Tua and the Lefty Legacy

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will try to become one of the rare success stories among left-handed quarterbacks, both in the NFL and for the Miami Dolphins.

During his well-attended media session at the scouting combine, Tua Tagovailoa touched on a wide variety of topics, though a lot of the questions centered around his health.

Another popular topic was his left-handedness.

Yes, Tua Tagovailoa is that rare breed, the left-handed quarterback.

There haven't been too many who have thrived in the NFL, with the few exceptions including Hall of Famers Steve Young and Ken Stabler, along with Boomer Esiason, Mark Brunell and Jim Zorn.

According to a lengthy ESPN.com feature on left-quarterbacks, no lefty has started a game in the NFL since 2015 when Kellen Moore did it for the Dallas Cowboys.

The last left-handed QB to start in the NFL? That was Kellen Moore in 2015. The last lefty TD pass? That was Dez Bryant to Jason Witten in 2016. https://t.co/tKijvu3zRL

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 24, 2020

Tua said he didn't know exactly there haven't been more lefty quarterbacks in the NFL. According to a 2019 story in the Washington Post, lefties made up about 10 percent of the population, yet there was not one pass attempted by a left-hander in the NFL last season.

The Miami Dolphins? Well, they've had a few lefty quarterbacks through the years, though it won't take much for Tagovailoa to become the most successful of the bunch.

That list includes Jim Del Gaizo, who threw nine passes as a backup during the perfect season of 1972, Scott Mitchell, Pat White, and training camp participants Cade McNown and Josh Heupel.

The one who enjoyed the most success for the Dolphins was Mitchell, who famously replaced Dan Marino early in the 1993 season after Marino sustained a torn Achilles tendon in a game at Cleveland.

Mitchell, a fourth-round pick in the 1990 draft, won his first three starts and played well enough that a South Florida columnist suggested the Dolphins should move on from Marino and make him their permanent starter.

Mitchell parlayed his performance with the Dolphins, though it fizzled down the stretch as Miami lost its final three games to miss the playoffs, into a big free agent contract with the Detroit Lions. Mitchell started four years for Detroit before ending his career with four years as a backup.

The highest-drafted lefty quarterback was Pat White, who arrived as a 2009 second-round pick out of West Virginia with the idea he'd be the perfect player to run the Wildcat formation.

The problem was that White was limited as a passer and didn't have the physical stature to hold up in the running game. White's time with the Dolphins was limited to 13 games as a rookie backup and unfortunately will be remembered for a concussion he sustained as the result of a scary head-to-head collision with Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor at the end of a scramble.

White would never play another down in the NFL, though he would spend time with the Washington Redskins in training camp in 2013 and spend one season in the Canadian Football League.

Eight years before the Dolphins drafted White, they drafted Heupel in the sixth round a few months after he had led the University of Oklahoma to the national title with a victory against Florida State in Miami.

1⃣4⃣ Days Until 🏈 Time In Oklahoma.

Josh Heupel takes a knee and the celebration of #7 begins in Miami.#BoomerSooner | #BeatFAU | @coachjoshheupel https://t.co/JTH6m4gjFu

— 𝕺𝖐𝖑𝖆𝖍𝖔𝖒𝖆 𝖛𝖘. 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖑𝖉 (@soonergridiron) August 18, 2018

Heupel with a tremendous college quarterback with off-the-charts intangibles, but he lacked the arm strength to succeed in the NFL and was cut during the preseason. After a stint with the Green Bay Packers in the 2002 offseason, Heupel ended his playing career and began a coaching career that has led him to the head position at the University of Central Florida.

Also on the Dolphins roster in that 2001 summer was Cade McNown, who the Dolphins had acquired from the Chicago Bears in a trade involving a swap of late-round picks just two years after he had been the 12th overall selection in the 1999 NFL draft.

Unlike Heupel, McNown made the final roster but he spent the entire season as the designated third quarterback behind Jay Fiedler and Ray Lucas and never played a down for the Dolphins before they traded him to the San Francisco 49ers the following offseason.

Which brings us back to Tagovailoa, who actually was asked at the combine how he ended throwing left-handed as a kid.

“My dad was the only lefty in our family and he wanted me to be a lefty as well, so he switched the way I threw," Tua said. "I didn’t touch the ball with my right as far as throwing, just threw with my left. I don’t think I would be here if I was a righty.”

Why?

“Well, because I only know I’m good with my left hand throwing the ball.

“My parents tried to put me in other sports. My dad wanted me to play baseball. I played tee ball for about a year and a half. I couldn’t do it. I played first base and I played outfield. Well, I played outfield and I was picking weeds. It was too slow for me. I couldn’t do it. They put me at first base thinking I’d get a lot more action. I was picked weeds again. It just didn’t work for me.”

Tua says the only things he does left-handed are throw a football and shoot basketballs.

Finally, Tua was asked what it would look like if he threw right-handed?

“I’m not too sure," Tua replied, "but I don’t think you guys want to see me throw with my right hand.”

No, the Dolphins and their fans will be perfectly happy to see him stick to his left-handed ways. And hope he can set a new standard for Dolphins lefties.

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Alain Poupart (a proud lefty) has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989. You can follow him on Twitter at @apoupartFins.