Tua: Tough to pass on draft if top 10-15 pick
Tua Tagovailoa says his decision to return to Alabama or enter the NFL draft has no timeline. (1:06)
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said he’d be tempted to enter the NFL draft if he were considered a top-10 or top-15 pick instead of returning to school for his senior season.
“I think that’d be tough to pass up,” he said. “But there’s a lot more to it than that in some aspects.”
The NFL College Advisory Committee, which provides feedback on underclassmen interested in entering the draft, only has three grades: potential first-round pick, second-round pick, or neither. But he could solicit more specific feedback from other sources.
After Tagovailoa suffered a season-ending hip injury last month, ESPN’s Todd McShay dropped the junior from No. 2 to No. 13 in his latest rankings.
Tagovailoa said he had spoken with coach Nick Saban about his future but that there’s no timetable for his decision and he could announce anytime between now and the Jan. 20 deadline to enter the draft.
“It’s something I still need to sit down and talk to my family about,” he said.
Tagovailoa used crutches to get on stage and address the media on Thursday as he continues to recover from hip surgery. He said he had his first rehab session on Wednesday in Birmingham and that doctors were surprised with how well his leg handled resistance.
He said that while his hip won’t be able to move certain ways again — such as an inward motion he says isn’t key to running — doctors have told him to expect to be 100 percent for football activities again.
“This isn’t something that I can rush,” he said of his desire to come back and play next season, whether that’s in the NFL or back at Alabama. “If I want to play to my full potential, I know I can’t just come back and play on it as if it were my ankle. I think a lot that has to go into my decision-making, too, as to whether I stay or leave.”
Tua Tagovailoa joins Kirk Herbstreit to share his thought process on his pending decision to enter the 2020 NFL draft.
Alabama team orthopedic surgeon Lyle Cain told ESPN’s Laura Rutledge that Tagovailoa should be able to resume athletic activity within three months of the procedure and should be ready to begin throwing again by the spring.
Tagovailoa didn’t go into specifics about his conversation with Saban.
He said he recognizes the enormity of the decision he’s about to make.
“This is probably going to be the biggest decision of my life,” he said.
He added: “It’s a really, really big decision, man. Everyone wants to know.”