Tua Tagovailoa talks showdown vs. former teammate Jalen Hurts

Sunday evening might be a reunion for quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa after the pair have been teammates at Alabama in 2017 and 2018.

Dolphins quarterback Tagovailoa mentioned the assembly between Miami (5-1) and Philadelphia (5-1) earlier this week, noting that he has “numerous respect for Jalen.”

Per OddsChecker, Tagovailoa (+350) is the favourite to win MVP. Hurts (+1000) is tied with 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy for fourth-best odds.

“He is been a terrific competitor since I received there to Alabama,” Tagovailoa mentioned, per NFL.com’s Nick Shook.

Hurts was Alabama’s beginning quarterback from 2016-17, main this system to the nationwide championship recreation each years.

He struggled in each title video games, nonetheless, going 13-of-31 for 131 yards and a landing in a 35-31 loss to Clemson in January 2017, then going 3-of-8 for 21 yards earlier than being benched for Tagovailoa within the January 2018 Faculty Soccer Playoff Championship Sport.

Tagovailoa engineered a exceptional second-half comeback that season and held on to the beginning function afterward, main Hurts to switch to Oklahoma for the 2019 season.

“I imply, there’s alternative ways to pores and skin the cat, proper? Many various methods,” Tagovailoa mentioned. “He went down a unique street than I did to get to the place I am at. And he needed to go down a unique street to get to the place he is at. However like I mentioned, I received numerous respect for him — who he’s as an individual who he’s as a participant and need him the most effective of luck as we play him.”

Their diverging paths prolonged to the NFL Draft, the place Tagovailoa was chosen No. 5 total in 2020. Hurts, in the meantime, waited till the second spherical (53rd total) to listen to his identify referred to as throughout the identical draft.

After following Hurts’ footsteps at Alabama, Tagovailoa is trying to do the identical within the NFL. Regardless of being the much less sought-after prospect out of school, Hurts led Philadelphia to Tremendous Bowl LVII final season. Tagovailoa is trying to do the identical this 12 months with a Miami staff that has the most effective offense in soccer, averaging 37.2 factors per recreation.