College football star Taulia Tagovailoa is taking his talents to the CFL to pursue his NFL dreams.
The quarterback is looking to emulate his older brother’s Miami Dolphins star Tua Tagovailoa, who is one of the league’s brightest QBs.
But after going undrafted by the NFL, he signed a contract with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats practice squad of the Canadian Football League.
The move comes after Tagovailoa participated in minicamps with the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals but did not sign.
Tagovailoa is one of the most prolific passers in college football history.
He recorded 955 completions for 11,256 yards and 76 touchdowns in four years at the University of Maryland.
Tagovailoa is the Big Ten’s all-time leader in passing yards and completion percentage.
He is also tied with current Ticats coach Scott Milanovich for the most passing TDs (26) in a season at Maryland.
The 24-year-old began his college career at Alabama before transferring to Maryland.
Tua also starred for Alabama from 2017 to 2019 before achieving NFL glory with the Dolphins.
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At Alabama, Tagovailoa was behind Tua and Mac Jones on the Crimson Tide’s 2019 depth chart.
He completed 9 of 12 passes for 100 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
In May 2020, he transferred to Maryland in search of more playing time.
“It’s very difficult and there’s nothing against Alabama,” Tagovailoa’s father Galu said.
“But my boys are competitive and Lia is a very competitive child. And he wanted an opportunity to compete.
“They told him he was going to come in and compete and he didn’t really get that opportunity, so he wanted to use the spring to do that.
“But with the Covid-19 situation, he didn’t really have the opportunity to compete.
Tagovailoa was seeking a sixth year of eligibility to play college football, but the NCAA denied his request.
Taulia and Tua are extremely close like siblings.
The Maryland star was particularly affected by Tua’s devastating concussion against the Cincinnati Bengals in September 2022.
“It’s hard for me to deal with things like this” he told reporters.
“He is someone I admire, someone I talk to every day. It was a difficult scene for me to see.”
Tagovailoa spoke with his brother over FaceTime after the incident before flying to visit him.
And the CFL prospect has no problem being in his brother’s shadow.
“Lia doesn’t mind talking about Tua because he’s his older brother,” Tagovailoa’s mother, Diane, said. according to the Washington Post.
“When he needs help, that’s who he turns to.
“He learned a lot from him, not just as a football player, but as a brother.
“They love each other very much.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story