Four-star quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, brother of current Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, and the Thompson Warriors defeated Hillcrest 33-27 to finish off a perfect regular season.
Tagovailoa passed for 398 yards and four touchdowns on Thursday. The win was the closest since week one when the Warriors defeated Hapeville Charter 21-20.
He’s the No. 8 player from Alabama and the No. 8 duel-threat quarterback in the 2018 class. However, he doesn’t let that attention affect him.
“I don’t really focus on the attention,” Tagovailoa said. “I just worry about what we have to do on the field and what to do in the classroom.”
With everything going on around the junior, his parents make sure he is able to focus on what he’s doing now instead of the whole recruiting process.
Bother players were elite high school recruits. Tua Tagovailoa was the No. 32 overall player and the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2017.
“Being his brother is like being like any other person,” Taulia said. “That’s my boy and he’s my everything.”
After Tua committed to Alabama, the Tagovailoa family moved from Hawaii to Alabaster.
“Moving here is a big adjustment, weather-wise and the culture over here but with brothers like this, it makes the adjustments easier,” Taulia said.
Now instead of being a 10-hour flight away, Tua is just 43 miles away. That gives Taulia the chance to hang out with his brother and the rest of the Alabama roster.
“(Taulia is) around here often, obviously so close, so close to his big brother,” quarterback Jalen Hurts said. “We always hang out when we can.”
Several members of the Crimson Tide were able to travel to Birmingham to watch Thompson defeat Hoover last week.
“It was really good,” linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton said. “I was watching it online. Hoover has always been that team. I was glad to see Baby Tua pull it out. After the Tennessee game, I gave him the whole history of Hoover High. I told him to do what you have to do to beat them. To get the win as a junior, that’s big right there.”
