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Do Tua Tagovailoa's Comments Raise a Red Flag?


winitall

Is the Comment Concerning?  

38 members have voted

  1. 1. Is the Comment Concerning?

    • Not at all, non issue
    • Potentially, I would want to know more
    • Yes, it raises a red flag


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For those that do not know, Tua Tagovailoa was extremely close to transferring during last season.  That in itself should not be considered a red flag in this day and age.  QB's transfer all of the time in college football when they are not the starter.  However, a portion of his comments could be seen as a red flag.  

The comments: "I wanted to leave. I told my dad I wanted to go to a school where I thought it'd be easier for me and wouldn't challenge me so much."

To me, that comment could be a red flag and is something I would want to look into further as an NFL team.  What does he mean by "easier"?  The NFL is not easy and is going to be a challenge.  How is he going to handle that transition?  At the very least, it seems like something that could have been phrased better.  Now obviously he is only a true freshman and a lot can change but it's the offseason.

I figured since there isn't much else going on that this could cause some decent discussion.

Link to full comments: http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/23533961/quarterback-tua-tagovailoa-alabama-crimson-tide-quarterback-planned-transfer-play-championship-game

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They’re not ideal in a vacuum like that, but he’s a kid and it’s understandable. The comments in the OP are following a year where he thought he was the better QB (and was in their final game) and wasn’t given a fair shake in Bama - again, his opinion. 

I bet 99% of players - as kids - have doubts at some point when adversity hits, I don’t blame him. If he said that as a rookie QB it’d be a bigger concern.

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I do not see how those comments are an issue.  The kids family literally moved to Alabama because he went to school there, maybe he felt a little guilty for that since he did not play all season long.  Especially considering Hurts is a flat out bad passing QB and that he will be around another two season potentially.  I doubt he dislikes a challenge, but only so much one can do as a QB if there is already a starter out there like Hurts on the team who is a fine leader.  That comment might mean more to a position like OL or DL where guys are in constant competition against other top competition on the team all the time.  

However Hurts is a great leader and does some small things that win games, also is a better pure runner and more of a slow down possession QB.  Arguably with Tua they would be more up tempo, pass more and thus potentially make more mistakes on offense yet make more big plays as well.  Will be very curious who ends up being the starter next year, no way in hell they win that National Title unless Tua went in so that does mean something.  

 

These comments are honest and who would not consider what he thought of, especially with Hurts only being a JR this up coming season, so he has two full years left.  My guess is Tua is the starter hopefully and if anyone should transfer it should be Hurts unless he is an outstanding teammate and sticks around, which he is so that might be the case.  Would be terrible to see Tua go, especially after that story book game he had last year, would be odd for him to just go, again if anyone goes it is Hurts.  

 

 

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Answer is, it could be. But as someone said he is 19. He still has growing to do and kids at that age can be overwhelmed. Him wanting to choose a place where he thinks he can continue to grow at a pace he is comfortable with I wouldn't say is a red flag.

Now come draft time if he says something similar like say "I don't want to play in New York because their media criticizes players too much." Or something similar that shows he doesn't want to handle severe, or even mild adversity being the face of the franchise or something then yea raise the flag.

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I voted no but that’s because of the context. He thought he was better and at the very least he had proven it in an incredibly small sample size albeit on the biggest stage of them all. If he balls out at Bama this year, no one will care because they will see it as someone that is competitive and believes he can do better

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4 hours ago, Bullet Club said:

It's not the smartest thing he could've said but he's 19, I'd put very little stock in it.

That's the big thing to me - he's 19. Check in a couple of years and see if he feels differently and has learned from this experience. 

To be honest, too, I'm not sure if a lot of guys wouldn't feel the same way. I'm pretty sure that guys that are second string or underclassmen at a school aren't thinking "man, this challenge is ******* awesome!" A lot of them probably wish that they could go somewhere else and start too. 

It's also a new experience. Guys that are so highly recruited are used to being the best all the time, then they get to college and find out that they're not. It's a learning experience. 

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It could be like the early seedling of something that could grow into a red flag.  But it's really just an ill-advised/poorly worded version of why pretty much any QB might transfer in this day and age.

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No problem here

the kid faced adversity 

he ended up staying and got better for it 

this is everything Nick Saban is about 

look at Alvin Kamara he transferred out of Bama ended up being ROY

Saban runs the most competitive program in the last 20 years a lot of kids are going to have that go through their minds 

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Nope. 

Kid said he told his dad he wished he was somewhere else that was "easier" and less "challenging". 

Easier could be the cultural/geographical issues between Hawaii and Alabama. When my family moved from California to the Gulf Coast and I was playing football, I felt the same way. My teammates were great, but it wasn't the easiest transition. I was kind of/sort of in Tua's position in that I walked into a school where a starter was in place already, for better or worse.

Challenging- Well, I'm sure it is challenging to keep riding the pine behind a clearly less talented QB. If I were in his position, even as a full grown adult, I'd probably talk to those close to me (like dad?) about my frustrations too. 

And if his comments about "easier" or "challenging" were about Saban's coaching and the strenuous practices, if it were an issue, he would have left the team by now. So no, nothing to see here. 

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