ATLANTA — Two trophies for Tua Tagovailoa.
In Atlanta on Thursday for the 2018 Home Depot College Football Awards, Alabama’s quarterback hobbled his way on stage with a boot on his left foot to accept the Maxwell Award, which labels him as player of the year. He also received the Walter Camp Player of the Year award live on SportsCenter earlier in the evening.
“It feels good,” Tagovailoa said. “But it couldn’t have been done without the guys surrounding me offensively. All credit goes to them, and all credit goes to the coaching staff as well.”
Individually, though, Tagovailoa has completed 67.7 percent of his tosses for 3,353 yards and is averaging 257.9 yards per game. Of his 199 completions, 37 were touchdowns. Only four of his 294 passing attempts were interceptions. All of this ranks the sophomore second nationally in passing efficiency (202.3). He has also rushed for five scores and 190 yards.
Former Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron (2013) and running back Derrick Henry (2015) earned the Maxwell Award in the past. Henry also won the Walter Camp award that same year.
Fellow quarterbacks Kyler Murray (Oklahoma) and Will Grier (West Virginia) were also in the running for the Maxwell Award. Both of them were also up for the Walter Camp Player of the Year award, along with Washington State quarterback Gardner Minshew and Kentucky linebacker Josh Allen.
Tagovailoa heads to New York City for Saturday’s Heisman Trophy ceremony, where Murray will also be a finalist.
“Just being mentioned within the Heisman talk, being mentioned within all these other awards, it’s an honor,” Tagovailoa said. “It’s a privilege. I dreamed of it as a kid growing up to win any award in general. It would mean a lot if I got the opportunity to win it. But at the same time, I’m focused on trying to get better right now and what I can do for my team to end this season strong.”
