One of the few knocks on superstar quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s game has been his inability to stay healthy. Although last season was the most impressive season for a quarterback in the history of Alabama football, Tagovailoa’s play definitely took a dip by seasons end and especially against elite defenses.
The most telling game of how badly the Heisman runner-ups injuries were, was during the SEC championship against Georgia. Tagovailoa suffered numerous lower-body blows, a pair of sprained ankles and knee trouble which forced him to sit out the waning minutes of the game. Thankfully for Jalen Hurts, Tua’s injuries never truly came back to haunt the crimson tide that bad. But now that Hurts has moved on to Oklahoma, there is less security behind Tagovailoa than in 2018.
Yet during Alabama’s media day yesterday, the Maxwell Award nominee assured everyone that he has taken the proper steps to make sure he will have a healthy 2019 season.
“I am getting into the training room as much as possible. Whether I feel the need to do it or I don’t,” said Tagovailoa. “I have been getting into the training room more than I think I could ever imagine, and I am not even hurt. When I was hurt, I was in there a lot, and now I am in there more.”
Before speaking at media days, Tagovailoa also decided to reshape his body and get into better playing shape during the offseason. With some help from strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran, he was able to drop 15 lbs and now weighs 215 lbs. Although this is a positive adjustment to his game head coach Nick Saban would prefer him to play at 218.
I guess you can’t please everybody.
During his offseason training, Tagovailoa kept teammates, coaches, and fans on the edge of their seats when it was announced that he was to be held out of the Manning Passing Academy because of a hamstring injury.
But the quarterback assured the mob of reporters that he was ok.
In fact better than ok.
“I would say I’m 100 percent,” said Tagovailoa. “I would say I’m better than I was when I came here. I feel a lot better.”
Tagovailoa and Cochran will continue to work together to find a better balance of managing injuries so he will be able to sustain a level of play which he had for the beginning of last season. The level of play which made him one of the most captivating players in the entire country.
“The next step for me is getting into the training room, being able to take care of myself in every aspect,” said Tagovailoa. “Whether I’m hurt or not, being able to take care of myself. You know, everybody uses the analogy of the car. If you don’t get a tune up for your car, it’s not going to work the same way it worked when you drove it off the lot.”
*Get the BEST Alabama football insider information, message board access, and recruiting coverage today! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our subscriber only content!*
Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
