Basic information about Tua Tagovailoa, from opponents who speak frankly about Alabama QB

At the dawn of the 2018 season, there was a media library Tua Tagovailoa for future opponents. They had witnessed his iconic relief effort against Georgia in the previous game for the national title, but the Hawaiian southpaw had only made 53 university passes before that night in Georgia.

The presumed starter entering the ensuing autumn camp eventually won the position. He quickly confirmed that the performance of the title was not a coincidence and that he became one of the most electric players in college football, to become a finalist of the Heisman Trophy. Tagovailoa has rewritten the Alabama record book with an explosive offensive that has laid the tradition of Nick Saban's quarterback managers atop a cliff and in a new era.

With that, the package is detached and the novelty is faded.

The screening report for Alabama's junior quarterback is no mystery, as the talented defensemen at the end of the 2018 calendar have shown.

AL.com has spoken with eleven mostly defensive players who clashed with Tagovailoa during his season, in order to understand what made him unique and how the teams adjusted to those skills.

"It was a great experience," said Mark McLaurin, a former safety officer in the state of Mississippi. "It's a very good quarter. A lot of precision, a quarterback of IQ very high. His knowledge of the game is excellent. "

In November, the Bulldogs reduced Tagovailoa's score to 164 yards, the lowest number in SEC games for finalist Heisman. Clemson surrendered 295 but was perhaps the most effective at limiting the damage during a 44-16 win against Alabama in January.

The defensive backs of the Tiger had the most insightful window to defend Tagovailoa and what was effective.

***

Entering the field at Levi's Stadium in January was a symbolic return to the stage that made Tagovailoa a well-known name in the country. The Georgia side team was not fully prepared for the new rookie when it relieved Jalen Hurts of the 16-0 break at half-time.

Clemson, to speak frankly, was more than ready.

Cornerback A. Terrell approached Tagovailoa's third pass for an interception. He has amassed 44 yards for a superb 7-0 opening salvo.

"Really, we knew that he was not reading defenses in the background very well," said former Clemson defensive lineman Bert Huggins. "So we disguised the defense pretty well and then we went to a different defense. He just could not read the defense. "

It was the first of two interceptions launched by Tagovailoa that night after entering the match with only four out of 14.

Clemson linebacker Kendall Joseph thanked defense coordinator Brent Venables for his grueling match planning.

"We understand what he wanted to do and we wanted to exploit it," Joseph said. "It started by trying to make him lose the pace, put pressure, hit him and put the quarterback in check, and I think we did a good job in that regard."

The 14 game cassettes provided the plan.

"What they did all year," Joseph said. "It was a big RPO team – a lethal RPO team, so we planned to knock out KO and break the pace. This is how their first tests and the simple movement of the ball. The RPO was the biggest thing we saw. "

Alabama moved the ball between the 1920s quite effectively, considering the final score. This was the success rate of the 1 for 4 touchdown in the red zone and the two turnovers that marked the momentum several times that night.

The stop of the run-pass option was a challenge.

"You absolutely have to have the numbers in the box for the race, but you have to be physical," Joseph said. "You can not play softly because they only have six or seven yards per team in the first and second runs. It is difficult to call a defense in third and third and third. Stop them first, do some exercise, rotate these safety devices and that is what we did. "

Cornerback Trayvon Mullen said Tagovailoa was a decisive choice for the NFL's first round for the future by noting his speed.

"He has a big arm on him and he can run," said Huggins. "I think the wounds were a bit boring, but it's a great quarter. I think he will do good and I wish the best for him. "

***

The knee injury and the two ankle strains were still good in the future when Tagovailoa played his first game on the road against Ole Miss. The 62-7 eruption allowed Saban to score twice in the quarter and Tagovailoa started only 15 assists. The 11 finals included two touchdowns and 191 yards with five runs for 47 more yards.

Former rebel security chief, Zedrick Woods, has recalled how a healthy Tagovailoa was versatile that night.

"You just have to be very careful with the details," said Woods. "You just have to trust the preparation, because every mistake you make, it will capitalize. If you crush a blanket, he'll see it. You just have to follow this state of mind because, as I said, I really do not think that he made a mistake in this game. Always find ways to move the ball. No bad decision. "

The tide touched down on five of the seven possessions that quarterback Tagovailoa faced in the first half. Keeping the devious smuggler in the pocket was the plan, Woods said, but it was not always effective.

"He does not look shaken by anything during the match," Woods said. "If you look at the expression of his face during the game, you face it all the time. No pressure. I just want to play football. "

A week later, Tagovailoa burned Texas A & M on 22 of 30 passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns. Security Donovan Wilson found how well Tagovailoa understood each recipient's route and worked together to quickly issue passes.

"Oh man," said defensive lineman Aggie Keke Kingsley, "he could compress it."

The fast delivery separated Tagovailoa from the passersby Texas A & M faced, said Kingsley. He put the accent on stopping the race that afternoon, and the Aggies were effective there. Alabama was held to a minimum of 109 yards in the race in the 45-23 win.

Kingsley, a fifth-round Green Bay Packers pick, had some advice for his former team when he visited Alabama at College Station on October 12th.

"I absolutely have to blitz it more, I would say," said Kingsley. I have to put pressure on him. You must put him bad at ease very early. "

Tagovailoa had little resistance in October before heading to Baton Rouge for a showdown with the first real high school elite at the time.

Another CBS match in prime time versus the top 5 LSUs would be another statement.

***

The first series of Tagovailoa's tiger stadium did not end as planned. After a promising start, the smuggler stated that he had been "touched in the goodies" during a second test at LSU 22.

The next practice was an efficient five-game, 78-yard run that ended with a 15-yard touchdown by Henry Ruggs III. The star cornerback Greedy Williams was in the cover of the play "which still haunts me," he said in March before becoming a second-round pick of the Cleveland Browns.

"(Tagovailoa) had a strong arm," Williams said. "He can break games with his feet. We absolutely had to contain it. The guy can read a defense very well.

Security John Battle said Tagovailoa had "the best feet in college football as a quarterback".

"You know you have to start your clock earlier with him," said Battle. "In comparison with him with Fitzgerald (of the State of Mississippi State), with Fitzgerald, he is rather of the long and lean type. So, it's a process for him. But with Tua, it's a bit (it snaps his fingers) so he can vroom and he'll have that tilt right there in a few seconds, so you have to make sure that you have your eyes in order. You can not walk around and keep your eyes in the backfield. So, he will definitely make you play disciplined. "

The first interception in 195 shots was recorded by Todd Harris Jr. in the second quarter and Tagovailoa made his first pass in the fourth quarter of the season that night. He completed 25 of his 42 passes for 295 while he was running for a 44-yard touchdown on a bad knee in the 29-0 win.

"Just the fast game," said Grant safety Delpit. "Dude, quick guys they have, the RPO offensive they have. They get the ball at their playmakers in the space. Tua is very good at putting the ball quickly, just a few seconds after the slam. So, he really knows where he is going before the snap. He is a very good quarterback before the break. I have only praise for Tua.

Alabama won SEC West that night at Tiger Stadium in a match as successful as Tide's season.

***

A week after the moving victory at LSU, Alabama was facing one of the best defense systems in the country, with the state of Mississippi in town. And things started well with touchdown controls on the first two possessions covering respectively 73 and 83 yards.

That, however, would represent a majority of the total of 305 yards and the tide would return to the goal area just once again this afternoon. It did not matter, as Alabama's defense kicked off a second consecutive shutout in a 24-0 win.

"We just had to get in and lock ourselves up," said McLaurin of Mississippi State, and say that's what we have to do and we need to play.

Security noted how Tagovailoa was "fluid" in the pocket.

"A lot of precision, a very high IQ quarterback," he said. "His knowledge of the game is excellent."

Two weeks later, it was Auburn who was entering the Bryant-Denny stadium after vexing Alabama a year earlier. And the Tigers kept the focus on them in the first half by allowing a single touchdown to hit a sustained goal to follow 17-14 at the break.

"We had a great game plan for the first period," said the former Auburn halfback, Jamel Dean. "And the second half, has been surpassed."

Tagovailoa scored four touchdowns after half-time while Alabama flew with a 52-21 win. Dean did not hesitate to explain how Tagovailoa was "one of the best shifts I've ever faced".

"His IQ," said Dean. "He's really smart. He can break a defense. He can go through his progressions – he reviews all his progressions, then his accuracy is accurate. "

***

The following week, things got a bit messy when Tagovailoa sprained both ankles before coming out of the SEC championship against Georgia, barely saved by the Hurts. It was enough to leave him favorite of Heisman at the second prize of Kyler Murray.

An effective win by winning a 24-in-27 victory in an Orange Bowl victory over Murray's Oklahoma Sooners, but Alabama mystique experienced cracks after the first-quarter attack. The last two quarters of the 45-34 semi-final victory announced what happened in the national title game.

Reflecting on Clemson's loss this spring, Tagovailoa acknowledged some of the things the Tiger defenders had said independently about the game.

"Their defensive coordinator – he called a big game," said Tagovailoa. "I think the most important thing is the way they disguise their covers, just the way they did things. They made it look like a thing before, and then post-snap was a totally different thing. I think that they have done a very good job all this time.

Now, preparing for his first season as a titular, Tagovailoa has new goals while his opponents have a season of movies to watch. Saban preached patience in the pocket. The trend of turnover at the end of the season is due to the need to multiply the passes when the defense was set up for security reasons.

Nevertheless, the 2018 season for Tagovailoa will probably remain in the memories of the first 14 games rather than the only defeat. He did it with a flashy style never seen before at a quarterback in Alabama, which was generally stereotyped for his more vanilla approach.

"I do not know, maybe the left hand looks cooler, maybe," said Ole Miss, Woods. "I mean, he's athletic. One of the most sporting quarters since I played at college. Just his precision throwing the ball.

"I do not think he's upset anyone in the game."

Michael Casagrande is an author of the Alabama Beat Group of Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande Or on Facebook.