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Mark Heim | mheim@al.com
"The only video clip I've seen so far that comes close was Taulia Tagovailoa in his high school game where he threw for 400 yards and five touchdowns or whatever was circulating," CBS Sports' Adam Zucker joked.
The Tua Tagovailoa hype train continues full-steam ahead.
The Alabama quarterback continues to be a topic of conversation around the college football-watching world.
The latest revelation is from former NFL quarterback-turned Elite 11 coach Trent Dilfer.
"I think Tua's a generational talent," Dilfer told The Rich Eisen Show earlier this week. "I mean, I've said this over and over and over. I said it a year and a half ago before he got to Alabama. I think that he's a kid that can go through his college career and never lose a game, considering where he's at.
"I mean, he's that good. The best I've ever seen."
The sophomore has thrown for 646 yards and eight touchdowns through three games, though, has yet to finish a game for Alabama (3-0, 1-0 in SEC), which has outscored opponents 56.67 to 9.33 so far this season.
But is he the best ever?
"I don't think it is too far-fetched," former Crimson Tide Sports Network analyst Phil Savage told me Thursday during "The Opening Kickoff" on WNSP-FM 105.5. "I think Tua is able to do - from an instincts standpoint, from a vision standpoint - you just don't see that often in college football anymore."
Savage's point is quarterbacks, for the most part, are growing up in systems. He called it "paint by numbers-type of operation."
"With Tua Tagovailoa, you're seeing the position being played rather than being orchestrated from the sideline," Savage explained.
"He is playing the quarterback position because he is truly able to dissect the defense and go with the football where it needs to go in terms of spreading the ball around to his receivers."
Perhaps most impressive is his third-down passing.
"The only video clip I've seen so far that comes close was Taulia Tagovailoa in his high school game where he threw for 400 yards and five touchdowns or whatever was circulating," CBS Sports' Adam Zucker joked when he joined me Thursday on "The Opening Kickoff" on WNSP-FM 105.5.
"He's really special," Zucker said of Tua, adding he hasn't seen a quarterback this year better than the Alabama sophomore.
"There's a Russell Wilson aspect there. There is a Baker Mayfield aspect to him, just his style and escapability and how quickly he sees the field."
Dilfer called Tagovailoa the total package.
"I think of the 32 NFL starters right now, I want to say ... 20 of them have gone through our Elite 11. I know the other ones well. He's the greatest high school talent I've ever seen, and it's not close," Dilfer continued. "But it's not just how he throws the ball and his movement skills. It's his maturity, it's his focus, it's his football IQ, it's his leadership. It's everything. He's the complete package.
"And you're just seeing the tip of the iceberg. He can do things with a football that I've only seen a couple other people be able to do. And he can think quickly, and nothing bothers him, and he's a great leader. Like I said, he just checks every box."
It is a sentiment that isn't new.
Savage relayed a conversation he had with Joey Roberts, who worked with Chris Mortensen at ESPN and assists Dilfer with the Elite 11.
"He told me two years before Tua even committed to Alabama. He said, 'Wow, this kid from Hawaii is really something special. We've never seen anything like him. Even though Trent said this (week), there's been a belief among he and his staff this kid really has his act together."
Tagovailoa and the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide plays Texas A&M on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS.
Phil Savage, Adam Zucker react to Trent Dilfer calling Tua Tagovailoa 'the best I've ever seen'
The Tua Tagovailoa hype train continues full-steam ahead.
The Alabama quarterback continues to be a topic of conversation around the college football-watching world.
The latest revelation is from former NFL quarterback-turned Elite 11 coach Trent Dilfer.
"I think Tua's a generational talent," Dilfer told The Rich Eisen Show earlier this week. "I mean, I've said this over and over and over. I said it a year and a half ago before he got to Alabama. I think that he's a kid that can go through his college career and never lose a game, considering where he's at.
"I mean, he's that good. The best I've ever seen."
The sophomore has thrown for 646 yards and eight touchdowns through three games, though, has yet to finish a game for Alabama (3-0, 1-0 in SEC), which has outscored opponents 56.67 to 9.33 so far this season.
But is he the best ever?
"I don't think it is too far-fetched," former Crimson Tide Sports Network analyst Phil Savage told me Thursday during "The Opening Kickoff" on WNSP-FM 105.5. "I think Tua is able to do - from an instincts standpoint, from a vision standpoint - you just don't see that often in college football anymore."
Savage's point is quarterbacks, for the most part, are growing up in systems. He called it "paint by numbers-type of operation."
"With Tua Tagovailoa, you're seeing the position being played rather than being orchestrated from the sideline," Savage explained.
"He is playing the quarterback position because he is truly able to dissect the defense and go with the football where it needs to go in terms of spreading the ball around to his receivers."
Perhaps most impressive is his third-down passing.
"The only video clip I've seen so far that comes close was Taulia Tagovailoa in his high school game where he threw for 400 yards and five touchdowns or whatever was circulating," CBS Sports' Adam Zucker joked when he joined me Thursday on "The Opening Kickoff" on WNSP-FM 105.5.
"He's really special," Zucker said of Tua, adding he hasn't seen a quarterback this year better than the Alabama sophomore.
"There's a Russell Wilson aspect there. There is a Baker Mayfield aspect to him, just his style and escapability and how quickly he sees the field."
Dilfer called Tagovailoa the total package.
"I think of the 32 NFL starters right now, I want to say ... 20 of them have gone through our Elite 11. I know the other ones well. He's the greatest high school talent I've ever seen, and it's not close," Dilfer continued. "But it's not just how he throws the ball and his movement skills. It's his maturity, it's his focus, it's his football IQ, it's his leadership. It's everything. He's the complete package.
"And you're just seeing the tip of the iceberg. He can do things with a football that I've only seen a couple other people be able to do. And he can think quickly, and nothing bothers him, and he's a great leader. Like I said, he just checks every box."
It is a sentiment that isn't new.
Savage relayed a conversation he had with Joey Roberts, who worked with Chris Mortensen at ESPN and assists Dilfer with the Elite 11.
"He told me two years before Tua even committed to Alabama. He said, 'Wow, this kid from Hawaii is really something special. We've never seen anything like him. Even though Trent said this (week), there's been a belief among he and his staff this kid really has his act together."
Tagovailoa and the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide plays Texas A&M on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS.
Phil Savage, Adam Zucker react to Trent Dilfer calling Tua Tagovailoa 'the best I've ever seen'
