Reunion Time for Tua
Tua Tagovailoa and Jerry Jeudy worked some magic together during their time at the University of Alabama, but they'll be on opposite sidelines when the Miami Dolphins face the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday.
Both players were first-round picks in the 2020 NFL round, Tagovailoa going to the Dolphins with the fifth overall selection and Jeudy going to Denver with the 15th selection.
It's the first of two games that will bring Tua together with one of his star receivers at Alabama, the second coming in Week 16 when the Dolphins face the Las Vegas Raiders and 2020 12th overall pick Henry Ruggs III.
Tagovailoa will be looking Sunday to improve his record as a starter to 4-0 against the Broncos and build on his impressive start as an NFL starting quarterback.
Not that Jeudy expected anything different.
"I'm not surprised at all," Jeudy said Friday. "I've practiced with him; I've played with him. I know what he's capable of. Seeing him do it at the highest level, I'm not really surprised."
Jeudy was asked what he remembered about Tua as a teammate.
"The accuracy, his leadership, just the way he knows how to communicate with people," Jeudy said. "Just how smart he is as a quarterback and his playmaking ability."
In Tua's two years as the starting quarterback at Alabama, Jeudy was his favorite receiver among a group that also included potential 2021 first-round picks Devonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle.
Jeudy was Alabama's leading receiver in both 2018 and 2019, with an average of 72.5 catches for 1,239 yards and 12 touchdowns.
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As an NFL rookie, Jeudy is second on the Broncos with 34 receptions for a team-high 552 yards and is two games removed from the best game of his young NFL career when he had seven catches for 125 yards and a touchdown in a 34-27 loss at Atlanta.
"Jeudy has been up and down," Mile High Huddle publisher Chad Jensen told us. "But lately, he's been mostly up. Early on, Jeudy struggled to acclimate to the NFL and expectations, got stuck in his own head, leading to a virulent case of the 'dropsies.' He's since bounced back in a big way. The dude is open on almost every route. Quarterback and schematic consistency would help Jeudy a lot."
Maybe Jeudy will find himself reminiscing when he sees Tua again Sunday.
