By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

A 15-yard touchdown pass against No. 8 Kaiser High School on Aug. 7, 2015, is when current Thompson High School phenome Tualia Tagovailoa knew he had an ability to be a standout football player.

Back then, before he was setting records in Alabama, Tagovailoa was a freshman quarterback at Kapolei High School in Kapolei, Hawaii. After the starting quarterback that night had gone 9-for-13 with an interception and just 59 yards passing, Tagovailoa was called on to start the second half.

On his first drive, Tagovailoa led the Hurricanes on a three-play drive, capped off by a 15-yard touchdown pass from the freshman. He went on to finish the game 8-for-11 with 160 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Oh, and an upset of the No. 8 team in the state by a final score of 49-28.

“I was playing with the big boys, the varsity,” Tagovailoa said. “Then I threw that first touchdown and I told myself, ‘dang, that felt regular.’ After that, everyone’s expectations for me got higher, so I had to meet them. Getting that chance and winning, my confidence level just shot up.”

In his first full game as a starter, Tagovailoa took on the state’s No. 1 team in 2015, Mililani High School, and despite a difficult loss, he threw for 394 yards and three touchdowns against an elite team as a freshman—assuring everyone’s expectations weren’t too high.

In two years at Kapolei High School, Tagovailoa led the Hurricane’s to its best year in school history as a sophomore, and his 3,919 passing yards that year fell just 66 yards short of passing Timmy Chang for the single-season record. Also, despite just playing two years, Tagovalioa was seventh on Hawaii’s all-time passing list with 6,073 yards and 64 touchdowns.

Instead of returning for his junior and senior seasons, however, his brother Tua’s decision to play college football at the University of Alabama sent the family on a trek to the deep south of Alabaster, Alabama.

Koa

Koa means Warrior in Hawaii, and that’s exactly what Taulia was set to become. With the move to Alabaster to remain close to Tua, Taulia enrolled at Thompson High School in the spring of 2017 and instantly became a member of the Thompson Warriors’ football program.

“It hasn’t been a bad move at all, I’m just chillin and enjoying it,” Taulia said. “It’s a football state and I love football, so I’m trying to take advantage of it. The hardest thing has been the training here. My body wasn’t used to this kind of training back home, but it’s been good to me, I see the results and I’m happy with everything.”

In his first season as a Warrior, Taulia picked up right where he left off at Kapolei and led Thompson to one of its best finishes in school history after finishing third in AHSAA history for most passing yards in a season totaling 3,823 yards and 35 touchdowns to pass former Alabama and Hoover quarterback John Parker Wilson.

He also helped the Warriors to their first region championship in 20 years and to the semifinals of the playoffs for the first time since the 1980s.

Following his inspiring junior season, Taulia committed to the University of Alabama where he will join his brother in 2019 after graduating from Thompson.

His transition from Hawaii to Alabama could have been a difficult one that saw him never pick back up where he left off, especially moving into the state’s highest classification of football and the most difficult region, but Taulia wasn’t going to let that happen and immediately hit the ground running when he stepped foot into Thompson High School.

Hoaloha

Meaning friend in Hawaiian, Hoaloah was a word that described Taulia early on in his transition.

While many may be skeptical of a new star in the locker room and the kind of attitude they’ll come in with, Taulia was no cause for concern.

“The first day he was here and met the team, he started making friends and showing them what kind of player and leader he would be,” Thompson head coach Mark Freeman said. “He knew that he needed to form those relationships quickly with his teammates, because they were the ones that would determine his success.”

It paid off and between spring practice and summer workouts, Taulia had won over the locker room.

“We had a quick bond my first day there, and that allowed us to get extremely close,” said former receiver Ahmad Edwards said. “A teammate like Taulia doesn’t come every day. He’s just a really good person.”

It’s a relationship that blossomed that first day and exploded during the 2017 football season as Taulia and Edwards had a connection stronger than the game of football.

Those two went on to have a special connection connecting 118 times, which allowed Edwards to set a state record for most receptions in a season.

His ability to form relationships so not only helped him become a leader in the locker room, but also helped him become the exact player Freeman can turn into a superstar player.

Kahuna/Kuleana

Kahuna means expert, something Freeman is to the game of high school football, while Kuleana means responsibility, something Taulia holds in his grasp on every play.

“For my teams to be successful, the quarterback is the key,” Freeman said. “I make the quarterback position a tough spot, and I make them learn a lot because they are going to have more opportunity to win a game than anyone. We are really good when our quarterbacks are good, and that’s the case with Taulia because he knows what he’s doing, and if he makes a mistake, he owns up to it and learns from it.”

One of the reasons Taulia and his family chose Thompson when they were looking at places to move to be closer to Tua, was because of Freeman and his ability to take elite quarterbacks and help them take that next step like he did as a personal coach to Jameis Winston.

“There were coverages I had never seen before when I got here,” Taulia said. “I saw those and was like ‘dang, how do you counter?’ His way is so simple and has helped me understand the game so much more.

“He’s helped me so much, not just with understanding schemes and playing, but mentally as well. He’s definitely helped me take the next step in my game and has made the sky the limit for me.”

The trust between coach and quarterback has led to a mature quarterback that holds himself accountable for each mistake he makes.

“I kind of messed up a lot last year,” Taulia said with a chuckle.

He recalled one play where he rolled out and tried to throw the ball away in a game against Vestavia, but admitted to giving up on the play. He threw toward one of his receivers, but at the ground, and the pass was picked off.

“Momentum was on our side at that point and the defense was playing good, so I knew I had made a mistake and put them in a bad spot,” Taulia said. “Whenever I make a mistake, the first thing I think of is Freeman and picture him yelling at me. I just take it in and tell myself next play. I immediately take responsibility and let him know, but then I move on.”

Taulia knows if he continues to do things the right way and mature as a leader, he’ll be just fine moving forward.

‘Ohana

‘Ohana means family and is clearly one of the most important terms in Taulia’s life, specifically the relationship he holds with his Kaikua’ana, or older brother.

Tua, who is expected to be the starting quarterback of the No. 1 college team in the country this year, and Taulia have a tight-knit relationship that is competitive, but also bonding.

“We help each other by competing,” Taulia said. “If he does something I have to do it, and if I do something, he has to do it. I think that’s where the love between us comes in. We train together on the weekends and he helps me on the little things sometimes too. If we have time, we’ll pull up film and break down decisions that I’m making on the field. He helps me correct mistakes, and I would do the same for him.”

That love and respect, however, doesn’t mean they don’t take the opportunity to try and one up the other.

At the time of Taulia’s first high school game as a freshman, Tua had already made a name for himself as a junior at St. Louis School in Honolulu, but despite the record-breaking path his older brother was on, Taulia had already beaten his brother.

“Tua started as a sophomore, but I started as a freshman,” Taulia said with a smirk. “Tua was going to a private school, and the rules prevented him from playing as a freshman, but I’m just happy that I got to play earlier than him. That made my confidence level really high.”

While both started playing the game at six years old, Taulia admitted Tua was a natural-born athlete, while he had to put much more work into trying to be as good as his older brother.

With that work, however, he has turned into one of the best high school quarterbacks in the country, and between the two, they have combined to throw for 18,054 yards at the high school level.

It’s a dynamic football relationship that will be talked about for years to come with both going from Hawaii to the same national-championship winning college football team, and one they will continue to take advantage of until their playing days come to an end.

While Tua and Taulia are close as brothers, Taulia has a team full of other brothers he is focused on in 2018. After heartbreak in the semifinals of the 2017 playoffs, the senior quarterback is hoping to go out on top with a state championship and make his last high school game as memorable as his first touchdown pass on that Aug. 7 day four years and 4,370 miles ago.