When quarterback Tua Tagovailoa looks across the field Sunday, he’ll see his counterpart, Kyler Murray, but he’ll also see, the Dolphins hope, a glimpse of his future.
Tagovailoa has met not only Murray, but his family, having encountered them at the 2018 Heisman ceremony in which Murray took home the trophy and Tagovailoa finished runner-up.
Now, Tagovailoa is looking forward to a reunion on the NFL level.
“I’m very excited to go up against him,” Tagovailoa said Wednesday. “ … Going against guys like that who are very competitive — and you know you’re going to get their best — I think that’s going to be a fun one.”
Although they have their own styles, the two QBs share something most quarterbacks making the jump from college to the pros have in common: the learning curve. Even though Tagovailoa managed just 93 passing yards in his starting debut last week, he need only look at Murray’s ascension from Year 1 to Year 2 to know how quickly things can fall in place. For Tagovailoa, getting a full game under him was a good step.
“Anyone can watch film,” Tagovailoa said. “There’s room for improvement every day for me. I feel like I’m getting more comfortable in the huddle talking to the guys, giving them the plays and kind of seeing where everyone needs to go.
“I think the biggest thing for me is pocket presence — being able to just step up into what feels like pressure and then just making throws that I need to, to give the receivers good run after the catch (opportunities).”
Tagovailoa completed 12 of 22 passes and a touchdown in his first NFL start. The Dolphins had just one drive of 30 or more yards.
But what Tagovailoa said he needs to work on most doesn’t show up in the boxscore.
“I think the biggest thing for me is pocket presence, being able to step up into what feels like pressure,” Tagovailoa said. “And then also just making the throws that I need to give receivers good run after the catch.”
If Murray had a sit-down with Tagovailoa, he might advise him that with a little patience, it’ll come. As a rookie last year, Murray went 5-10-1 with the Cardinals and was sacked a league-leading 48 times.
“Going into Year 2, just every rep that he was able to get in Year 1 even though we took our lumps and he took his lumps, learning was on-the-job training,” Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “There was nobody warming the seat for him. When he stepped into this building, he was the man and he got every rep with the ones. I do think it paid dividends.”
Murray’s Cardinals are 5-2 and, like the Dolphins, on a three-game winning streak. Murray has gone 169-of-253 for 1,847 yards, 13 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a 93.8 passer rating. He has been sacked just nine times, slightly more than once per game. And he has continued to be a dual threat, running for 437 yards (a 6.7 average) and seven touchdowns, rushing stats that would lead the Dolphins in all three categories.
Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey admitted that with Tagovailoa facing the Rams and Aaron Donald in his starting debut, the game plan was close to the vest. Given the chance Wednesday, Tagovailoa wouldn’t even admit he’d enjoy seeing the training wheels occasionally come off against Arizona.
“I believe my job is to do whatever play call we’re given,” he said. “If it’s a run 20 times and it’s a pass one time, I’ve got to make it work that one time the pass is given.
“ … But I trust, and I think our offense trusts, what Chan has planned for us offensively.”
Kingsbury has seen the growth in Murray. He also has seen some of it from Tagovailoa already and believes it’s only a matter of time.
“A phenomenal leader and winner,” Kingsbury said of Tagovailoa. “I met him when he was in eighth grade or going to be a freshman. When I was at Texas (Tech), I flew out to Hawaii to offer him and meet him. I think he was a freshman, maybe. And you could tell. He had the charisma, had the charm, had big smile so I followed him since then. He’s just a winner. He’s a great talent and a great person. He has a really bright future ahead of him.”
Habib writes for the Palm Beach Post