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Tua Tagovailoa’s rookie year was not what he expected – although no one really knew what to expect from him in 2020.
Tagovailoa, who was selected with the No.5 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, finished 6-3 as a starter for the Miami Dolphins. He successfully returned from a career-threatening hip injury and helped bring the Dolphins from 5-11 in 2019 to 10-6 and on the sidelines of the AFC playoff photo. He’s played two 300-yard games and three games with less than 100 passing yards, the ups and downs that most rookies experience in the post.
So what was Tagovailoa waiting for?
“I would say with the hip speech and everything – for that there is no excuse for me,” Tagovailoa told Sporting News on Tuesday. “Even with the hip or not the hip, I didn’t play the way I wanted.
“For me, I was very comfortable before setting foot on the pitch,” he said. “I just feel like I could have done a lot different things when the season went in terms of preparing the teams we were playing.”
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Tagovailoa didn’t make his first appearance until Week 6. He made his first start against the Los Angeles Rams the following week. Tagovailoa won their first three starts. He finished with 1,814 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. He added three quick touchdowns.
The numbers were on par with first choice Joe Burrow, who missed the last six games of the season after injuring his knee.
Tagovailoa could have been a Week 1 starter had he not suffered a dislocated hip with a posterior wall fracture in a game against Mississippi State on November 16, 2019. This has ended a prolific college career in which he racked up 7,442 yards. , 87 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in three seasons with Alabama.
For Tagovailoa, it was less about coming back from a hip injury and more about meeting the expectations that come with being a starter in the NFL.
“I felt prepared,” he said. “I felt like I was ready to go into the game, and I think our coaches felt the same. This last season it didn’t go the way I expected. It was a good experience. It was a good one. first year under my belt. I’m working hard this offseason to achieve what I expected to achieve last year. ”
These high standards were set at the college in Alabama. He won the National Championship as a rookie and finished second behind Kyler Murray in the Heisman Trophy vote in his sophomore year. The hip injury came the week after a No.1 vs. No. 2 confrontation with Burrow and LSU.
Tagovailoa handled the big NFL scene well as a rookie. He and Murray starred in a Week 8 shootout that the Dolphins won 34-31. Tagovailoa also passed for 316 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in a duel with Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs won a thriller 33-27. As a result, Tagovailoa has maintained this status as one of the league’s most popular players. Tagovailoa’s popularity has been passed down from college, as his jersey ranks among the top five top sellers on NFL.com.
“I would say it surprised me, but it shows the support that Miami fans and the Dolphins Nation have for our team,” Tagovailoa said. “It’s very honorable to say the least that a lot of Dolphins fans want to buy my jersey. At the end of the day, I think popularity falls on the last of my list of things I want.
“I just wanna help my team win games, man,” he said. “If I could give up the whole popularity contract and win a Super Bowl, then I would do it in the blink of an eye.”
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Tagovailoa has also been at the center of trade rumors this offseason on a quarterback carousel that produces more unexpected turns than ever before. He explained how he handles these rumors during Super Bowl week, and he said the focus remains in this offseason.
“I would expect more from me – and for any competitor, you will be your biggest critic,” Tagovailoa said. “If you don’t get your team to the big dance and everything… I understand that we play in the NFL. It’s either that or you shouldn’t be playing the game.”
This is the goal as it approaches its second season. Tagovailoa wants to lead the Dolphins to a playoff series and build on the modest success as a rookie after a hip injury. It’s the wait now.
“I can say a lot of things that I want to work on – they have to do with preparation,” Tagovailoa said. “How to do certain things coming to the pre-snap line, post-snap line, identify right off the bat. A lot of those things I’m working on right now and don’t want to share too much.”
Tagovailoa, who teamed up with the USAA, made a virtual encounter with Kerry Smith, a Navy veteran who was one of the five big winners of the “Salut to Service” competition. USAA and the NFL continue to work together to support the military across the country. “I had a great time learning more about Kerry’s service in the Navy. I always enjoy meeting our military and our veterans. I appreciate this opportunity because I have family members who have served in the military. It gives him a bit of a different kind of appreciation. ”
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