Tua Tagovailoa once revealed a hilarious Nick Saban story when he "pissed off" Alabama coach during National championship
Former Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban left behind countless memories after he retired in January. Former Alabama quarterback and current Miami Dolphins signal caller, Tua Tagovailoa recounted one such tale.
Coming out of Saint Louis High School, Tagovailoa joined Nick Saban's Roll Tide in 2017. Alabama were one of the top teams in the nation that year and despite Tagovaiola serving as backup to starting quarterback Jalen Hurts, he took many snaps due to blowout victories. That came in handy as the Dolphins QB was called upon in the second half of the 2017 national championship game against Georgia.
On Feb. 1, 2020, Tagovailoa was on The Rich Eisen Show, where he reminisced about a memory he had with Nick Saban during the 2017 championship game. The quarterback said he "pissed off" the legendary coach when he got sacked on 2nd and 26.
However, he followed it up with a game-winning 41-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver DeVonta Smith, which helped Alabama win the game 26-23. Tagovailoa further added that the coach was still not happy.
“When we got into the locker room when everything settled down, he was still the same coach,” Tagovailoa said. “He pulled me to the side like ‘what were you thinking taking a sack?’ Being who he is… he pulled me to the side and said, you know, ‘why did you take the sack?’ And I thought it was a good time to joke with him – I mean, we won the national championship.
"So I told him ‘well we needed more room to throw the ball, coach.’ “He looked at me, and like, I was laughing. He’s like ‘that’s not funny.’ I mean, I didn’t know what else to do in that situation. I was like ‘OK, I’m sorry coach.’ So I shook his hand and he just moved on.”
Tua Tagovailoa sustains scary injury against Bills
During Thursday's game in the third quarter, the quarterback took a hit from Bills' incoming rushing safety Damar Hamlin. Subsequently, the medical team rushed in and determined it to be a concussion, ruling him out of the game.
In July, the Dolphins signed Tua Tagovailoa to a four-year contract worth $212.4 million after he had a fantastic 2023 season where he completed 69.3% passes for 4,624 yards and 29 touchdowns.