Hawaii 4-Star QB Tua Tagovailoa Heading to Alabama in 2017
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @HogManInLA
The pressure on top quarterbacks to find a home in the 2017 recruiting class sooner than later seems to be taking hold with several quarterbacks committing over the last week including two to LSU with Myles Brennan and Lowell Narcisse heading to Baton Rouge. The Crimson Tide landed their target under center on Monday night when Tua Tagovailoa committed to Alabama.
Tagovailoa committed in front of all Hawaii appearing on KHON-TV, a local Hawaii news station in Honolulu. The four-star recruit was appropriately decked out in a Hawaiian shirt then slipped on an Alabama hat stating, “I am making my commitment to the University of Alabama.” While talking about his commitment to the Crimson Tide, Tagovailoa went on to add, “I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Alabama hosted Tagovailoa on April 7 which was followed by an unofficial visit to Mississippi two days later. Other teams to offer the 6’1”, 210 pound, athlete included Arizona State, UCLA, Nebraska, Oregon State, Hawaii, Colorado, Arizona State, USC, Washington, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, and Washington. Surprisingly, Oregon did not offer Tagovailoa even after the success of another former St. Louis High School star, Ducks’ Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Marcus Mariota.
Tagovailoa became a top recruiting target after rushing for 576 yards off 87 carries and passing for 2,583 yards with 33 touchdowns against just three interceptions during his sophomore season. He added 2,932 passing yards with 24 more passing touchdowns to his resume in 2015 while covering another 481 yards on the ground with 11 more scores on 77 totes.
Alabama now has nine verbal commitments to their 2017 class covering six different states. The class is already off to a great start with two five-star commitments in running back Najee Harris and offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood. All of the Tide’s other commitments other than defensive end Aaron Sterling are four-star recruits per 247Sports.
Alabama Crimson Tide 2017 Verbal Commit List (9)
SS Xavier McKinney, 6’1”, 185 lbs, Roswell HS, Roswell, GA
LB VanDarius Cowan, 6-4, 217, Palm Beach Gardens HS, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
LB Gary Johnson, 6-1, 225, Dodge City C.C., Dodge City, KS
DE Aaron Sterling, 6’1”, 270 lbs, Stephenson HS, Stone Mountain, GA
OL Alex Leatherwood, 6’5”, 298 lbs, Washington HS, Pensacola, FL
RB Najee Harris, 6’1.5”, 210 lbs, Antioch Senior, Antioch, CA
RB Brian Robinson, 6’1”, 215 lbs, Hillcrest HS, Tuscaloosa, AL
QB Tua Tagovailoa, 6-1, 210, St. Louis HS, Honolulu, HI
ATH Chadarius Townsend, 6’0”, 180 lbs, Tanner HS, Tanner, AL
Photo credit: hawaiiprepworld.com; No. 13 Tua Taovailoa drops back to pass for St. Louis High School.