COLLEGE PARK, Md. — For about two hours on a recent March morning, Maryland‘s indoor football facility was quiet enough to hear the smack of the ball hitting the receivers’ hands at the Terps’ pro day.
With 51 representatives from all 32 NFL teams watching and taking notes, the auditions were consequential and, at times, tense — until the reggae music began blasting through the speakers.
The song by artist Lucky Dube was a special request from the Big Ten’s all-time leading passer, Hawaii native Taulia Tagovailoa, as he began to showcase his arm strength with some deep passes.
“I’m an island boy,” Tagovailoa said with a smile following his throwing session, noting the braids sprouting from the top of his head as evidence of his laid-back, pro day vibe.
As the younger brother of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, it’s impossible for Taulia to forget where he came from — or where he’s trying to go. The two brothers, once teammates at Alabama, continue to forge their own paths but are forever linked by Tua’s success — the barometer by which Taulia will always be measured. And while Taulia leaves Maryland as one of the most decorated quarterbacks in school history, his potential to go undrafted leaves him in a familiar position — looking up at his brother, the No. 5 overall pick in 2020.
“That’s one of the things when Taulia came here that was a concern of mine because I understood the family dynamics, understood being in Tua’s shadow,” said Maryland coach Mike Locksley, who recruited Taulia when he was the offensive coordinator at Alabama before reuniting with him at Maryland. “But what I’ve been able to see, and if you ever get to know the kid, he’s a kid that’s really stood on his own.
“His stats provide that data to show that he’s a guy that can make those type of plays. I thought he handled — because of his love for his brother — being in that shadow as an honor, rather than something as a hindrance.”
TUA, A 2023 Pro Bowl selection, has started 51 NFL games, completed 66.9% of his passes (second best in team history) and has the best passer rating (97.1) in Dolphins history. In 2022, at just 24 years old, Tua became the youngest NFL quarterback since Dan Marino in 1984 to lead the league in passer rating, with his 105.5 just a notch above reigning Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes (105.2).
It’s a standard Taulia said he considers a “big blessing” as he works to join Tua at the professional level. But the NCAA played a role in his decision to enter the draft earlier than Taulia had hoped. In early January, Tagovailoa entered the NCAA transfer portal and filed a waiver with the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility to improve his draft stock.
“The opportunities these kids have with the extra year, the NIL piece, that’s a smart business decision that Taulia made, his family and his group decided,” Locksley said. “I thought it was a great decision on his part to maximize the financial gains of college if you’re not maybe where you see yourself at the next level.”
Taulia’s waiver request focused on the circumstances surrounding his freshman season in 2019, when he was Alabama’s third-string quarterback behind his brother, who was the starter, and backup Mac Jones. That season, Taulia played in five games — barely.
He played four total snaps in two of those games, including a 38-7 route at Mississippi State when he entered to honor Tua, who suffered a severe hip injury earlier in the game. The maximum threshold for redshirting is…
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