Tua Tagovailoa talks showdown vs. former teammate Jalen Hurts

Sunday night is perhaps a reunion for quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa after the pair have been teammates at Alabama in 2017 and 2018.

Dolphins quarterback Tagovailoa talked about the meeting between Miami (5-1) and Philadelphia (5-1) earlier this week, noting that he has “quite a few respect for Jalen.”

Per OddsChecker, Tagovailoa (+350) is the favorite to win MVP. Hurts (+1000) is tied with 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy for fourth-best odds.

“He’s been a terrific competitor since I obtained there to Alabama,” Tagovailoa talked about, per NFL.com’s Nick Shook.

Hurts was Alabama’s starting quarterback from 2016-17, fundamental this technique to the nationwide championship recreation every years.

He struggled in every title video video games, nonetheless, going 13-of-31 for 131 yards and a touchdown in a 35-31 loss to Clemson in January 2017, then going 3-of-8 for 21 yards sooner than being benched for Tagovailoa throughout the January 2018 School Soccer Playoff Championship Sport.

Tagovailoa engineered a distinctive second-half comeback that season and held on to the start perform afterward, fundamental Hurts to modify to Oklahoma for the 2019 season.

“I suggest, there’s alternative routes to pores and pores and skin the cat, correct? Many alternative strategies,” Tagovailoa talked about. “He went down a novel road than I did to get to the place I’m at. And he wanted to go down a novel road to get to the place he’s at. Nonetheless like I discussed, I obtained quite a few respect for him — who he’s as a person who he’s as a participant and want him the simplest of luck as we play him.”

Their diverging paths extended to the NFL Draft, the place Tagovailoa was chosen No. 5 complete in 2020. Hurts, within the meantime, waited until the second spherical (53rd complete) to hearken to his determine known as all through the equivalent draft.

After following Hurts’ footsteps at Alabama, Tagovailoa is attempting to do the equivalent throughout the NFL. No matter being the a lot much less sought-after prospect out of college, Hurts led Philadelphia to Super Bowl LVII last season. Tagovailoa is attempting to do the equivalent this 12 months with a Miami workers that has the simplest offense in soccer, averaging 37.2 components per recreation.