Alabama Football: Taulia Tagovailoa advances to The Opening Finals
By Ronald Evans
Final results from the Elite 11 Quarterback Camp released and future Alabama football QB, Taulia Tagovailoa advanced to The Opening Finals.
Twenty-four of the nation’s top quarterbacks in the 2019 class competed recently at the Elite 11. Alabama football was represented by the younger of the Tagovailoa brothers, Taulia and Paul Tyson.
After three days of evaluation and competition, the top 12 were named and earned an invitation to one of the premier camps for elite high school players, The Opening Finals. Taulia earned an invitation based on passing drills and 7v7 sessions over the three-day evaluation.
Paul Tyson was given promising reviews during the weekend but did qualify to advance. According to football savvy observers, Tyson did not deliver a polished performance but did show tremendous potential.
Taulia will join the nation’s top players in Dallas for the three-day Nike sponsored Opening Finals June 30 – July 3. Other Alabama football verbal commits participating in The Opening Finals are Antonio Alfano; Shane Lee; Pierce Quick and Christian Williams. The Opening Finals roster is also filled with numerous other Alabama football top prospects for the 2019 class.
The Top 12 from the Elite 11 Camp
- Spencer Rattler – verbal commit to Oklahoma
- Jayden Daniels – uncommitted
- Max Duggan – verbal commit to TCU
- Ty Evans – verbal commit to Colorado
- Brain Maurer – uncommitted
- Cade McNamara – verbal commit to Michigan
- Graham Mertz – verbal commit to Wisconsin
- Dylan Morris – verbal commit to Washington
- Ryan Hilinski – verbal commit to South Carolina
- Sam Howell – verbal commit to Florida State
- Bo Nix – verbal commit to Auburn
- Taulia Tagovailoa – verbal commit to Alabama
Based on the 247Sports Composite, the top 2019 Pro-Style QB’s in the group are Rattler (1); Morris (2); Howell (4); Mertz (5); Hilinski (6); Taulia (8); McNamara (10); Evans (17) and Maurer (18). The top Dual-Threat QB’s in the group are Bo Nix (1); Jayden Daniels (2) and Max Duggan (8).
Check out this video from the Elite 11 workouts.
Taulia does not have the height of most top quarterbacks. Being a tad shorter than the norm is the only negative about his game. He has a strong, accurate arm. Much like his older brother, he shows excellent poise in the pocket. Although the rating services list him as Pro-Style instead of Dual-Threat, he can run as well as his brother.
Paul Tyson not advancing to The Opening Finals should not be construed as much of a negative. Football experts acknowledge his potential. Paul Tyson has the physical skills to make a leap forward in the future.
Next: Ranking the QB's under Nick Saban
For Alabama football fans concerned about Taulia’s height, remember he is probably still growing at six-feet. He is already as tall as Drew Brees and an inch taller than Russell Wilson. Here’s a quirky point of reference – Eddie LeBaron played QB in the NFL at five-foot-seven.