There are a few things Tua Tagovailoa remembers about his Alabama team facing 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 with a quick shake of his head, remembering the Crimson Tide's 44-16 defeat.
“Any time you lose any of those games, they stick with you,” Tagovailoa continued, "and I wasn’t happy about that performance, the way we came out as a team offensively, especially. You learn from all those mistakes and you grow from that, but it wasn’t a good memory.”
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Lawrence played one of the best games of his college career, throwing for 347 yards and three touchdowns. Tagovailoa finished with 295 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The QBs have crossed paths sparingly since then. They'll meet for the second time as pros when Lawrence's Jacksonville Jaguars visit Tagovailoa's Miami Dolphins in Sunday's season opener.
“In that national championship game that’s where, really, I think he made a statement in who he was as a player and just in general,” Tagovailoa said of Lawrence. “That was his freshman year, too. Him coming in the national championship game, leading his team — and we had a really good Alabama team, too — and he did what he had to do.”
Tagovailoa said he and Lawrence have respected each other since entering the NFL and have even run into each other on vacation in the Bahamas a couple of times.
Tagovailoa was drafted fifth overall in 2020, while Lawrence was the first pick in 2021. Both have had ups and downs to start their careers but earned big paydays this offseason.
Lawrence signed a five-year, $275 million extension in June. Tagovailoa got a four-year, $212 million contract about a month later. Both understand the heightened expectations placed on them by franchises looking to contend.
“You put everything into it and you just try to go 1-0 each week,” Lawrence said, “and you’ve got to keep that tunnel vision for 17 weeks straight. We’ve got to start with just one, though, this week.”
Play-calling mystery
Jaguars coach Doug Pederson is declining to reveal who will call plays this season. It’ll be either Pederson or offensive coordinator Press Taylor. They shared the job in 2022, with Pederson calling plays in the first half and Taylor in the second. Taylor took over the sole role last season, but Pederson has since said he needed to evaluate who should handle it in 2024.
Owner Shad Khan has made it clear he would prefer for Pederson to call plays.
“I don’t think it’s really a whole lot of difference,” Pederson said. “Press and I think alike a lot of times and converse a lot of times during games, and I just think that if you’re looking at it, there’s probably not a lot of differences.”
Rookie watch
Jaguars rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr. is expected to start alongside Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis and play significantly. Jacksonville drafted Thomas with the 23rd overall pick in April, and the former LSU standout has been better than advertised.
He caught three passes for 93 yards in three preseason games and flashed even more during practice.
“I feel like it’s been going pretty good, pretty smooth,” he said.
Ramsey's status
Jalen Ramsey missed time in the preseason because of a hamstring injury and did not practice this week, putting his status for Sunday in question.
Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said he's hopeful that Ramsey will play, but if he doesn't, that would open up more playing opportunities for backups Ethan Bonner and Storm Duck.
“One thing I do know about Jalen is it's not for a lack of work ethic,” Weaver said. “He's doing everything he can in the training room to try and put himself out there. We've just got to be smart.”
The All-Pro cornerback missed the first part of 2023 recovering from a knee injury suffered in training camp. He returned to have three interceptions and 22 tackles in his first season with the Dolphins.
Captain Campbell
Veteran defensive tackle Calais Campbell was named a captain after joining the Dolphins in June.
Campbell, who has been praised by coaches and teammates for his willingness to pass on knowledge from his 17-year NFL career that includes a 2017 run to the AFC championship game with the Jaguars, said he was surprised at being named captain.
“It's hard for somebody that hasn't been here a very long time to be voted captain,” Campbell said. “I've tried to be very vocal and tried to say the things that I think were necessary for us to be a good team. That goes to show that my team is very receptive, and they like what I'm saying.”
