Tua Tagovailoa is openly lobbying for an award this season.
After coming up short last year, he spent the offseason honing his craft, spending hours working to get every small detail right. It was literally, he said, "the hardest thing I've ever had to do."
He envisions the ball in his hands with the game -- and the season -- on the line. If he messes up, he says, it was "going to be my fault."
"Let's say it's 6-6 and it's the fourth quarter," Tagovailoa says, "and I have to go out there to hold and we have to kick a field goal and there's 2 seconds left."
Yeah, that's right, Alabama's star quarterback isn't talking about throwing a game-winning touchdown or taking home a Heisman Trophy, despite finishing as the runner-up last season. The university hasn't launched a formal campaign on his behalf, and even if it did, you don't get the sense he'd want any part of it.
Instead, Tagovailoa's eyes are on the Peter Mortell Holder of the Year Award.
After Tagovailoa was listed first on the team's depth chart at holder, long-snapper Thomas Fletcher tipped him off to an actual award for the position. Tagovailoa was immediately intrigued. An Alabama sports information director promised to look into getting him on the watch list. "I'll try to work my way up to get my name out," Tagovailoa says. "... I'm working my butt off trying to get it."
FULL STORY:
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Might even have a shot to win it if they actually had special teams all together practicing more than 30 minutes a week...
After coming up short last year, he spent the offseason honing his craft, spending hours working to get every small detail right. It was literally, he said, "the hardest thing I've ever had to do."
He envisions the ball in his hands with the game -- and the season -- on the line. If he messes up, he says, it was "going to be my fault."
"Let's say it's 6-6 and it's the fourth quarter," Tagovailoa says, "and I have to go out there to hold and we have to kick a field goal and there's 2 seconds left."
Yeah, that's right, Alabama's star quarterback isn't talking about throwing a game-winning touchdown or taking home a Heisman Trophy, despite finishing as the runner-up last season. The university hasn't launched a formal campaign on his behalf, and even if it did, you don't get the sense he'd want any part of it.
Instead, Tagovailoa's eyes are on the Peter Mortell Holder of the Year Award.
After Tagovailoa was listed first on the team's depth chart at holder, long-snapper Thomas Fletcher tipped him off to an actual award for the position. Tagovailoa was immediately intrigued. An Alabama sports information director promised to look into getting him on the watch list. "I'll try to work my way up to get my name out," Tagovailoa says. "... I'm working my butt off trying to get it."
FULL STORY:
The fun, fierce Holder of the Year battle, starring Tua Tagovailoa
Alabama's star quarterback is openly lobbying for an award, just not the one you're thinking of. He wants to win Holder of the Year. (Seriously!)
Might even have a shot to win it if they actually had special teams all together practicing more than 30 minutes a week...
