Taulia Tagovailoa makes case for additional year of eligibility, cites Tua's injury

Taulia Tagovailoa has spent five seasons playing collegiate football, with the latter four years at Maryland. Although he technically has no eligibility left, Tagovailoa entered the transfer portal on Friday. Per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the veteran quarterback is requesting an additional season of eligibility from the NCAA.

“Spoke to former Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa today about entering the NCAA transfer portal,” Thamel wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “With his eligibility technically expired, he’s filed for a re-instatement waiver with the NCAA on Thursday for an extra year of eligibility.

“Tagovailoa played in five games as the third-string quarterback at Alabama in 2019, playing just two snaps in his fifth and final game at Mississippi State. He entered during the final snaps of a 38-7 win as a way to honor his brother, Tua, who suffered a severe hip injury.”

Tagovailoa only appeared in five games in his lone season at Alabama. The former four-star prospect finished 9-of-12 for 100 yards in his limited time on the field.

Two snaps cost Taulia Tagovailoa a year

In his final appearance, which made him ineligible, Tagovailoa did not attempt a pass. He simply handed the ball off once before kneeling it to run out the clock against Mississippi State. Tagovailoa explained his complicated decision to sacrifice his redshirt during his true freshman season.

“Honestly, if I could do it again, hopefully my brother doesn’t get injured and I’m not in that emotional state where I want to play in the game,” Tagovailoa said, per Thamel. “If I got to do it over again, I wouldn’t have played in the game.

“Coach asked me if I wanted to go in. Of course I wanted to go in and play for my brother. And that’s what happened.”

In four seasons at Maryland, Tagovailoa amassed 1,256 yards passing and 76 touchdowns, both of which rank him first in program history. He directed the team to a 22-16 record over the past three seasons and was named second team All-Big Ten in 2022.

This year, Tagovailoa led the Big Ten with 3,377 yards passing to go along with 25 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. The Terrapins finished 7-5 to achieve bowl eligibility for the third straight season. Along with his conversation with Thamel, Tagovailoa released an official statement.

An official request for one more year

“I’d humbly ask them to consider that the plan for 2019 was always for me to redshirt. In an emotional decision where my brother had suffered a devastating injury, I went into my 5th game to honor him. In that game, I only played two snaps at the end of the game, where I didn’t even record a stat. In another game, I only played one snap before kneeling for the final play.

“These are two games my freshman year where I played only two snaps in each game. Please don’t let those four snaps prevent me from playing another year of college football while beginning coursework for my master’s degree.”

Tagovailoa’s decision to play two extra snaps to honor his brother cost him an extra season of eligibility. If granted eligibility, Tagovailoa will immediately become a top target in the transfer portal. Now, he can only hope the NCAA will grant his request.