It feels good to be loved.
For Alabama football, Tua Tagovailoa stands with Nick Saban as someone of whom fans care deeply about.
His announcement to declare for the NFL Draft on Monday led to him receiving a hug from Saban and having Greg Byrne (athletic director) and Eddie Conyers (Alabama’s long-time practice official) attend the event.
On social media, fans posted the video of Tagovailoa’s game-winning touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith from the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship matchup versus Georgia.
RELATED: Tim McGraw is a fan of Tua Tagovailoa and inspired by his spirit
The play dubbed “2nd and 26” will forever live on in Crimson Tide folklore.
Along with this, the native Hawaiian received an outpouring of mail from fans that required a dolly cart and many boxes to package.
Since his arrival to Alabama in 2017, Tagovailoa meant something to the football program.
The aftermath of Tua’s announcement: loading all his fan mail into the car. @Tuaamann is beloved. @tauliaa12 @AlabamaFTBL pic.twitter.com/TUAXruBr4Q
— Laura Rutledge (@LauraRutledge) January 6, 2020
This is all fan mail for @Tuaamann at the @AlabamaFTBL facility ? pic.twitter.com/8flojPJCq0
— ESPN (@espn) January 6, 2020
He brought smiles to every face and gave supporters of Tide football a quarterback to brag on. He was genuine to the core and had a way of making everyone around him better.
As he stood at the podium on Monday, one could tell that the decision was weighing heavily on him.
While he would have enjoyed one last season with Saban, Tagovailoa said his faith was critical in him choosing to take his talents to the National Football League.
It will be incredible to see what he will do in the pros, especially after he heals up.
*Get the BEST Alabama football insider information, message board access, and recruiting coverage today! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our subscriber only content!*
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.
