Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa discusses his improvement, opening SEC play on the road
By Jake Rill
Published:
Tua Tagovailoa had an impressive 2018 season, during which he passed for 3,966 yards and 43 touchdowns while being named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. But the Alabama junior is continuing to improve along the way.
Through the Crimson Tide’s first two games, Tagovailoa has passed for 563 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions.
“We’re doing just a lot of straight drop-back things, so I have the opportunity to drop back and read,” Tagovailoa said while speaking with the media on Monday. “If they’re one high, I’ve got to go here. If they’re two high, I’ve got to go here. So, being decisive with knowing where to go and giving our guys an opportunity to play in space.”
But Tagovailoa also knows what he can do to become even better moving forward.
“Making adjustments on the fly is something that I need to do,” Tagovailoa said. “Having those kinds of things in the back of my head and going into series, understanding, ‘If they run this, I’ve got to understand that this is where I’ve got to go.'”
After earning non-conference victories over Duke and New Mexico State, Alabama begins conference play with a road matchup at South Carolina on Saturday.
“This is what you prepare for is games on the road like this where it’s going to be hostile, it’s going to be hot, it’s going to be hard,” Tagovailoa said. “This is what we prepare for. I think, offensively, what we can do is look at the things we need to improve on, what we need to work on, and try not to make the same mistakes we made from the previous games.”
The Crimson Tide and Gamecocks are set to kick off on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
For more of Tagovailoa’s comments from Monday, watch the below video courtesy of AL.com:
Jake Rill contributes to news coverage for Saturday Down South. He has covered the SEC since 2016.
