Taulia Tagovailoa sheds light on grounds for reinstatement waiver

After the fall rumor picked up steam when head coach Mike Locksley hinted at it weeks ago, news broke on Friday afternoon that former Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa officially entered the transfer portal in hopes of playing a sixth season elsewhere. After one season at Alabama and four at Maryland, Taulia Tagovailoa applied for a reinstatement waiver with the NCAA on Thursday, he told ESPN, as he looks to prolong his college career.

Of course, Taulia’s ultimate chances of suiting up elsewhere in 2024 remain contingent on waiver approval. ESPN reported that Maryland filed the waiver on behalf of Tagovailoa on Thursday, while Miami has received paperwork and Alabama is actively helping in the process. ESPN additionally noted that, “Alabama has been very supportive of him in the process and there’s no hard feelings toward the coaching staff for the decision.”

“It’s with the NCAA right now,” Tagovailoa told ESPN. “We’re all just a waiting game on seeing if it gets approved or not.”

In a since-redacted statement, Tagovailoa pointed to his usage in his five games during his lone season with the Crimson Tide, shedding light on why Tagovailoa’s camp urges for a sixth season with the waiver.

“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 5^th game to honor him.” Taulia Tagovailoa told ESPN.

Tua’s injury came against Mississippi State back in 2019, one of two games where Taulia played just two snaps as he’s since cited as a way to honor his brother.

“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 four snaps prevent me from playing another year of college football while beginning coursework for my master’s degree,” he added.

The basis for the waiver remains unprecedented in the college football era, and Taulia Tagovailoa himself even acknowledged the Michigan game would be his final home game given his eligibility was approaching the end. “I don’t think I have any years left of eligibility left, do I? I think this has to be the last one,” he said heading into the Michigan game. Whether the NCAA is willing to grant Taulia Tagovailoa an extra season over four snaps, as he cites, remains to be seen. While the pessimism surrounding waiver approval have loomed large over the last month, Friday’s news was the next step in the process with no indication on a decision timeframe.

“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 told Pete 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.”

Taulia Tagovailoa ended his career in College Park resetting the expectation at the position en route to rewriting the record book and ultimately becoming the Big Ten’s all-time passing leader. After four years in College Park, the new reality of college football has hit the former face of the program as Taulia looks to extend his college career one more season.

“Just to better my draft stock,” Taulia said about his goals for a sixth season. “I think with another opportunity and another year of college, I can raise that to a Day 1. Obviously, that’s the goal. I have the experience to get better. I’ve seen the defenses before.”

Taulia Tagovailoa sheds light on grounds for reinstatement waiver

Ahmed Ghafir