Brian Daboll 'not surprised' by Tua Tagovailoa's impressive play

Surely, Giants coach Brian Daboll will find Tua Tagovailoa sometime Sunday when both are at Hard Rock Stadium. He’ll say hello and probably offer him a bear hug.

After all, both were once proud members of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. This was back in 2017, when Daboll was Bama’s quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. Meanwhile, Tagovailoa was a highly-touted freshman from Hawaii who had no idea he’d be leading the Tide to a national title in January 2018.

It’s all so different now. Brian Daboll’s Giants will travel to Miami to play the Dolphins, with Tua Tagovailoa as their starting quarterback. Tagovailoa is one of the hottest quarterbacks in a league stacked with talented QBs.

Reporters asked Daboll about his relationship with Tagovailoa and what he remembered about his play back in the day. He said he’s not surprised to see the quarterback thriving in the NFL.

“I have a lot of respect for Tua and how he plays that position, some of the stuff he went through early on in his career,” Daboll said. “He’s got great anticipation, he’s accurate, he’s a leader, and I am not surprised at all with the success he has had. He’s bounced back from some tough things injury-wise, but he’s a heck of a quarterback.”

Tagovailoa leads the NFL in total passing yards with 1,306. His nine touchdown passes are second-best in the league behind Kirk Cousin’s 11. Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Denver’s Russell Wilson also have each thrown nine TDs. His quarterback rating of 114.4 is second behind San Francisco’s Brock Purdy, whose score is 115.5.

Brian Daboll says Tua Tagovailoa, other QBs, are like his kids

Brian Daboll shared more memories about Tua Tagovailoa when both were spending time in Tuscaloosa.

The Giants coach remembered that the QB is “very accurate, that he’s very instinctive. He’s a great young man. Loves the game of football, has good leadership about him. You can see the players really respect him and how he handles himself. Again, he’s very, very accurate. He throws on time, he’s a heck of a player and he’s a great person, too.”

And yes, Tagovailoa still is accurate. His completion percentage is 71.3. And he’s one of seven NFL quarterbacks who are hitting at 70 or higher.

About this time a year ago, Tagovailoa suffered a significant concussion during a Thursday Night Football game at Cincinnati against the Bengals. Tagovailoa needed to be taken off the field via stretcher, then rode in an ambulance to a hospital in downtown Cincinnati. Daboll was watching the game from his home. The next day, he still was emotional talking about Tua.

“I don’t really think about them as players,” Daboll told reporters as he talked about Tagovailoa’s concussion. “I know I’m a coach, but I try to think about them, they’re not too far off from my kids. Any time a guy gets hurt, I saw it and just prayers for him, his family and the people around him.”

In 2018, Brian Daboll left Alabama for the Buffalo Bills, while Tua Tagovailoa took over as the starting QB for the Crimson Tide. They can catch back up on Sunday.