Taulia Tagovailoa transfers to Maryland, reunites with Mike Locksley

Taulia Tagovailoa is transferring from Alabama to Maryland where he’ll play for head coach Mike Locksley who was the Alabama offensive coordinator when Tua Tagovailoa was breaking Tide records.

Taulia Tagovailoa has found a new home at Maryland where he’ll continue his college football career after transferring from Alabama. He’ll have three years of eligibility remaining.

Tagovailoa entered the transfer portal earlier this month, which wasn’t entirely a surprise after Mac Jones handled the starting job well when Taulia’s older brother, Tua, was injured and lost for the rest of the season. And incoming five-star freshman Bryce Young is the future of the position.

So Tagovailoa entered the portal, explored his options and found the best option was reuniting with Mike Locksley who oversaw Tua’s record-breaking sophomore season at Alabama in 2018.

The younger Tagovailoa is hoping to have similar success when he gets to Maryland and can compete for a starting job.

“Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow,” Tagovailoa shared on his Twitter. “Thank you to Coach Saban & The great U of A staff for giving me an opportunity to stay in sweet home Alabama my 1st year in college. This decision was not easy & has been prayed on non stop. Thank you to my Pastors & my family for always interceding on my behalf.

“Today, I am blessed to share that I will be continuing my academic & athletic journey at the University of Mayland. I’m grateful to Coach Locksley & the staff for giving me this opportunity. I can’t wait to get to College Park. God bless & Go Terps!”

Tagovailoa is a former four-star recruit who was the No. 5 pro-style quarterback and No. 180 overall recruit, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He held offers to programs such as LSU, Michigan, Oregon, Nebraska and Florida among others before following his older brother to Tuscaloosa to play for Alabama.

Tagovailoa didn’t get much playing time while at Alabama, completing 9-of-12 passes for 100 yards and one touchdown.

The next order of business for Tagovailoa is attempting to get a waiver that’ll allow him to play right away in 2020 instead of sitting out a year due to transfer rules. In the recent past, there has been a lot of leeway in letting transfers play without sitting, such as Justin Fields and Shea Patterson, respectively.

Tagovailoa gets a fresh start and moves away from the expectations of being the younger brother of a legend like Tua at Alabama. This should allow him an opportunity to thrive for a familiar coach who helped mold his brother into a star. History could repeat itself.

If he’s eligible to play in 2020, expect Tagovailoa to be Maryland’s starting quarterback.

For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.