Taulia Tagovailoa reveals new destination for 2020

Last week, former Alabama quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa entered the transfer portal. It only took him eight days to find a new destination for 2020.

After Taulia Tagovailoa made the decision to enter the transfer portal, I published an article highlighting his probable landing spots. Turns out, one of the destinations in which I predicted happened to be spot on.

Friday night, the younger sibling of Tua Tagovailoa announced via Twitter that Maryland would be his new home, despite many predicting the sophomore quarterback to join his brother in the state of Florida.

This is great news for the Terrapins after the team finished twelfth overall in passing for the Big Ten conference and threw for just sixteen touchdowns and twelve interceptions.

But there’s more to the story than what meets the eye.

In 2018, Maryland’s head coach Mike Locksley served as the offensive coordinator at Alabama where he played a major part in signing Taulia’s older brother- Tua. As we all know, Tua went on to have a great career with the Crimson Tide before making the move to the National Football League.

Now, it’s probable that Taulia took note of Tua’s success under Locksley, and ultimately chased the ambition of following in his brother’s footsteps- a smart move if you ask me.

It’s likely that Locksley’s relationship with the family also played a big role in the decision.

And though the Terrapins had a less than stellar campaign in 2019, finishing the year with a 3-9 record and losing their final seven games, Locksley was able to snag the former 4-star quarterback from Alabaster, Alabama.

How will he fit into the system?

Unfortunately, Tagovailoa must sit out for the entirety of the 2020 season due to transfer policies that the NCAA has in place; however, the year off should prove to be beneficial for the new kid on the block.

Taulia has been accustomed to Saban’s pro-style offense which utilizes play-action pass and pre-snap reads that heavily influence the play at hand. Maryland, on the other hand, run a fast-paced offense that plays out of the shotgun formation to spread the field.

Luckily, the transition from pro-style to spread is much easier than going from spread to pro-style. Taulia’s inability to play in 2020 should prove to be advantageous as he begins to learn a brand new philosophy under Locksley.

Although, there are some similarities.

Both Maryland and Alabama use different techniques to get the ball into their playmaker’s hands. Alabama prefers using RPOs and quick-hitting routes that have historically turned into sixty-yard touchdowns for the Tide.

Maryland enjoys spreading the field using five receiver sets and isolating their playmakers to gain a one on one matchup. In fact, they did this a lot with Anthony McFarland.

Unfortunately, McFarland has left for the NFL and is now a Pittsburgh Steeler. Maryland’s saving grace will be the 5-star 2020 commit- Rakim Jarrett.

We should definitely see a number of Tagovailoa/Jarrett connections for years to come.

Competition?

The Terrapins were also the victim of the transfer portal after two quarterbacks decided to find success elsewhere.

Maryland fans pretty much guaranteed to see Josh Jackson as the starting quarterback in 2020.

But Jackson will be a senior this upcoming season and will escape competition by virtue of Taulia having to sit for the year.

The future of the program has been placed on the shoulders of the redshirt freshman, Lance Legendre. The 4-star quarterback saw action last year before suffering from a dislocated shoulder in a 54-7 loss against Nebraska. Prior to the transfer of Tagovailoa, Legendre was expected to be “the man” for Terrapin football.

That is now up for debate.

The junior Tyler DeSue will also be in contentions for the starting quarterback role.

Overall, the Terrapins should expect to see Taulia as their starting passer in 2021, with Legendre being a solid backup, given he doesn’t transfer.

What this means for Taulia and Maryland football

Honestly, the Terrapins just got that much better thanks to Locksley’s ties with the Tagovailoa’s. And though there many not be immediate progress from 2019 to 2020, Taulia will add a critical dimension to the offense when his time comes and the sit-out rule is lifted.

There’s a lot to be happy about if you’re a Maryland fan. Plenty of teams would be thrilled to have the young quarterback in their back pocket. Consider yourselves lucky.

Really, I was surprised to hear that Taulia decided to go from a perennial powerhouse program like Alabama, to settling for a risky gig with a team that’s had obvious hardships in the Big Ten conference.

I’m sure that Saban is pretty unhappy, but it’s not like the Tide won’t find a way to secure a nice prospect in the future.

Nonetheless, Tagovailoa made a quick decision that’s probably been brewing for quite sometime. The pressure of becoming your brother’s predecessor can’t be fun, and the tough quarterback competition that he was looking at in Tuscaloosa didn’t look too promising with Mac Jones and incoming 5-star Bryce Young. The writing was on the wall.

And while I’m sad that the talented passer left the SEC conference, I wish him the best. Really, only he knows what’s best for him and he’ll have a clearer road to stardom outside of Alabama.

Good luck, Taulia.