Tua Tagovailoa is back already.
No, sorry hopeful fans of college football teams not named Alabama. The state player of the year from Saint Louis School and nation’s top dual-threat quarterback prospect didn’t freak out over the lack of sandy beaches and raw fish in Tuscaloosa.
Nor did he get scared off by the competition months before his first spring practice with the Crimson Tide. As Jalen Hurts emerged as a freshman phenom and led Bama to the national championship game, Tagovailoa’s confidence and his commitment never wavered.
He talked about possibly visiting other schools. But he never did.
You can’t get much more committed than being an early enrollee, which is Tagovailoa’s status. He’s officially a college student, a freshman double-majoring in communications and business. He’s taking five classes this spring.
And there is the problem … Tagovailoa arrived home Wednesday night for a game Saturday that he might not be allowed to play in. As of Thursday, game officials were hoping the NCAA would grant him permission to participate in the inaugural Polynesian Bowl as more than a fan.
On the surface, it doesn’t make sense that a college student-athlete would be allowed to play in a high school all-star game. But this is still Tagovailoa’s peer group, especially since the game features fellow Polynesians, and fellow 5-star recruits of various ethnicities.
Whether he gets clearance to play or not, Tagovailoa says he “wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
Maybe the NCAA won’t approve. But his coach did — and Nick Saban is known for being a stern taskmaster who is not a fan of distractions.
Life is full of trade-offs, right?
Skipping the final semester of high school means you give up the senior prom, graduation ceremonies and countless other rites of passage.
But there certainly is something to be said for getting a head start. And Tagovailoa’s presence at Alabama spring practice will give him a much better chance of playing as a freshman than he would have had otherwise.
“We started football training. Regular lifting, get the blood flowing,” said Tagovailoa, who added that he is among about a dozen early enrollees at Alabama this spring.
Even if it’s determined that Tagovailoa can’t play, the collection of talent on display Saturday will be incredible, including 20 players rated in ESPN’s top 300 rankings and 37 of Hawaii’s best.
And kudos to the organizers for having honorary coaches Marcus Mariota (who might not make it to the game because of recent surgery) and Ronnie Stanley draft the teams instead of it being “us against them.”
We’ve seen how bad that can work out many times, most recently at last Saturday’s Paradise Football Classic that pitted teams from Hawaii and the continent against each other.
Tension on the field due to questionable hits led to fans fighting in the stands and then a childish ongoing social media war including players and parents.
“I was so embarrassed,” said Jesse Sapolu, Polynesian Bowl and Polynesian Football Hall of Fame co-founder. “Are we going backward? The coaches have got to nip that in the bud. When I was a kid, even if the guest was wrong my dad would take it out on me, because I’m the host.”
Hospitality is a point of pride for Polynesia as much as football, and organizers and supporters view it as more than a game.
Former University of Hawaii football player, coach and TV color commentator Rick Blangiardi said it best Thursday.
“The game is designed to perpetuate and expose Polynesian culture to the world,” said Blangiardi, the general manager of Hawaii News Now, which is producing the game for ESPN3 and will air it locally on KGMB.
The past is honored with the induction of Junior Ah You, Riki Ellison, Chris Naeole, Ma’a Tanuvasa and John Manumaleuna into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.
The present is celebrated with Saturday’s game.
And there’s already an eye to the future, as a slew of commitments for the 2018 Polynesian Bowl was announced Thursday.
“I look forward to seeing my brother (Taulia) play in the 2019 game,” said Tua Tagovailoa, who may or may not play in this one, depending on the NCAA.
