Tua talks about joining Dolphins

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa talked about joining the Miami Dolphins

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said the Miami Dolphins is the organization with which he belongs because they showed the faith to select him in the 2020 NFL draft.

"I didn't get nervous at all for me and my family," Tagovailoa said during a video conference call with South Florida reporters. "The biggest thing was whoever decided to take a chance on me was where I belonged. My biggest thing is I'm trying to prove this is the right decision for the organization."

Here were some other Tua comments:

On why he's confident in his health holding up: "What makes me confident is what the doctors have told me. I'm able to play if need be. But I think the biggest thing for me right now is to be able to soak it in, enjoy it and get to work."

On the high expectations he might get from fans: "That's something that's out of my control. I can't control whether the fans like me or dislike me. For me, it's all about worrying about what you can control."

On how Alabama prepared him for the NFL: "I think Alabama has prepared me with how hard everything was there. It was just everything. Everything was made hard. It was really about embracing hard and kind of how you become successful through those hard times."

On his plan at this point: "First off, I just want to be able to get the ball rolling as far as understanding my plays, build relationships with guys in the quarterback room, guys in the locker room."

On his relationship with Owner Stephen Ross, GM Chris Grier and Coach Brian Flores: "It's continuing to grow and that's my biggest thing. We created it at the combine. Now that I'm part of the organization it can only go up from here."

On working with veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick: "It's first off just being able to understand the kind of person he is. I know he's been a great leader for this organization. He has so much knowledge of the game. I think it's best that I nitpick, ask him how he goes about preparing for a defense."

On his jersey number, considering his 13 from Alabama was worn by Dan Marino and has been retired: "For me, I'm not too worried about what number I have. I understand 13 is retired, and it should be."

On how he views his role for next season: "I'm going to go out there and compete like I'm preparing to be a starter, even if I"m not going to be the starter. Competition is usually always healthy."


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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of All Dolphins and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press, the Dolphins team website, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.