Tua Tagovailoa shares hilarious first impression of former Alabama teammate Minkah Fitzpatrick
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When the Miami Dolphins acquired safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers last month, head coach Mike McDaniel got the best scouting report he could hope for of his new defensive back from his team’s leader.
Speaking with local media on Wednesday, McDaniel shared a conversation he had with Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Both Fitzpatrick and Tagovailoa were teammates at Alabama before breaking into the NFL, and Tagovailoa had a healthy fear of the safety in school.
“He told me his first on-field impression, which was hilarious,” McDaniel said. “As a freshman, they’re running gassers, and they’re gutted. And as a freshman, you have a bunch of peers, upperclassmen that you’re trying to prove yourself toward. And then Minkah, just this silent dude in meeting rooms, all of a sudden blacks out, starts talking about overtime and talking all sorts of — not a bad word — but stuff, all sorts of that, and pushing his entire team. And Tua was like, ‘Who’s this psychopath? I fear him.’
“First day on the job, before any practice. You’ve got to condition to see where people are at, and it took one team moment for him to feel his impact. So that was a cool story because it was like one of his first memories as a college football participant. They weren’t playing football. It was just conditioning.”
The two former Tide stars were teammates for one season in Tuscaloosa. Fitzpatrick’s final season was Tagovailoa’s first — a campaign that ended with a national championship trophy.
Now, they’re reunited in Miami. Tagovailoa is entering his sixth season with the Dolphins. He played in just 11 games last year and has gone through a full regular season only once since turning pro.
The Dolphins got Fitzpatrick and a future fifth-round pick in a deal that sent corner Jalen Ramsey to Pittsburgh. Fitzpatrick spent the first 2 years of his career in Miami after the Dolphins drafted him 11th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. He was an All-Pro in 2019 but was dealt to the Steelers early on during the season.
“Had lunch with him on Sunday, got to talk to him about a good amount of things,” Tagovailoa said on Wednesday when he spoke to reporters. And it’s not catching up with me and (wideout Jaylen Waddle) because I’m on the opposite side of the ball, I only had him for one year and, I don’t know, it’s probably six, seven years that I’ve seen him. I’m a different person than I was in Alabama. He’s a different person than he was at Alabama, so just kind of getting to rekindle that fire of a relationship with him.
“But I’m excited. I’m excited to have him, and we’re going to see. I mean, we’re competing right now, so it’s good fun.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
