Did Tua Tagovailoa Make the Right Decision?

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Today, Monday, January 5th, at 12 p.m. ET, Tua Tagovailoa announced he’s forgoing his senior year at Alabama and entering the 2020 NFL draft. Tua, the #2 ranked quarterback in this year’s class (according to Todd McShay), has decided coming back for one more season with his brothers at one of the best programs in America is not worth risking another injury. Here’s why I think Tua Tagovailoa made the right decision to enter the 2020 NFL draft.

The only reason why the Alabama legend even considered coming back for his senior season is because he has dealt with a series of injuries during his three seasons in Tuscaloosa. During Alabama’s first spring practice of 2018, Tua hit his hand on an offensive lineman, resulting in a broken index finger that required surgery. This injury wasn’t serious and didn’t cause him to miss any practice time. In the 2018 SEC championship game, he suffered a high ankle sprain that required surgery and caused him to be out for two weeks. This ankle injury ailed Tue in the playoffs and he struggled mightily in the playoffs. Fast forward to this season and Tua suffered another high ankle sprain that was obviously affecting him against LSU. His worst injury so far was a hip dislocation which he suffered vs. Mississippi State this season. Tua’s dislocated hip caused him to miss the Iron Bowl, a game in which Alabama lost 48-45 in an absolute shootout against Auburn. The timetable for Tua’s recovery from his dislocated hip is devastating. It’ll take Tua 6 months from the time he got hurt to fully recover. This means he might not be able to perform at the NFL combine. Tua's inability to stay healthy could cause him to fall out of the first round. It’s hard to tell how far he'll will fall in this year’s draft, if he falls at all, but I assume he’ll be a top 20 draft pick. He is way too talented to fall out of the first round and I think he’d be the #1 pick if he wasn’t injury prone. Since Tua is most likely going to be a first-round pick, it would be foolish for him to go back considering his injury history. If he did come back for one more year and got hurt again, his career could possibly be over. That alone is a good enough reason for him to forgo his senior season, but I’m not done.

Let’s compare the 2020 and 2021 quarterback classes:

2020:

Joe Burrow

Justin Herbert

Jacob Eason

Jake Fromm (hasn’t declared)

Jordan Love

2021:

Trevor Lawrence

Justin Fields

Jake Fromm (If he doesn’t enter the 2020 draft)

Sam Ehlinger

Shea Patterson

J.T. Daniels

There’s a pretty big difference between these two quarterback classes. The top of the 2021 class is much better than the top of the 2020 class. That 2021 quarterback class is flat out disgusting (in a good way). Trevor Lawrence is one of the best quarterback prospects of all time and will be rated close if not higher than Andrew Luck and John Elway. Sitting behind Trevor is Justin Fields who, if he takes that next step this off-season, could be better than Tua. Even if Tua would’ve come back and stayed healthy (not likely based on his injury history), there’s a chance he would end up being the third-best quarterback in the 2021 draft class.

This was an easy decision for Tua Togavailoa. He had to make a business decision and take the guaranteed money he’ll get as a first-rounder. Trust me, I understand wanting to come back with your teammates for one last ride. Nothing compares to the bus rides and locker room moments with your teammates. It’s truly a special experience to be a part of a team and make memories that will last a lifetime. However, as I said earlier, if Tua came back and got hurt again, his career could possibly be over. Going pro and guaranteeing himself first-round money was really the only option for Tua and I hope he can stay healthy and have a successful career. It’s not often we see a quarterback as talented as Tua and I’d hate to see his talents go to waste.