Taulia Tagovailoa says Tua ‘doing good’ after quick trip to Miami
“It’s hard for me to cope with things like that,” said Taulia, the Maryland quarterback who spoke to reporters Tuesday for the first time since his brother’s injury. “He’s someone I look up to, someone I talk to every day. It was a hard scene for me to see that.”
Tua, the starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins, had been evaluated for a possible head injury four days before, but he was allowed to return to the field later in that game and start Thursday’s contest. Tua’s concussion against the Cincinnati Bengals has sparked intense scrutiny over his medical care from the Dolphins and the NFL’s concussion protocols.
Taulia watched the scary injury from his College Park apartment alongside family members, who were in town because of the Terrapins’ home game last weekend. Taulia’s parents, Diane and Galu, were in Cincinnati. After being transported to a hospital by ambulance, Tua traveled back to Miami with his team Thursday night. Taulia waited until Friday night before he could talk to his brother via FaceTime, a difficult 24-hour stretch for Taulia. Once he heard from his brother, he felt content staying in College Park another day to face Michigan State.
“I really just wanted to go there and just spend time with my family and hug them,” Taulia said. “But he told me he’s a big fan of us and he’d rather watch me play on Saturday and win.”
Taulia’s parents flew to Maryland for the Terps’ game, and Tagovailoa led his team to a 27-13 victory. The redshirt junior quarterback threw for 314 yards and one touchdown without a major mistake.
“I’ll take my hat off to that kid,” Coach Michael Locksley said after the win. “You guys have no idea what the last 24 to 48 hours has been like for him.”
After the game, Taulia flew to Miami to spend time with Tua. They only had a short time together, Taulia said, “but we made those eight hours count.” Taulia said his brother is “doing good,” and Sunday night, Taulia returned to Maryland.
Taulia and Tua are extremely close, and Taulia seemingly never tires of talking about his older brother, who was a Heisman Trophy finalist at Alabama. During his first season as Maryland’s quarterback, Taulia sometimes wore his brother’s Dolphins jersey for postgame interviews, and Tua attended the Terps’ season opener last year. The shadow of Tua will follow Taulia through his career, but the younger quarterback never seems to mind.
“Lia doesn’t mind talking about Tua because that’s his big brother,” Tagovailoa’s mom said in an interview last year. “When he needs help, that’s who he goes to. He’s learned so much from him, not only as a football player but as a brother. They just love each other so much.”
On Friday, as Taulia continued his preparation for the Michigan State game, “we all knew that he was not necessarily all the way there,” said Locksley, who also coached Tua at Alabama. The players and coaches were on “pins and needles,” Locksley said, as they watched a concerned Taulia work through meetings and practice. Taulia still hadn’t talked to Tua, and his brother’s health remained at the forefront of his mind.
“I was just so worried about how he’s doing,” Taulia said, adding that he called his mom for updates every hour or so.
“Of course, I wanted to go to my family and not play the game, but that would be very selfish of me, just because we put in hard work together,” Taulia said. “I know how much my team needs me. That’s also my family, too.”
At Maryland, Taulia said, he had “a lot of shoulders to cry on.” But what he really needed was to talk to Tua. After Maryland’s team dinner Friday, Tua called. He told his younger brother that he wanted to watch him play Saturday and get a win. And then Taulia’s demeanor transformed.
“Friday, I didn’t want to play the game,” Taulia said. “Friday night, I was excited to play the game.”
