Taulia Tagovailoa looks to be a leader in second season with Maryland

In his second season at Maryland, talented quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa is looking to improve his play on the field by way of strengthening his relationships with his Terrapin teammates. 

Tagovailoa started four of the five games Maryland played last season, his first after an offseason transfer from Alabama. He threw for 1,011 yards and seven touchdowns with a passer rating of 138.5. Tagovailoa averaged 13.48 yards per catch last season, which was atop the Big Ten, and his 8.3 yards per attempt was second in the conference. Unfortunately for the Terrapins, he threw seven interceptions as well, a flaw he will have to improve upon if the Terrapins want to be competitive in the Big Ten East. 

Tagovailoa was an All-Big Ten honorable mention in 2020, and will look to cement his place as one of the top quarterbacks in the division this season, especially as Ohio State and Michigan work with new signal callers. 

Tagovailoa spent his freshman year at Alabama. Maryland head coach Mike Locksley was Alabama’s offensive coordinator while Tagovailoa’s brother Tua Tagovailoa was starring in Tuscaloosa.

Leadership on the field and in the locker room

Tagovailoa feels a core piece of improvement on the field is improving his relationships with his team, and he is taking steps in that direction to try to do so. Tagovailoa spoke to the team without the coaches present just before training camp began.

“Like Coach (Locksley) preaches all the time, no BCEs,” Tagovailoa said, using the acronym for what Locksley calls “no b—-ing, complaining or excuses.”

“Just working every day, so I look at my part as being a leader but also showing it. I feel like I’m less of a talker, but I do have to step into that role of being more vocal.”

Additionally, he has met with the wide receiver core as well. This unit is one of Maryland’s strengths, and they will need to step up to assist Tagovailoa, who is more of a traditional pocket passer. 

“From top to bottom, I think [wide receiver is] probably the deepest, most talented position on our team,” Locksley said. “And we need those guys to go out and play to their ability because we’re going to lean on our playmakers. As we go into training camp, we always try to identify who are our playmakers on offense, defense and special teams and find ways to keep them involved.”

Maryland started last season 2-1 before losing their final two games to Indiana and Rutgers. While opening with West Virginia will be tough, their other non-conference games are very manageable in 2021; they play Howard and Kent State at home. As a result, Tagovailoa will ease into his season before a daunting game at Ohio State on Oct. 9.

Image courtesy of G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images