QB Taulia Tagovailoa joins portal looking for 6th year

• Pete Thamel, ESPNJan 5, 2024, 05:17 PM ET

Former Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa has actually entered the NCAA transfer portal, and he told ESPN in a phone interview on Friday that he filed for a reinstatement waiver with the NCAA on Thursday for a sixth year of eligibility.Tagovailoa played five seasons, including his freshman year at Alabama in 2019. He went on to become the Big Ten’s all-time death leader in his subsequent 4 seasons at Maryland, tossing for 11,256 yards. The 2020 season does not count towards eligibility due to the fact that of guidelines that emerged throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, which would have left Tagovailoa another year if he ‘d redshirted in 2019. The waiver demand is centered on Tagovailoa playing in five games as the third-string

quarterback at Alabama in 2019, playing simply 2 snaps versus Duke and another two at Mississippi State. He played 22 snaps the final week at Western Carolina. The maximum threshold for redshirting is playing in four games.Editor’s Picks 2 Related Tagovailoa stated in a phone interview that the waiver request for adding back the year of eligibility stems from the situations

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games in which he played a total of 4 snaps. He went into during the final snaps of a 38-7 blowout at Mississippi State as a method to honor his bro, Tua Tagovailoa, who suffered a severe hip injury throughout the game.Maryland filed the waiver on behalf of Tagovailoa on Thursday. He’s not sure of the status, but stated that Alabama has been extremely encouraging of him at the same time and there’s no difficult sensations toward the training personnel for the choice.”It’s with the NCAA today,”he stated.”We’re all just a waiting game on seeing if it gets approved or not.”There’s no indication on a timeline. He said he’s checking out returning to college to also assist better his draft stock. He’s projected as a Day 3 pick, and hopes another year could assist him.He has 77 profession touchdown passes, among which came throughout that 2019 season at Alabama. He completed more than 66 %of his passes during his final 3 seasons at Maryland.” Just to better my draft stock,”he stated of his objectives on the field

.” I think with another chance and another year of college, I can raise that to a Day 1. Obviously, that’s the goal. I have the experience to improve. I’ve seen the defenses before.

“When asked what he ‘d state to the NCAA, Tagovailoa reacted that he wouldn’t desire four snaps– two at the end of two different blowouts– to”avoid me from playing another year of college football while beginning coursework for my master’s degree. “