Taulia Tagovailoa, the younger brother of new Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, announced on Friday that he will be transferring to Maryland. Tagovailoa entered his name into the transfer portal on May 8 and quickly found a new home with the Terps.
God bless! #GoTerps pic.twitter.com/BvOSv8CsG7
— Taulia Tagovailoa (@tauliaa12) May 15, 2020
Tua played under current Maryland football head coach Mike Locksley, and while Taulia did not, there if familiarity with the family.
“Taulia has outstanding field vision and excellent pocket awareness,” Locksley said in a statement. “He’s a twitchy passer that has the ability to make and extend plays in and outside of the pocket because of his above-average athleticism. Taulia has terrific touch and trajectory on his throws and delivers the ball with above-average accuracy. He’s a highly competitive player that will bring great competition to a good quarterback room.”
The former 143rd-ranked prospect from the 2019 class saw time in five games last year for the Crimson Tide, completing nine of 12 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.
Because he played in five games, Tagovailoa did not preserve his red shirt and will need to seek a waiver if he has any hopes of playing in 2020.
His decision to pick Maryland could not come at a better time. Max Bortenschlager and Tyrrell Pigrome both entered the transfer portal in January and February, which left Locksley with second-year quarterback Lance LeGendre and Virginia Tech transfer Josh Jackson.
In 2019, Maryland quarterbacks combined to have a 32.9 QBR, good for second worst among Power Five teams (ahead of Northwestern).
