How Tua Tagovailoa's poise was the answer to Alabama prayers
ATLANTA ā The call was āfour verticals,ā a Hail Mary of sorts during a time when Alabama most needed its prayers to be answered.
Down three in overtime and facing a second-and-26 from the 41-yard line, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa brushed himself off from a sack and returned to the huddle. Facing the biggest moment of his young career, the true freshman didnāt stutter. Instead, he delivered a pgoise and confidence well past his years.
What he did next will be the stuff of legends in Tuscaloosa, Ala., for years to come.
Seeing a mismatch in the Georgia defense, Tagovailoa looked off a defensive back before launching a strike to fellow freshman DeVonta Smith for a 41-yard touchdown to give Alabama a 26-23 victory in the national championship game.
āIt looked like they were running two trap. The corner trap on that single receiver side, and I held the safety in the middle as the over was coming,ā Tagovailoa said. āI looked back out, and he was wide open, Smitty was wide open so I hit him, and here we are now, thank God.ā
To be fair, at times it appeared as if Tagovailoa and Alabama had a bit of divine intervention on their side. Entering the game to start the second half down 13-0, the freshman led the Crimson Tideās comeback completing 14 of 24 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns with an interception.
After going three-and on on his first possession, Tagovailoa orchestrated a seven-play, 56-yard drive capped off by a 6-yard touchdown to freshman receiver Henry Ruggs III to put Alabama on the board for the first time. The drive was kept alive by a Houdini-like escape from the quarterback on third-and-7 from the Alabama 47. On the play, Tagovailoa bounced away from a would-be sack before reversing the field for a 9-yard run to pick up the first.
His most clutch display came facing a fourth-and-4 from the Georgia 7-yard line while down 20-13 with 3:49 remaining in the game. Rolling away to his left away from traffic, Tagovailoa fired a bullet off his back foot to Calvin Ridley for the game-tying score.
āI would say my poise comes from my faith, just being able to come onto the sideline every time after I go into a drive,ā Tagovailoa said. āI just pray for peace. I just pray, asking God, let your will be done in me, and the rest will follow. That's the best way I could explain it. Before I go into a drive, I pray a little bit, say my prayers, and we do it. When we come off the field, say a little prayer just to keep me calm, and we go from there.ā
Tagovailoaās ability to remain calm came as no surprise to his fellow teammates. After all, he came into the game completing 66 percent of his passes for 470 yards and eight touchdowns in eight appearances.
āWe see that all the time in practice,ā Ridley said. āHe just went out there and played and did the things he normally does.ā
However, Tagovailoaās entrance in the game was a little less expected. The freshman came in for starter Jalen Hurts who struggled in the first half, completing just 3 of 8 passes for 21 yards. Down by two scores and failing to move the ball at the half, Alabama head coach Nick Saban decided it was time for a change coming out of the break.
āI felt like that we've had this in our mind that, if we were struggling offensively, that we would give Tua an opportunity, even in the last game,ā Saban said. āNo disrespect to Jalen, but the real thought was, you know, they came into the game thinking we were going to run the ball and be able to run quarterback runs, which we made a couple of explosive plays on. But with the absence of a passing game and being able to make explosive plays and being able to convert on third down, I just didn't feel we could run the ball well enough, and I thought Tua would give us a better chance and a spark, which he certainly did.ā
Hurts admits it was a bit different watching the second half from the bench. However, the sophomore never sulked, supporting his backup the rest of the game.
āIām a leader and thatās what leaders do, theyāre there for their team,ā Hurts said. āWe are national champs, itās amazing.ā
Following Tagovailoaās game-winning touchdown, the two embraced with Hurts passing along a simple message to his teammate.
"I said āI love you, and this is what you were made for. Youāre built for this, you worked for this,ā" Hurts said of the conversation. āIām happy for him.ā
Where Alabamaās quarterback competition goes from here is still yet to be determined. Although, in the early hours of Tuesday morning none of that mattered. Still basking in the glow of Alabamaās 17th national championship, the Crimson Tideās newest hero was simply happy to be a part of it all
āI don't know how Coach Saban found me all the way in Hawaii from Alabama,ā Tagovailoa said. āThank God he found me and we're here right now.ā
Alabama's plenty thankful for that as well.
BamaInsider.com - How Tua Tagovailoa's poise was the answer to Alabama prayers
