Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa opting out of Music City Bowl vs. Auburn football
Auburn football's chances of winning the Music City Bowl have gone up.
The Tigers are set to play Maryland (7-5) in Nissan Stadium on Dec. 30 (1 p.m. CT, ABC), but the Terrapins will be without quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa. Maryland coach Mike Locksley made the announcement at news conference Tuesday that his fifth-year senior has decided to opt out of the game.
Tagovailoa, the younger brother of former Alabama QB and current Miami Dolphins star Tua Tagovailoa, started his collegiate career with the Crimson Tide before transferring to Maryland in May 2020. He was a freshman under coach Nick Saban during his big brother's final year in Tuscaloosa.
Appearing in four games in 2020 before becoming the full-time starter for the Terrapins in 2021, Tagovailoa posted gaudy numbers during his time as Maryland's QB. He holds the all-time record in the Big Ten for passing yards (11,256) and has thrown 76 touchdowns to 37 interceptions.
Tagovailoa also added 13 rushing scores over 41 games.
Auburn will be without starting cornerbacks DJ James and Nehemiah Pritchett, coach Hugh Freeze announced last week. The two NFL-bound CBs opted out of the game, along with standout defensive lineman Marcus Harris.
Freeze mentioned Bobby Jamison-Travis and freshman Darron Reed as D-linemen who could help fill in the gap left by Harris. He expects his youth — freshmen DBs Kayin Lee, JC Hart, Colton Hood and Tyler Scott and sophomore JD Rhym — to contribute in the secondary.
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Who will start at QB for Maryland in the Music City Bowl?
Only two other QBs have thrown passes for the Terrapins in 2023: redshirt sophomore Billy Edwards Jr. and freshman Cameron Edge. Edwards is 4-of-10 passing for two yards and an interception. Edge has completed two of his three throws for 18 yards.
Edwards was rated by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 103 QB in the Class of 2021. Edge was a three-star prospect coming out of Smyrna High School in Delaware, tabbed as the No. 32 QB in 2022.
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Taulia Tagovailoa opts out of Music City Bowl vs. Auburn football
