Tua says full speed in March
INDIANAPOLIS — Tua Tagovailoa climbed up a couple of stairs, then walked to the podium without a hitch Tuesday.
It was a promising start to a critical week.
Eventually, the former Alabama quarterback revealed what NFL scouts eagerly awaited:
He should be cleared to resume all football activities
March 9 and will hold his pro day workout April 9 — exactly two weeks before the NFL Draft.
“It’s been a process,” Tagovailoa said. “We went to the hospital for medical checks yesterday at 10 in the morning and I was the last person to leave. I got back about 7:49 last night, so right in time for the informal and formal [team] interviews.”
It’s been a grueling process ever since the man with the multimillion dollar arm injured his hip Nov. 15. Two days later, he had season-ending surgery.
Tagovailoa spent the next three months working his way back, rehearsing answers to all those nagging questions he expected at the league’s annual scouting combine.
Here, in Indianapolis, the 6-foot, 217-pound college star is one of roughly 300 draft prospects getting poked and prodded, measured and tested this week.
But the continual queries about his health are a stark reminder how tough the comeback journey has been.
“I think the lowest point was just at that moment when I got hurt,” he said. “I didn’t feel bad for myself when I was on the helicopter going to Birmingham, when I was in the hospital. The lowest point was when I got hurt.”
Injuries have been a problem during his career. The left-handed quarterback had surgery for a broken index finger on his throwing hand, played through a sprained knee, an injured left quad, a sprained left ankle that led to surgery, and a sprained right ankle that also led to surgery.
“Mentally it’s been a grind, but it’s not something that’s new to me,” he said. “I’ve dealt with a hand injury, my left ankle, my right ankle. So I sort of knew what to expect going through this process, but it’s definitely been a grind.”
And if Tagovailoa proves he’s healthy by draft day, he could be a top-five pick in Las Vegas and an instant millionaire.