Tua Tagovailoa on his health and unique pro day
Yahoo Sports’ Liz Loza caught up with the former Alabama quarterback as he answered the questions about his health, what his grandfather meant to him, his pro day and who will joining him during the Draft. The soon-to-be draft pick joined Yahoo Sports to talk about how he’s partnering with Lowe’s during NFL Draft Week to make some important calls to Lowe’s associates in Tuscaloosa, AL who have stepped up to serve the community.
Video Transcript
LIZ LOZA: Hey, Tua. The last time we spoke was at the Super Bowl in Miami. And you told me that heading into the combine, you weren't interested in winning your 40 or your bench press, you wanted to win your medicals. And by all accounts, you did that, but life is obviously different now that we're in this quarantine process. So how has the medical recheck process gone for you? And has it-- you know, have you gotten frustrated through it at all?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah. It's been good. It's been good for me. This process-- it gets frustrating at times. You know, it gets to a point where, I mean, how many times can a grown man be touched and pulled and tugged on? But at the same time, really, that's been my main focus is just being able to get through that process. And being able to do a pro day, for me, was really big-- just being able to go out there and show the teams that, I mean, I'm healthy, I'm fine, and I can go out there and play if need be.
LIZ LOZA: From a logistics point of view, how did you guys pull off that pro day?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah. So we've been very fortunate to have people out there in Nashville open up their facility for us to train for about an hour and whatnot. So we were able to go out there and train. And we had about three or four guys catching for me. That's how we were able to make that happen.
LIZ LOZA: Obviously your grandfather, who people referred to as Chief Tagovailoa, was an enormous part of your upbringing. He, you know, would tell you to come visit with him after every game. What do you think he would say to you heading into this week? And also, what are you going to say to him after Thursday when your name is called?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Oh yeah, for my grandfather, I would think he'd say how proud he is about this-- about all of this. This has been kind of the dream for not just me, but my entire family. And it's one of those things where everyone lives their dream off of someone. And, man, for me to be able to make that possible, to change my family's life around-- man, it's been a blessing. It's been a blessing. It's all the prayers coming into fruition with all of this. And it's just a blessing.
LIZ LOZA: Do you think after Thursday when you have some decompression time, some downtime, you'll maybe have an eyes to the sky conversation with him?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Man, I'm not too sure. I think for us, come time Thursday, there will be a lot of food, there'll be a lot of singing. But the most important thing there will be is prayer-- a lot of prayer throughout that day, from the time we wake up to the time I get drafted til after I get drafted. That's just the foundation of how we've gone about doing things.
LIZ LOZA: A lot of prayer and celebration-- that sounds wonderful. So then in talking about this Draft process, which is different for everybody this year-- obviously, you won't be in Vegas. Where will you be? And when you're saying, they, who will you have with you? You have a pretty big family, all things considered.
TUA TAGOVAILOA: For sure. It'll just be me and my parents and my siblings over here. Throughout this Draft, I think we're just going to do it in the big living room. We'll just have it in the living room, and that's how we'll do it.
LIZ LOZA: Well, you're talking about your Instagram and the calls you've made. Can you tell me about the calls you're making to some various essential workers at Lowe's?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Oh, for sure. For me, that-- this entire week has been a special week, not just for me, but for my family as well. And so by calling some of the special people out there at Lowe's, I mean, it really helped, you know, I guess not just me, but, boy, it didn't just help them, I guess it helped me as well. Like, when you're able to call someone and just spare some time to tell them the kind of good work that they're doing within serving the community when it's needed most, I mean, it feels good because you feel their reaction and it's heartfelt.
And I don't know, you just can't beat those. And I mean, Alabama's been a home away from home for me. And I mean, it's had probably one of the biggest influences on me. So for those people out there and what they're doing at Lowe's, I mean, it's-- we're going through tough times, but, I mean, they've been sticking it out. And I've just been happy to use my platform, you know, as a player to do things like that.
LIZ LOZA: Well, I can say on behalf of a lot of people who've enjoyed watching you play, we know that you are going to prove that you belong in the NFL. And we're all very excited for you.
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Thank you guys so much. I appreciate that. Thank you.
LIZ LOZA: Thank you.