Nick Saban’s attempt to help Taulia Tagovailoa receive an extra year of eligibility has failed. Not even the greatest coach in college football history could convince the NCAA to change its mind!
Tagovailoa was hoping to play a sixth year of college football next fall. He played 41 games over five years at two schools and wanted to return in 2024. That will not happen.
His waiver was officially denied on Tuesday morning.
The former four-star recruit began his career at Alabama in 2019. Unfortunately, his lone season with the Crimson Tide was ultimately his downfall in terms of his desire to play year six.
Tagovailoa played in five games while in Tuscaloosa and did not redshirt as a freshman. That proved costly in the long run.
The younger brother of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa later transferred to Maryland and broke all kinds of records in four seasons with the Terrapins. He also set the Big Ten record for most passing yards in an entire career and highest completion percentage during that career.
Tagovailoa completed 67.1% of his passes for 11,356 yards and 77 touchdowns.
The hope was to play again in 2024, if the NCAA was willing to give him the opportunity. It was not.
Nick Saban couldn’t help Taulia Tagovailoa.
All athletes were granted a blanket eligibility waiver in 2020, so that year didn’t count. However, because Tagovailoa played in five games for his brother’s alma mater, he exhausted his four years of eligibility in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Taulia Tagovailoa served as Alabama’s third-string quarterback during his freshman season. He saw “legitimate” time against Arkansas and Southern Miss, but played just two snaps against Duke and just two snaps at Mississippi State. All four plays were handoffs. At that point, a redshirt was still in play.
And then Tagovailoa played 22 snaps during a blowout win over Western Carolina. The maximum threshold for redshirting is playing in four games. That was his fifth.
Tagovailoa’s waiver request centered around game number five. Nick Saban even wrote a strong plea of support to the NCAA on behalf of his former quarterback and the unique circumstances that surrounded his playing time against the Catamounts.
Tua suffered a severe hip injury that ended his season prior to the Western Carolina game. Taulia entered the game as a way to honor his brother.
Even though Tagovailoa ultimately played just two snaps too many, the NCAA is not going to allow him to return for a sixth season. He will instead turn his focus toward the NFL Draft.