Getty Tua Tagovailoa, formerly of the Alabama Crimson Tide
University of Alabama star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa took to a podium in Tuscaloosa on early Monday afternoon to announce his intentions of declaring for the 2020 NFL Draft. This is a scene that many Alabama faithful and NFL Draft experts had expected to witness for years now, following the QB’s junior season.
Since entering the 2018 National Championship game in the second half and orchestrating a 13 point comeback, Tua has been on the NFL Draft radar. Pegged as the likely first-overall pick whenever he chose to declare, it seemed like a forgone conclusion that Tua would jump ship to the NFL once eligible.
However, while that has still occurred, the fashion in which it has occurred has taken a complete left turn. A slew of injuries have put Tagovailoa’s NFL Draft stock and availability in question moving forward.
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Tua’s Latest Injury Updates are Promising
Speaking during a recent SEC Nation pregame show, ESPN’s Marty Smith took to the airwaves to offer up some crucial details obtained by Nick Saban himself per 247 Sports, regarding now-former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s hip injury.
“I had the opportunity on Friday to chat with Coach Saban about Tua’s rehab and exactly where that stands. He said it’s going extremely well. In fact, he’s making tremendous progress. But cautioned it is a work in progress. It is a significant injury. Ultimately, he feels like Tua’s rehab is going very well and lauded the Alabama medical staff led by head athletic trainer Jeff Allen.”
Smith also discussed details pertaining to Tua’s rehab process and a timeline regarding the invitation of weight-bearing exercises into the equation.
“Very controlled strength work right now…a lot of aquatic rehabs. They’re still in the phase where that fracture is healing. Rehab is conservative right now. They’ll advance to full weight-bearing in the next two to three weeks. More aggressive strength work after that.”
Will Tua Tagovailoa Play in 2020?
According to ESPN’s Laura Rutledge, Tua Tagovailoa underwent surgery in mid-November to repair a dislocated hip. The doctors who performed the surgery on the star quarterback are hopeful he can begin to resume athletic activity three months from his surgery date.
“Tua’s prognosis is excellent, and we expect him to make a full recovery,” Alabama orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lyle Cain said.
If all goes well, Tua’s doctors believe that the QB should be able to resume throwing in the spring. This expected timeline for Tagovailoa is crucial as it will allow teams to see the quarterback in action (albeit likely not full-speed action) prior to late-April’s 2020 NFL Draft. This will allow organizations to better gauge how far along Tua is in the rehab process.
In an NFL where first-round picks, especially top-10 picks at the quarterback position, are thrown into the line of fire from the get-go, Tagovailoa’s insertion into the NFL fire will undoubtedly come at a later time.
Tagovailoa’s best-case scenario is to land with a team that has an established veteran quarterback, or at the very least a solid-enough place holder, to not put pressure on the QB to rush back from injury. Tua could likely be ready for true game action late into the 2020 NFL season. However, at that point his team will likely be best served to treat his rookie season as a redshirt season and opt to look at the grand scheme of things.
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