Five-star Hawaiian quarterback prospect Tua Tagovailoa surprised many when he committed to Alabama over USC back in May. Not only had the Trojans been the perceived heavy favorite in his recruitment, but the Tide were loaded at the quarterback position with freshmen Jalen Hurts and Blake Barnett among those expected to compete for the starting role in the fall.

Despite overtures from USC, Oregon and LSU down the stretch, and Alabama’s true freshman Hurts not only winning the job in Tuscaloosa but excelling in the regular season, Tagovailoa never seemed to give serious thought to backing off of his pledged to the Tide.

Now we know why.

According to an AL.com article by Joseph Goodman, Tagovailoa chose Alabama for a reason: It was the best choice to get to him to the NFL so that he could build his family a bigger church in Hawaii.

Easy to see why Tagovailoa has been compared to Tim Tebow. A local Tuscaloosa church caught Tagovailoa’s eye during a trip to Alabama’s campus, which also helped seal the deal for the Tide.

“He feels he wants to go to the NFL,” said Tagovailoa’s high school quarterback coach Vinny Passas, “that’s his ambition. And I think he feels Alabama is a pretty close program to help him get there.”

Passas also coached highly successful college quarterbacks Marcus Mariota, Timmy Chang, and Jeremiah Masoli.

If Tagovailoa can match Tebow in on-the-field excellence, and not just humanitarian work, it’s hard to imagine Alabama keeping him on the bench for long. Don’t be surprised when you hear about the fierce, albeit friendly, quarterback duels over the next few seasons between Hurts and Tagovailoa.

It’s possible the best two quarterbacks in the SEC will reside in Tuscaloosa over the next few seasons.