Tua Meets Murray Again

The Miami Dolphins game against the Arizona Cardinals will feature a battle between two of the most exciting prospects to enter the NFL in a while, Tua Tagovailoa and Kyler Murray.

Tagovailoa and Murray both wear number 1, though for different reasons, and they also both were Heisman Trophy finalists in 2018.

They met for the first time that year during the Heisman festivities, which culminated with Murray winning the trophy and Tagovailoa coming in second in the voting. A few weeks later, Tagovailoa had the better of it when he led the University of Alabama to a 45-34 victory against Murray's Oklahoma Sooners in a BCS semifinal at Hard Rock Stadium.

“I’m very excited to go up against him," Tagovailoa said. "I would say first impressions when I met him, he’s pretty jacked up. For as short as he is, I mean, this guy’s rocked up. (laughter) But he’s very competitive. He’s very personable, too. I got to meet his parents as well at the Heisman ceremony. Very good family. Going against guys like that who are very competitive and you know you’re going to get their best, I think that’s going to be a fun one.”

Murray also was asked about his recollections of meeting Tagovailoa when he spoke to Cardinals writers this week.

“We spent a couple of days together doing the whole Heisman, college football awards," Murray said. "He was hurt at the time, but his family, they are one of a kind. Really nice people, great people, showed nothing but love throughout that whole week.Nice to me, nice to my family. Obviously, the love was reciprocated. The times that I’ve been around him, I can’t say anything bad about Tua — great dude, down to earth, great player. I don’t know him too well, but the times that we were around each other was nothing but good times.”

Murray and Tagovailoa both entered the NFL with a lot of expectations from their fan base, though Murray had the benefit of an offseason and became the opening-day starter as a rookie after being the first overall pick in the 2019 draft.

Tagovailoa, of course, was the fifth pick in 2020 and began the season as a backup behind Ryan Fitzpatrick before the Dolphins made a quarterback switch during their bye week.

Murray says there are benefits to starting as a rookie.

“People might underestimate you," he said. "It can go either way. They can underestimate you. They can respect you, but at the end of the day, when you’re a rookie quarterback,you’ve just got to prove yourself. And that was my thing going into every Sunday, go out there and get better, obviously put our team in a situation where we could win the game. I had to prove myself each and every week that I belong. I’m still doing that till this day. That was my whole focus. You’ve just got to try to gain that confidence, and once that confidence gets rolling,you feel more and more comfortable.”

Murray's performance is a big reason the Cardinals will go into the game with a 5-2 record. He's accounted for 20 touchdowns so far, with 13 passes and seven rushing scores.

“He’s unlike anyone in this league," Dolphins coach Brian Flores said this week. "You don’t see this type of athlete at the quarterback position very often. The Lamar Jacksons of the world, that’s someone who comes to mind who is that fast, that athletic, that quick. You turn your head and they’re 20 yards down the field.

"We’re using a myriad, a few different guys, of skill players to try to mimic some of the things he does, but at the same time, we’re talking about his athletic ability but this guy can stand in the pocket and spin the ball pretty well. He can make every throw. He’s still going to run. He’s still extending plays. He’s built some rapport with (DeAndre) Hopkins and Christian Kirk and obviously Larry Fitzgerald and (Andy) Isabella. They’ve got a good group of guys there. This is going to be a tough test."

Tagovailoa is coming off his first NFL start, though it wasn't exactly one to remember from an individual standpoint as he went 12-for-22 for 93 yards with one touchdown and no interception in the Dolphins' 28-17 victory against the Los Angeles Rams.

It was a far cry from the numbers Tagovailoa put up in his first head-to-head meeting with Murray in that December 2018 game at Hard Rock Stadium.

Tagovailoa completed 24 of 27 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions in that game; Murray was 19-for-37 for 308 yards with touchdowns and no picks and had 107 rushing yards with another score.

As for the dueling number 1 jerseys, Murray had to say to this for why he wears it: “Pretty much my whole life I’ve worn number 1. I think that’s just who I am, part of me. I’m not really with trends. I think certain people look good in it. Some people look better than others in it. It is what it is.”

Wearing number 1 is new for Tagovailoa from his days at Alabama when he wore 13, a number the Dolphins have retired in honor of Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino.

“I sat down and talked to my dad about that," Tagovailoa said. "I sat down with him and his biggest thing to pick number 1 was for the audience of one, and that’s more so on the faith side of things. So that’s why I chose it.”

For Tagovailoa and Murray, the No. 1 priority Sunday will be helping their team get a win. Their individual battle will just be a fun side show.

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