Nick Saban picks Tua Tagovailoa as one of his favorite players he coached at Alabama: ‘I always liked Tua’

Before Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa got his feet wet in the NFL, he spent three seasons at the University of Alabama under legendary football coach Nick Saban.

In his sophomore season with the distinguished program, Tagovailoa led his entire conference in a number of passing statistics, including completion percentage (69.0), passing yards (3,966), passing touchdowns (43), yards gained per pass attempt (11.2) and yards gained per pass completion (16.2). He also had the best passer rating in the country that season among FBS players.

Saban — who is now retired from coaching after he was in the profession for decades — named five players he particularly loved to coach at Alabama, and Tagovailoa was among the names mentioned.

“Favorite player to ever coach?” Saban asked in response to the question. “Yeah, I don’t know. Julio [Jones] was great. Derrick Henry. Tua [Tagovailoa], I always liked Tua. Rolando McClain. And the other one I always liked was Reuben Foster.”

Tagovailoa was a freshman when the Crimson Tide won a national championship in the 2017 season. In the title game against the University of Georgia, he totaled three passing touchdowns and 166 passing yards on 14 completions after taking over for teammate Jalen Hurts in the matchup.

He nearly led Alabama to another national title the following season, as the team reached the title game but fell to Clemson University by a final score of 44-16.

The Crimson Tide never finished a season with more than two losses while Tagovailoa was on the roster. The school ended the 2019 campaign with a record of 11-2 after the team lost just one game in each of the quarterback’s freshman and sophomore years.

After making his mark with the Crimson Tide over a sizable stretch, he was drafted by the Dolphins with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Tagovailoa has managed to carry his winning ways over to Miami, at least in the regular season.

Miami has qualified for the playoffs in two of its last three seasons with Tagovailoa leading the offense. In addition, in each of Tagovailoa’s five NFL seasons, he has posted a winning record in games that he has started.

Tagovailoa has yet to win a Super Bowl in the NFL, however, or even come close to capturing the league’s ultimate prize. He’s still seeking his first playoff win since joining the big leagues, and he is fresh off a 2024 season that was marked by injuries and losses. He was sidelined for several games during the campaign, and the Dolphins missed the playoffs.