📡 What makes a receiver open? Tua Tagovailoa tries to explain - AL.com

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What makes a receiver open? Tua Tagovailoa tries to explain

It's not an easy answer.

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Coming off an open weekend, there’s not a fresh game to steer a weekday media gathering with Tua Tagovailoa.

So, Tuesday’s round in front of the cameras and microphones hit the outer reaches of interview questions. We can start with the last question Alabama’s junior quarterback received -- one that left him somewhat stumped.

In essence, he was asked for his definition of what makes a receiver open on a given play.

“Open for me is someone who has at least a little bit,” Tagovailoa said, holding his fingers a few inches apart. “I don’t even know how to explain that. We have to be on the field or watch film, guys. We all have to watch film. ’Oh, yeah, that’s open.’ If you think that wasn’t open, then I can’t explain to you why it was open.”

It requires some anticipation from the receiver, too.

"Yes, depending on where the DB is,” Tagovailoa said. “Sometimes the receiver just has to make plays, you know.”

Just before that, Tagovailoa was asked what makes him uncomfortable in the pocket.

Pressure was the obvious answer, but it is presented in different ways.

“Hard to see sometimes,” he said. “A lot of movement. When you have to move out of the pocket to see something. They say playing in the SEC is close to the NFL. can’t really tell. I wouldn’t be able to judge because I haven’t played in the NFL. But when something is open, it’s only open for so long. So if you have to move to buy time…once you get out you’ve got to start extending the play. You have to motion guys here, tell somebody to go down…make a play that way.”

The quarterback also got into the dynamic between a fast-scoring offense like Alabama’s and giving its young defense adequate rest between possessions.

Tagovailoa brought it up on his own when answering a question about Texas A&M Kellen Mond.

“If they're on the field a certain amount of time,” Tagovailoa said, “it makes it hard for the DC and it makes it hard for the players because, for us, we don't have that many guys. ... We don't have the depth to sustain and play, so as an offense, we need to be able to sustain drives and keep our defense off the field and get them some rest and try to wear their defense out.”

The mindset is typically to move with quickly on offense but there are times Nick Saban steps in and asks to pump the brakes here and there.

“We kind of understand what he’s asking of us,” Tagovailoa said. “That’s when we end up running the ball, maybe first, second down. Third down is really important. We really have to hope to extend the drive in that way. Then if we get another first down, we do the same thing. An eight-play drive is what would be more reasonable for Coach Saban with us on the field.”

Take a look at the video above for part of Tagovailoa’s interview session Tuesday afternoon in Tuscaloosa.

 

[rick4bama]

Great read!