Mark Ingram is all in.
The first-ever Heisman Memorial Trophy winner for the University of Alabama sees the same things that all Crimson Tide fans see in Tua Tagovailoa: a remarkable athlete on the field at quarterback and an ever better individual in the community.
During the sophomore’s record-setting Iron Bowl performance at Bryant-Denny Stadium, the 2009 Heisman winner and first-round pick of the 2011 NFL Draft co-signed Tagovailoa’s Heisman campaign with his post on Twitter.
@Tuaamann for #Heisman ?#RollTide
— Mark Ingram II (@MarkIngram22) November 24, 2018
After torching Auburn for 324 passing yards and six total touchdowns – one rushing – Tagovailoa delivered the Tide its eighth game of the season in which it has scored 50 points or more as it defeated the Tigers, 52-21 to improve to 12-0.
The native Hawaiian turned in a record-setting performance that featured him tying the school’s single-game record for scoring passes, setting the single-game mark for total scores and setting the record for total touchdowns in a single-season with 41. Tagovailoa’s output in passing yards versus Auburn makes five games this season where he has accounted for at least 300 yards.
Now at 3,189 yards, the former five-star joins the 3,000-yard club with standouts AJ McCarron (3,063, in 2013), Blake Sims (3,487, in 2014) and Jacob Coker (3,110, in 2015), while his numbers stand second all-time behind Sims for a season. To add more to Tagovailoa’s greatness, he finished the regular season with a 70.26 percent completion rating with 36 touchdown passes to just two interceptions. He will take this team to Atlanta next week to compete for a Southeastern Conference championship versus Georgia.
Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
