24-0 win.
“We just had to go in and lock in,” Mississippi State’s McLaurin said and tell each other that this is what we have to do and this is how we have to play.”
The safety noted how “fluid” Tagovailoa was in the pocket.
“A lot of accuracy, a very high IQ quarterback,” he said. “His knowledge of the game is great.”
Two weeks later, it was Auburn walking into Bryant-Denny Stadium after upsetting Alabama a year earlier on its turf. And the Tigers kept it close in the first half by allowing just one sustained touchdown drive to trail 17-14 at the break.
Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa takes off against Auburn on Nov. 24, 2018, at Bryant-Denny Stadium.Getty Images
“We had a great game plan coming into the first half,” former Auburn cornerback Jamel Dean said. “And the second half, got outplayed.”
Tagovailoa threw four touchdowns after halftime as Alabama ran away with the 52-21 win. Dean didn’t hesitate explaining what made Tagovailoa “one of the best quarterbacks I’ve faced.”
“His IQ,” Dean said. “He’s real smart. He can break down a defense. He can go through his progressions -- he goes through all of his progressions and then his accuracy is on point.”
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Things went a little sideways the following week when Tagovailoa sprained both ankles before exiting the SEC Championship win over Georgia fittingly saved by Hurts. It was enough to drop him from Heisman favorite to Kyler Murray’s runner-up.
There was some degree of revenge in an efficient 24-for-27 passing performance in an Orange Bowl win over Murray’s Oklahoma Sooners, but there were cracks in the Alabama mystique after the first quarter onslaught. The final two quarters of the 45-34 semifinal win foreshadowed what happened in the national title game.
Reflecting on the Clemson loss this spring, Tagovailoa acknowledged some of the things Tiger defenders independently said about the matchup.
“Their defensive coordinator — he called a great game,” Tagovailoa said. “I think the biggest thing is the way they disguise their coverages, just the way they went about doing things. They made it look like one thing pre-snap and then post-snap was a totally different thing. I think they did a really good job throughout that.”
Now, preparing for his first season as the incumbent, Tagovailoa has a new set of objectives while his opponents have a season of game film to sift through. Saban has preached patience in the pocket. The late-season turnover trend resulted from forcing too many passes when the defense was set up for something safer.
Still, the 2018 season for Tagovailoa will likely be remembered more fondly for the first 14 games than the only loss. He did it with a flashy style not previously seen in an Alabama quarterback, who have typically been stereotyped for their more vanilla approach.
“I don’t know, maybe the left hand looks cooler, maybe,” Ole Miss’ Woods said. “I mean, he’s athletic. One of the more athletic quarterbacks since I’ve played in college. Just his accuracy throwing the ball.
"I don’t think he overthrew anybody in the game.”
Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.