Highly touted recruit, Tagovailoa, eyeing Thompson transfer
Published 12:48 pm Friday, February 17, 2017
By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor
ALABASTER – According to reports Taulia Tagovailoa, younger brother of Alabama’s highly recruited freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, is planning a move to Alabama.
And according to his former offensive quarterback at Kapolei High School in Hawaii, the highly touted recruit is considering moving to Alabaster to finish out his career at Thompson High School.
“I think he’s going to Alabama with his whole family to watch Tua. That’s what I’ve been told,” Jones said. “He’ll do great. It’ll be a great experience for him. A totally different culture, obviously. He’s going to Birmingham. I haven’t talked to Galu and Diane, but they’re going up this year for sure.”
It has been reported for a while that Tagovailoa will move to Alabama, but this is the first report of a specific school he might possibly attend.
During his sophomore year at Kapolei he threw for 3,919 yards and 42 touchdowns, which was just 66 yards short of the all-time passing record for the state held by Timmy Chang.
Tagovailoa currently holds offers from Alabama, Oregon, Utah and Florida Atlantic and would be a huge addition for the Warriors’ football program.
With Thompson getting a huge upgrade to their athletic facilities, including a brand new football stadium, for the 2017-18 year, things are already in place for this program’s future to be bright and adding a dynamic quarterback would propel things even further.
Kapolei’s head coach Dave Reardon has also hinted that his star quarterback would be leaving to be closer with his family and Tua.
Last year he led Kapolei to their best record in the school’s history going 10-3 on the year and advancing to the Open Division State Semifinals.
If he does decide to join the Warriors football program Tagovailoa will be a junior and have two years of eligibility for Thompson. The Warriors just missed out on the playoffs last year and the addition of the start quarterback could instantly make Thompson a contender for the 7A state championship.
Thompson head coach Mark Freeman couldn’t be reached for comment. Right now this consists of nothing but rumors, however, more updates will be given when more information is known.