An NFL quarterback had great things to say about Alabama’s current backup signal caller, Tua Tagovailoa.

Former Oregon and current Tennessee Titans QB Marcus Mariota can relate to Tagovailoa, as both are of Hawaiian descent. Mariota also has served as a mentor to Tagovailoa, as both had the same high school football coach — Vinny Passas — at Saint Louis School in Honolulu.

Mariota recently said Tagovailoa is “carrying the torch for the next generation of Hawaiian athletes.”

He also referred to the Crimson Tide quarterback as a “stud,” according to Associated Press sports writer John Zenor.

Tagovailoa was impressive in Saturday’s road game at Vanderbilt, completing eight of his 10 pass attempts for 103 yards and two touchdowns.

That included this beautiful scoring bomb in the third quarter: