Kirby Smart relives Tua Tagovailoa’s play in the second half of 2017 title game: ‘It was a shock’
By Adam Spencer
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We all remember the College Football Playoff title game following the 2017 season, pitting SEC foes Alabama and Georgia against one another.
Of course, the defining part of the game was when freshman QB Tua Tagovailoa replaced starter Jalen Hurts at halftime and led an amazing comeback for the Crimson Tide.
On the All Things Covered podcast with Bryant McFadden this week, Smart was asked about that game and the play of the young freshman, culminating with the iconic “2nd & 26” pass to DeVonta Smith in overtime to win the title (via 247Sports):
“It was a shock,” Smart said about Tagovailoa’s play in the national championship game, per the All Things Covered podcast. “What got us is I’d heard all year from friends in Tuscaloosa that they liked the younger quarterback better than Jalen. I kept hearing that. I would hear that, now of course I didn’t think we’re gonna play them, we weren’t scheduled to play them. I thought well if we make the SEC championship, we’ll play Alabama. And then it played out where we played Auburn.
“And I’d heard all this stuff about, you know, the younger quarterback can throw the ball better. He can do more stuff, but he was only getting to play mop up time. They didn’t have many games that they got forced to do in (the national title game), I knew at halftime I said, ‘Guys they may have to make a change here because they’re struggling, they’re not scoring.’ People forget that he came in and actually threw a pick on a strange play, like a busted play. The receiver was blocking downfield and DeAndre Baker picks off a pass. Tua threw to him, receiver must get the wrong call he thought was a sprint-out run, and he throws a pick and I’m like, ‘Man, this guy’s struggling a little bit.’ We sacked him a couple times, had him confused, and the next thing you know, he starts throwing dimes.”
Of course, now we know just how big of a star Tagovailoa became. We’re sure Smart really loves reliving that game 4 years later, though.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
