Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa announced he is transferring to Maryland Terrapins on Friday. The former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback entered the transfer portal on May 8, and has found his new home with the Terps.
Tagovailoa is the younger brother of former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was selected in the first round of this year’s NFL draft by the Miami Dolphins. Tua was coached by current Maryland coach Mike Locksley at Alabama, and while Taulia did not play for Locksley, there is familiarity with the family.
“Taulia has outstanding field vision and excellent pocket awareness,” Locksley said in a statement. “He’s a twitchy passer that has the ability to make and extend plays in and outside of the pocket because of his above-average athleticism. Taulia has terrific touch and trajectory on his throws and delivers the ball with above-average accuracy. He’s a highly competitive player that will bring great competition to a good quarterback room.”
The younger Tagovailoa was the No. 143 ranked prospect in the 2019 class and the No. 5 ranked dual-threat quarterback, and was in the same class for Alabama as ESPN 300 quarterback Paul Tyson, the great grandson of former Alabama coach Bear Bryant. Tagovailoa played in five games last season for the Crimson Tide, completing nine of 12 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.
Tagovailoa shared his thoughts on Twitter.
God bless! #GoTerps pic.twitter.com/BvOSv8CsG7
— Taulia Tagovailoa (@tauliaa12) May 15, 2020
Because he competed in five games, he did not preserve his redshirt and has three years of eligibility remaining.
His decision to pick Maryland comes at a good time for the Terps as quarterbacks Max Bortenschlager and Tyrell Pigrome entered the transfer portal in January and February respectively. That left Maryland with second year quarterback Lance Legendre, who was part of the 2019 class, as well as Josh Jackson, who transferred in from Virginia Tech.
Jackson played in 10 games last season for Maryland and will have one season of eligibility remaining. The staff did not land a quarterback in the 2020 class and has yet to gain a commitment from a quarterback in the 2021 cycle as well, so landing Tagovailoa will help shore up depth and competition at the position for the future.