One of Willie Taggart‘s first acts as Oregon football coach was to jump on a plane to Hawaii.
Taggart, who was hired on Wednesday, is on his way to Ewa Beach to visit Saint Louis quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who is committed to Alabama.
Tua’s father, Galu, told seccountry.com that he has already spoken to Taggart but reinforced his son’s intentions to enroll at Alabama. He said Taggart is here mostly to speak to Kapolei defensive lineman Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa.
“They’re supposed to be out here to see my nephew (3-star defensive end Myron Tagovailoa) and they just wanted to speak to Tua. I’m fine with it,” Galu Tagovailoa told the Web site. “I know he’s a new coach and he wants to get the energy going, but at the same time, we expressed to him that Tua is locked in to Alabama. He just wanted a chance to speak with him, and I’m fine with it.”
https://www.seccountry.com/alabama/alabama-recruiting-tua-tagovailoa-oregon-willie-taggart
Oregon fans are obviously psyched about the prospect, as this link from oregonlive.com indicates:
http://www.oregonlive.com/recruiting/index.ssf/2016/12/tua_tagovailoa_nations_no_1_qb.html
Tagovailoa tweeted a photo with Taggart on Friday.
Had the pleasure of meeting Oregons new head coach! Coach Willie Taggart pic.twitter.com/htRGKO0hDR
— Tua Tagovailoa (@Tuaamann_) December 9, 2016
Tua wants to roll with the tide! RRFL!
Had to deny Bama
Too late I think…
if he goes bama chances are less to start compared to a new program with oregon.
Tua is NOT going to flip to Oregon… Besides, he’d have to sit at Oregon too… Justin Herbert is a True Freshman and was fantastic as a stater.
Good to have options. Go get yours Tua.
Good luck wherever you go (but as a UW fan, I’d rather see you at Bama). Just sayin…
@MP
What Oregon games are you watching? Their freshman QB is not good!!!!
Tua would beat him out way easier then Jalen Hurts at Bama….
I think he’ll start at either Oregon or Alabama. Hurts is doing really good for ‘Bama, but Tua is a way better QB. Good luck to him where ever he goes!
RRFL!
Bama has a QB for the next 3 years. They just want him because they don’t want anyone else to have him and have to go against him playing for another SEC team. If more of a “we want you so no one else can have you type of deal”. Tua needs to shock the world and make history here in his home state.
Justin Herbert vs Tua! Tua is hell of lot better then him. are you kidding me! Tua will be the best college quarterback in college next year. Jalen Hurts will sit on the bench when Tua gets there. Coach (Nick) told Tua that he’ll play the best player and thats the only reason why he’s going to Bama. He’ll be the best quarterback and they’ll have no choice but to play him ahead of Hurts.
It appears the father is living vicariously thru his son. Galu, why are you so adamant about being loyal to Nick Saban? I dont understand. Are you trying to get a coaching job under Nick Saban or somewhere in D1 level? Why are you throwing all your eggs in one basket? These college programs are not loyal to their athletes. They’ll drop your muli as soon you dont cut out for the team. So why limit your option to one school? Provide Tua with options and let other coaches speak to him and hear what they have to offer. Let the boy make his own decision.
If the kids Father says he is going to Alabama then the kid is going to Alabama. Au’a fiapoko o’e i mea ole aiga. Fuule’i!
Justin herbert is not good.Have you seen oregons record?? plus he was not even from his recruiting class. Bama can always get 4/5 star recuits. and oregon would really benefit from tua. especially with all the hawaii boys there.. that would be nice to see:}
Oregon was a favorite at first. Coach willie won’t need to be loyal to Justin. Bring in his own recruit and play em. tua is better off at bama though. He needs to be in a offense like bamas that is under center and shotgun. If jalen can come in and take over I see Tua having a great shot to take that spot this upcoming year. Plus y not blaze ur own trail to a big school
Lol, drama. Jalen Hurt leads Bama to the Championships, he’s next year’s QB. Simple. You don’t go to Bama and expect to start. Sheesh.
Heard the Bama deal was a “family” deal, hope not. But if it was, Oregon may just have enough $tuff to swing the deal. Either way, best of luck to you and your family.
Best of luck to him in whatever school he chooses. RRFL!
I think Tua would be an excellent fit at Oregon. He would be capable of stepping right in and starting at QB just like Marcus Mariota did who won the Heisman Trophy playing for Oregon. Oregon supports their athletes and families to the hilt. If he goes to Alabama, he will just be buried on the depth chart with the other QB’s that Alabama has already stockpiled, and see very little playing time, let alone national exposure. Mark my words Willie Taggart is going to take U of Oregon to the National Championship. He is one of the the very best Head coach’s in the country and has been endorsed by many other College and Pro Head Coaches such as Jim Harbaugh( current Head Coach at Michigan),David Shaw(current Head Coach at Stanford) and former Super Bowl winning Head Coach Tony Dungy among many other Head Coaches in the country In fact, Dungy felt so strongly about Taggert that he advised his own son to play for USF when Taggart was head coach at that time. By the way, even though I am an Oregon alum, I lived in Hawaii for more than 15 years and and am very familiar with the relatively large number of high quality of football athletes that come from Hawaii every year. Oregon has several current Hawaii football players on their team every year, including this year’s team and also has Hawaii football players that have already committed to play for them next year.
LMAO… Guys… do not let Oregon’s record fool you… Herbert was VERY good, it was the defense that was horrible, lol. I watched the games and he has a TON of potential, He stats are awesome as well, go take a look. When you do, keep in mind he didn’t play until their 6TH GAME… I’m a HUGE Tua fan but he would sit there too… Best place for him is UDub, red shirt next year behind Browning, take the helm as a RS Freshman.
Jalen Hurt is All American Freshman QB team. If they win it this year, another Soph.Heisman next year. The wait will be long, of course there’s the injury route (Hurt). Here’s the thing. Alabama does not produce NFL quality QBs.
If I were Tua, I would stick to Bama and get that Natty! What does Oregon have to offer other than those overrated uniform combinations? The “O” still means zero national championships for Nike U. Haha…
These recruits ain’t loyal. Nobody knows what the word “commitment” means anymore. SMH