Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa announced Monday that he will forgo his senior season and declare for the 2020 NFL Draft.
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00:00 Well, good morning. Thank you all for coming today. I've had a difficult time making this
00:08 decision about my future. But first and foremost, I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
00:13 for this opportunity to stand before you all with my decision. My love for the University
00:18 of Alabama, our coaches, our fans, and my teammates has made this especially hard for
00:24 me. I've had the advice and counsel of my parents, my family, and coaches in going through
00:29 a thorough analysis of the alternatives. And without further ado, with lots of prayers,
00:36 thoughts, and guidance, I have decided that I will be declaring and entering the 2020
00:41 NFL Draft. My three years at the University of Alabama have been the epitome of a rollercoaster.
00:47 I've had a fair share of ups, of many ups and a handful of downs. And I couldn't be happier
00:53 to know that with all the success and failures I've had here at the University, it has prepared
00:58 me for life in general. I can't express how grateful I am to have attended the greatest
01:02 school in college. But the biggest thing I'll remember with my time here are the memories
01:07 that I've made with all my friends, family, and loved ones. I want to honor and thank
01:13 Coach Saban for allowing me the chance to play for him. I'm forever grateful that I
01:17 not only got to build a great relationship with someone like him, but I also got to play
01:20 for him. I'd like to thank Coach Sark and our entire coaching staff for helping me enhance
01:24 my skills this year. And I'd like to thank Jeff Allen and his athletic training staff
01:28 for the first class treatment they've given and shown me and my family. I'd like to thank
01:33 Josh Maxson and his crew for helping me build my brand here. And to all those behind the
01:38 scenes that don't get enough credit, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I'd like to extend
01:45 my appreciation also to John Deaver and our academic advisors for the help and support
01:49 they've given me. And to our AD, Greg Byrne, thank you for the many talks we've had and
01:54 for the tremendous support you've given me. To my teammates, thank you for the lifetime
01:58 worth of memories and lessons. Thank you for the laughs, the love, and all the hard work
02:03 that came with helping me shape me to be who I am today. I'm going to miss you all from
02:08 the starting lineup to the scout team. To Bama Nation, I'd just like to thank you all
02:12 for the tremendous three years of support that you've given me and my family. And thank
02:18 you for taking our family in as your own. To my parents, thank you for giving me everything.
02:27 Thank you for everything and thank you guys for instilling everything you had in me. And
02:32 thank you for your continuous love, support, and especially prayers. I'd like to thank
02:37 my family and everyone who's been involved in this process. Like I've heard my parents
02:41 say many times, it takes a village to raise a child. So thank you all. As I wrap things
02:47 up, there will still be a tongue of Iloa here playing football. That's my little brother
02:51 Talia. And I plan to stay close to the university and always be a part of the Alabama family.
02:57 So I'd like to leave you all with this. From one of my favorite Tim McGraw songs, "When
03:01 you get where you're going, don't forget to turn back around and have the next one in
03:05 line. Always stay humble and kind." Thank you all so, so much. God bless and road tide.
03:10 Thanks, Tua. At this time, the coach is going to dismiss and Tua's going to take some questions.
03:17 Alex is going to run that for you. Raise your hand like you do. First, we'll see some back
03:24 there in the corner. Congratulations, Tua. And what's the next step for you now in terms
03:34 of rehab, in terms of meeting with teams? Have you thought that out yet? Yeah, well,
03:42 I'm just focusing on my rehab as far as now with all the teams and deciding if I'm going
03:49 to do anything physically. We'll decide that with our athletic training staff and then
03:55 with what the doctors have to say about that. Are you going to stay here to rehab at least
04:01 for the foreseeable future? Yeah, yes. Up front here with Chris. Was there one thing
04:09 that was the deciding factor in this decision? I mean, no, it was just a hard decision all
04:16 around. Just taking into consideration the pros and cons for both sides of the situation
04:23 and of the decision. I got to see guidance from my family. We prayed a lot about it.
04:31 And this is a decision that I'm going to have to live with. And so I made it and I'm good
04:39 with it. Tua, you went to New York this weekend to
04:45 kind of get an evaluation. What kind of feedback did you hear from doctors there? And what
04:50 did that kind of tell you about the foreseeable future?
04:53 Well, I don't think any of the doctors can tell the foreseeable future. None of the guys
05:00 rehabbing me can tell that. From what they've seen in New York, everything looks good, but
05:09 you can't really tell until the three-month mark or the four-month mark. So that's the
05:14 gauge on all that. Another feedback question. What did you hear
05:23 from NFL types, NFL teams, executives, scouts, whatever, about because it's kind of a unique
05:28 situation to be in? Yeah, it's a unique situation for sure. With
05:36 my hip, I mean, a lot of the guys, the general managers, the owners that I've got to talk
05:44 to kind of said the same thing. They kind of look at this injury as like a knee injury
05:50 almost, although it's not, in a way that, "Okay, are we going to take a chance on this
05:55 guy or would he be able to possibly do a pro day before the draft and whatnot?" And really
06:04 the biggest thing they want to do is just see that we can move and we can just be back
06:09 to how we were playing prior to the injury. How much, if at all, did you get to talk to
06:18 the fellow juniors in your class and what did you say to them?
06:23 Yeah, I mean, we all got to talk. A lot of their decisions were based off whether they
06:29 played good in this past game or not, but I mean, we all pretty much knew what everyone
06:37 was going to do kind of prior to the game, but it wasn't set. A lot of guys in my class,
06:48 we don't have to share any of that information, but a lot of them made their decisions pretty
06:54 clear up to this point.
07:01 Now that you're leaving, what are your thoughts on the quarterback competition that will be
07:05 coming in the fall?
07:06 Yeah, it'll be good. I'm looking forward to it. They got another guy coming in, Bryce
07:12 Young. He looked really good at his All-American game. I mean, if you love competition, now's
07:19 the best time for it, for Matt Jones, for my little brother, and for Bryce Young, the
07:25 incoming freshman.
07:27 Tuohy, you talked about the decision and the announcement, but now this is where you motivate,
07:36 you challenge yourself, you test your heart. How gratifying is it now to be on your shoulders
07:43 to make or break the next step?
07:46 Well, you know, these kind of things don't really take the doctors, they don't really
07:52 take myself. It pretty much boils down to one thing, and I think that's faith. It boils
07:57 down to that. Coming from a family that has a lot of it, I'm definitely willing to take
08:04 that challenge.
08:05 Tuohy, was the supplemental draft in the summer part of your consideration process?
08:14 No, it wasn't. I mean, if that was part of my process, I probably would have just said
08:22 I was going to stay here at the University of Alabama. So it wasn't really a thought.
08:28 Tuohy, first off, congratulations on the incredible career. Could you explain more how faith went
08:33 into this decision that you decided to make?
08:35 Yeah, well, we seek guidance from a good amount of pastors. My dad is really good friends
08:42 with Pastor Chris, Church of the Highlands. I got to seek counsel from our pastors back
08:48 home and then also Pastor Perry Stone. So, I mean, they pretty much all had the same
08:54 thing, follow your heart. And then they also had stories to kind of align with what they
09:00 were trying to share with me, too.
09:05 You mentioned talking to NFL general managers. Do you have an estimate how many you spoke
09:09 with?
09:10 Probably too many. It was just a good amount.
09:16 Anyone else have any questions?
09:22 You mentioned about how difficult this decision was. How late in this process were you kind
09:29 of going back and forth? And was there like a day, whether it was last Friday after the
09:35 doctor visit or what, that you decided you made this decision final?
09:39 Yeah, it was a really hard decision. I mean, you know, going through my rehab and then,
09:47 you know, with my parents, talking to my parents about it, I mean, it's been tough. You know,
09:52 I have been going back and forth, you know, because, I mean, some things make sense, some
09:59 others don't. I mean, I just had to factor in a lot of things, you know, as to why I
10:04 should either stay or why I should leave. But, I mean, we set a date just so we could
10:11 kind of get everything over with and we're not, you know, continuing to play the, "Okay,
10:16 you know, but if I do stay, you know, this could happen. But if I do go, this could happen."
10:20 So now that it's done, I mean, don't got to worry about it too much anymore.
10:25 Over here with John.
10:32 Do you, from everything you've heard and everything you believe, do you feel like you'll be a
10:36 pretty high first round pick and would you have gone if you didn't expect that?
10:40 Yeah, I don't think, I don't think I could tell you that. I don't think any of the teams
10:45 can tell you that. You know, it really depends on, you know, how the, how the doctors kind
10:53 of, how the doctor's report goes, you know, with my MRI, my x-rays at the three-month
10:59 mark. But then again, I think, you know, what factors into this decision too was, you know,
11:06 our faith and, I mean, it's a leap of faith.
11:10 And you, follow up, you mentioned this was a roller coaster ride for a young guy from
11:14 Hawaii to come in and kind of accomplish what you did at Alabama. What is, how would you
11:19 describe that and just the transition you had culturally, football-wise, everything
11:25 becoming such a big name?
11:27 Yeah, well, culturally it was different, you know, like I said, probably my freshman year
11:32 and my sophomore year, you know, culturally they just fry everything over here, you know,
11:37 so it's like, it's different. You know, I'd say it's been a roller coaster because I've
11:45 got to see the spectrum of both sides having a lot of success, you know, winning a national
11:50 championship, losing a national championship, going through adversity, you know, coming
11:54 back from it, continuing to go through it. So it's just been, you know, a mixture of
11:59 emotions, but I mean, you know, for me, I think coming to a place like this has helped
12:05 me, you know, has helped set me up to be in the best position to become successful later
12:10 in life too.
12:11 All right, two more, Chris Walsh and then Michael.
12:14 Just to follow up on that, how are you emotionally right now? I mean, are you happy, overwhelmed,
12:19 scared?
12:20 Yeah, I don't know how I feel right now. I'm content with the decision that I've made.
12:32 You know, it's more so what's next. That's kind of what I'm thinking of, like, what's
12:38 next with this process?
12:39 All right, Matt over here.
12:40 Two quick questions for you. So first of all, how much did you meet with Coach Saban
12:48 over the course of the last couple of days here?
12:50 Yeah, I met with him a lot, probably five times, you know, within this past week. So
12:58 it's been pretty good.
13:00 So based on the updated feedback that you've gotten, are you expecting right now to be
13:04 ready for the start of football season, be able to play at that point? Are you optimistic
13:09 about that?
13:10 About playing football?
13:11 Yeah, about being available to play at the beginning of football season?
13:14 Yeah, I mean, I'm optimistic that I'll be able to play, you know, this upcoming season.
13:20 But you know, I think for me right now, you know, I'm more so worried about, you know,
13:26 getting better as soon as possible, see what I can do, you know, if I could do a pro day,
13:30 if I can't do a pro day. I mean, and then, you know, it's really all dependent on what
13:37 the doctors, you know, have to say to the teams and, you know, what the results come
13:41 back in as.
13:42 Last one here in the middle, Michael.
13:43 I know you said you went back and forth on your decision. Was there any point where you
13:50 had made up your mind and you were going to come back and change that decision?
13:55 Well, I mean, seeking guidance from my family, you know, my parents, I mean, we've had a
14:03 lot of family talks, you know, about this. And I mean, I think this is the best thing
14:09 for me and my family to do. So that's why I made the decision.
14:15 All right.
14:16 All right. Thank you, guys. One last time. God bless. Road to Idaho.
14:20 Thank you.
14:26 (camera shutters)