Tua Tagovailoa reveals key issues he had as a rookie

Tua Tagovailoa had an up-and-down rookie season, but the Miami Dolphins quarterback has reason to believe year two will be much better.

Tagovailoa admitted this week that he wasn’t comfortable with the playbook as a rookie, and sometimes rode plays through that he didn’t feel would work because he lacked the confidence to do otherwise.

“Last year, for me, I wasn’t as comfortable just in general,” Tagovailoa said, via Nick Shook of NFL.com. “I wasn’t comfortable calling plays. I think the guys that we had last year were phenomenal. I just didn’t have the comfortability of checking plays, alerting plays. I just rode with the play even if I knew in a way that it wasn’t going to work. I was going to try to make it work.”

Tagovailoa also admitted he was still compensating for his hip coming off surgery, which he does not expect to be an issue in 2021.

“I guess you could say the focus was the glutes to help support the hip,” Tagovailoa added. “My hip feels 10 times better than it did last year. The confidence level for myself, I feel really confident coming into this second year after that injury two years ago.”

All the reports about Tagovailoa during OTAs have been positive. His personal trainer has nothing but praise for him. Coach Brian Flores added that he has taken steps forward in another key aspect. It’s encouraging for the Dolphins, who will need Tagovailoa to show progress this season before long-term doubts begin to grow.