Tua Tagovailoa remembers a few things about playing against Trevor Lawrence and Clemson in the national championship game after the 2018 season.
Most of his memories from that day are pretty negative.
“We lost,” Tagovailoa said, shaking his head as he recalled the Crimson Tide’s 44-16 defeat.
“Losing any of those games sticks with you,” Tagovailoa continued, “and I wasn’t happy with how we performed as a team, especially on offense. You learn from those mistakes and grow from them, but it wasn’t a good memory.”
Lawrence had a standout game, throwing for 347 yards and three touchdowns. Tagovailoa finished with 295 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Since then, the quarterbacks have only met a few times. They’ll face each other again as professionals when Lawrence’s Jacksonville Jaguars play against Tagovailoa’s Miami Dolphins in Sunday’s season opener.
“In that national championship game, I think he really showed who he was as a player,” Tagovailoa said about Lawrence.
“It was his freshman year, and he came into the national championship game, led his team — and we had a strong Alabama team too — and he did what he needed to do.”
Tagovailoa mentioned that he and Lawrence have respected each other since joining the NFL and have even bumped into each other on vacation in the Bahamas a few times.
Tagovailoa was drafted fifth overall in 2020, while Lawrence was the first pick in 2021. Both have had their share of highs and lows in their careers but secured significant contracts this offseason.
Lawrence signed a five-year, $275 million extension in June. Tagovailoa received a four-year, $212 million contract about a month later. Both players are aware of the high expectations from their teams aiming to compete.
“You put everything into it and try to win each week,” Lawrence said. “You’ve got to stay focused for 17 weeks straight. We need to start with just one game this week.”
