A more confident, detail-oriented Tua Tagovailoa quietly improving his game

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — His teammates said he’s amazing, so good that it got to the point some didn’t want to play against him anymore. Facing Tua Tagovailoa became about as much fun as going to dentist, especially after not flossing since the previous visit.

The humbling drubbing he regularly provided them gave an idea of what it can be like to face the Heisman Trophy contender and Alabama on the football field. They would even occasionally argue about whether he was better at the video game “Fortnite,” or playing quarterback.

And he’s pretty good as a quarterback.

“I would say I was pretty decent,” Tagovailoa said about the video game. “Not too bad. If I had an opportunity to join tournaments I would probably join tournaments.”

He was being humble. One teammate said: “Just don’t do it,” when asked about Tagovailoa’s prowess with a controller. Regardless, it sort of paralleled what the second-year starter has been doing as a quarterback this season.

Some of the keys to the video game are to always be aware what’s around you, don’t blindly charge in regardless of your firepower and only engage when it works to your advantage.

Above all else, though, is to pay attention to the details.

It’s all becoming familiar to Crimson Tide fans. Under the direction of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Steve Sarkisian, Tagovailoa is paying attention to the little things, which is making him an even bigger pro prospect.

"Just focusing and taking what the defense gives him,” junior wide receiver Henry Ruggs III said. “He understands a lot about defenses now and, not saying he didn't [before], but he just understands what the defense is going to give him and what they're trying to do. So he's confident and taking what the defense gives him and letting us make our plays."

So far this season he’s completed 87 of 112 attempts for 1,300 yards, with 17 touchdowns and no interceptions. Statistically, there isn’t a huge difference through the first four games of 2018, although one can still find some that reflect his development.

For example, Tagovailoa’s been remarkably consistent. He’s completed 77.7 percent of his passes, including 77.8 percent against conference foe South Carolina, and 77.6 percent at home.

His completion percentage also goes up as games progress, from 72.5 percent in the first quarter, to 76.9 in the second and 82.8 in the third. That didn’t happen last year.

“Experience” was how Matt Luke described the difference, and in many respects the Ole Miss coach was correct.

But Tagovailoa has also become a better student of the game, which bodes well for his long-term potential because the best quarterbacks will tell you that they never stop learning. Otherwise it’s just a matter of time before the opposition catches up to you.

“Just the distinction of modifications, how they would do it,” Tagovailoa said about his ability to read defenses. “This guy would probably run it a little different than another [defensive coordinator]. It’s really just looking at a guy — if he’s not open, he’s not open. Not trying to force something open. Just going through my progressions at this time.”

With Alabama also relying on the run-pass option, it’s become that much tougher to defend because it can do so many things. Last year the Crimson Tide had a limited arsenal, which was still tough to slow but some eventually managed to do so.

Consequently, the focus this year has been to be even more versatile and develop the other parts of the offense.

So should the secondary go zone, the Crimson Tide counters with the run. The defensive backs stay back and the call is a slant under the coverage. They cheat up, go deep with the four prolific wide receivers, and so forth.

“I know you all look at it like, ‘OK this play we throw the ball to this guy,’ but you throw the ball to the guy relative to what the defense does,” Nick Saban said when talking about Ruggs. “Like, you know, one of the plays that he scored on early in the game was a double pattern which was kind of a set up play for him. But the other play was an RPO that we could have just have easily hand the ball off as throwing it to him relative to what the defense did.

“I think our receiver corps in general’s ability to catch and run with the ball, including Henry Ruggs, is one of the assets that we have on our team so we want all those guys to get featured the best we can.”

Henry Ruggs is fast.

jfc pic.twitter.com/qFNZQRlAJh
— Austin Gayle (@austingayle_) September 21, 2019

Even Tagovailoa throwing with his left hand helps make Alabama’s offense atypical, and almost impossible to replicate during practice regardless of his accuracy. The majority of right-handed quarterbacks are most comfortable throwing to their right, and when coaches usually try and simplify the playbook they’ll have the passer often go to the short-side of the field on the right (Note: South Carolina with Tyler Hilinksi was an exception. The Gamecocks shortened the field on the left).

For the season, we’ve counted just three incompletions for Tagovailoa throwing to his left so far. He’s had a little more success going to his right in terms of yards due to Ruggs breaking some slants for long touchdowns, but his overall consistency again stands out.

The real difference from a year ago is the distance of Tagovailoa’s throws. He’s not throwing the ball as far, resulting in easier completions.

Opponents have been respecting Alabama’s wide receivers so much, and rightfully so, that the secondaries have been playing deep not to get burned over the top. However, it’s not working too well because he’s been more patient and finding his playmakers in open space.

"It's a huge challenge,” said Luke, as the Rebels visit Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT). “They have one of the best quarterbacks in the country, three of the best receivers in the country, maybe four, and obviously a good running back. So, they are just very talented. You can kind of pick your poison.

“They are very, very talented and very hard to defend. Obviously, they are really, really fast and get behind you. The thing you see is even on some short routes, they are breaking tackles and scoring. They are hard to tackle in the open field. You have to tackle well against them and limit the big plays and make them earn it all the way down the field."

Anything shorter than a nine-yard throw downfield and Tagovailoa has had just five incompletions all season.

Throws 20 yards downfield or longer and he’s 6-for-14.

Anyone who watched Tagovailoa last season knows that he can hit long throws with regularity. When Alabama hit the midway point of the 2018 season he was completing 66.7 percent of his throws 20-plus yards downfield, which was ridiculously good.

As Alabama moves forward in SEC play, it’ll be more of a factor as defenses try new ways to challenge the Crimson Tide. The more ways Tagovailoa can counter, the more it’ll be like picking off opponents in a video game.

“Oh I’m not good anymore,” Tagovailoa said about giving up “Fortnite” to focus on this season. “There’s no way. Ever since I went back home [in May], you can’t eat as much at night, you just got to go to sleep. I didn’t even want to play video games.”