NCAA reaches decision on Taulia Tagovailoa’s eligibility waiver

Tagovailoa has already played five college seasons and exhausted his eligibility. However, he had petitioned the NCAA to credit him with a redshirt year for 2019 so that he could play one more season in 2024. That waiver was not approved.

In 2019, Tagovailoa was a freshman at Alabama. He was the Crimson Tide’s third-string quarterback that season and played behind his brother, Tua, and Mac Jones.

Taulia appeared in five games that season, though he only recorded stats in three of those games. In the Tide’s 38-7 win over Mississippi State that year, Taulia played in the final two snaps just to honor his brother Tua, who had suffered a hip injury in the game.

Had he not played in that final game, Tagovailoa’s freshman season at Alabama would have been counted as a redshirt year. The NCAA was unwilling to make an exception. Tagovailoa recently expressed regret over his emotional decision to honor his older brother.

Taulia passed for 11,256 passing yards in four seasons at Maryland. He threw for 3,377 with 25 passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns this past season. He would have been a desirable player on the transfer market, but he will now have to hope an NFL team gives him a shot.