“It will be very competitive facing Mac Jones”: Tua Tagovailoa wishes former Alabama teammate luck ahead of Week 1 matchup

Arth Chandra
|PublishedSep 02, 2021

"It will be very competitive facing Mac Jones": Tua Tagovailoa wishes former Alabama teammate luck ahead of Week 1 matchup

Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones were once a part of the same National Championship winning QB room. And now they will face each other in Week 1 of the 2021 season.

Heading into the 2021 season, the Miami Dolphins’ starting job has long been in Tua’s hands. The same can’t be said for Jones, who officially won the Patriots starting job earlier this week.

Mac Jones is in a similar place as Tua Tagovailoa was in his rookie season last year. Tua was behind QB Ryan Fitzpatrick on the depth chart to start the season but eventually took over the starting reigns midseason. Jones recently beat out Cam Newton for the starting job in New England, after making a serious impression in the last week of preseason.

Tua Tagovailoa is excited to face his former teammate Mac Jones.

Tua has a love for his former teammate. But with the 2 QBs playing for AFC East rivals the Patriots and the Dolphins, Tagovailoa doesn’t want Jones to perform so well that the Dolphins end up behind the Patriots in the AFC East standings.

Tagovailoa, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 draft, addressed his future matchup with Jones in a press conference on Wednesday.

“I think it’s going to be competitive,” Tagovailoa told reporters. “Just knowing Mac Jones since I got there — we got in at the same time at Alabama — he’s a very competitive guy, very smart. Athletic. He’s instinctive and I know he’s going to do all he can to get his guys ready. If he’s going to watch this sometime or this is going to be running on ESPN — Good luck, Mac,” Tagovailoa said.

Tua also spoke about Mac Jones last week, saying he can’t wish Mac too much luck. , Tua said he hasn’t texted or talked to him since Jones was drafted.

“I’ve seen them play. He’s doing pretty good,” Tagovailoa said. “I hope when he does get the opportunity he makes the best of it. But you can’t wish him too much luck because we’re rivals in the same division.”

Tua and Mac will face each other for the first of many times on Sept. 12.

Also Read: “Peyton Manning faked me out and shuffled into the end zone”: When HOF QB fooled DeMarcus Ware, scoring his famous rushing touchdown

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