Don't Assume Anything Regarding Taulia Tagovailoa In The NCAA Transfer Portal
With his older brother no longer on the Alabama roster, Taulia Tagovailoa entering his name into the NCAA transfer portal wasn't all that surprising. Everyone knows how the the family is tight and during recruiting his father played a major part in determining where he ended up.
With Tua now with the Miami Dolphins, the easy assumption is that Taulia will end up somewhere in Florida, or maybe with former Alabama offensive coordinator Mike Locksley at Maryland.
That assumes he transfers.
However, considering what's going on with the coronavirus pandemic, one shouldn't assume anything, especially when it comes to the portal.
For example, with the decision having already been made that California schools will not have in-person classes this fall, there might suddenly be a spike in transfer attempts from that state (Note: USC quarterback JT Daniels already entered the transfer portal in mid-April).
Moreover, no one has a clue about how the football landscape might look when its played, especially since the NCAA has decided it will not mandate a uniform start date for sports. We could potentially see some football teams play in the fall, with others lining up in the spring.
As Sports Illustrated notes in Five Intriguing Quarterbacks Still in the Transfer Portal, most transfer quarterbacks have already hooked on with new teams.
Players can't visit schools, coaches may not know where they stand at the position after the lack of spring practice, plus there's the uncertainty around both transfer rules for 2020–21 and whether the 2020 college football season will even start on time.
Regardless of if he had to sit out a year, Taulia Tagovailoa is only heading into his sophomore year and he already has game experience. That alone makes him desirable to numerous teams, in addition to the fact that he was a highly-rated recruit.
Last season, he finished the season as the backup quarterback to Mac Jones. Statistically, he was 9-of-12 for 100 yards in his five games of action. Ironically, he took the final snaps in his brother's final collegiate game, after Tua Tagovailoa suffered season-ending injuries against Mississippi State.
We'll have to wait in see if it was one of the final appearances for both brothers, although there's little doubt Nick Saban would like to have him back.
Otherwise, Alabama could be looking at a depth chart with just three scholarship players — Jones, redshirt freshman Paul Tyson and true freshman Bryce Young, to go with walk-ons Braxton Barker, Jayden George and Stone Hollenbach.
"I think that we should have at least four quarterbacks on scholarship. Five is OK, too." Saban said last year after landing Taulia Tagovailoa and Paul Tyson in the signing Class of 2020.
Pro Football
The Sports Illustrated fantasy crew did a look at second-year running backs, including Josh Jacobs of the Las Vegas Raiders. The former Alabama standout led all rookies in rushing yards last season with 1,150 and seven touchdowns in 13 games.
The Raiders have several running backs on their roster, but Jacobs is without question the leader of the backfield.
Fantasy owners are drafting Jacobs in Round 2 of fantasy drafts, and his average draft position has been 19th overall.
Basketball
It sounds like the NBA is getting closer to a return.
Los Angeles Lakers point guard Quinn Cook has some thoughts about it and the pandemic's impact on the 2020 NBA season in the latest episode of the Coronavirus + Sports podcast.
In his mind, re-starting the season after such a long break doesn't mean the league's eventual champion won't have earned it. He also talked about what he's been up to during quarantine plus his role inside Kevin Durant's new documentary "Basketball County."
To listen/subscribe:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1503391421
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5BWP4CkzC9cknBvc8MFSFj
RSS: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/siplussports
Did you notice?
• Mamba Sports Academy announced that it will be removing "Mamba" (Kobe Bryant's nickname), from its title, and the organization will find another way to honor the NBA legend.
• Before ruling baseball as an agent, Scott Boras failed in the game as a minor leaguer. The greatest setback of his professional life led directly to his greatest successes.
• Mike Tyson's recent workout videos are impressive, but anything other than an exhibition would be rough for the 53-year-old.
The lighter side
• Richard Hamilton says he was ‘Low-key scared’ of facing Bryant.
• The Eagles are making their stadium available to host free weddings for medical workers.
• After losing to him in those Super Bowls, Tom Brady is happy he isn’t playing golf against Eli Manning.
• Speaking of things to avoid ...
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