LOWELL, MA - The Massachusetts Pirates have signed former Alabama and Maryland University quarterback
Taulia Tagovailoa.
In 2024, the 6'0", 208 lb. signal caller attended rookie minicamp with the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. In June of that year, he signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League and was on the practice squad for nine games. He was placed on the active roster on August 23 vs. Winnipeg and the following week scored on a three-yard touchdown run against the Toronto Argonauts. In all, he was active for eight games and completed one pass for six yards. He also carried three times for ten yards and a score. He remained with Hamilton until May of this year.
Currently riding a four-game winning streak, the Pirates are thrilled to be adding a player of Taulia's ability to the organization. Pirates Founder, President and General Manager Jawad Yatim elaborates on his latest acquisition to the roster. "We're excited to be adding a player of Taulia's ability to our quarterback room, depth is especially important at this time of the season, as we make a push towards the playoffs with minimal margin for error. Between Kenji really starting to come into his own and seeing his potential translate into a high level of consistent production, and now adding a player of Taulia's caliber to compliment what we already have at quarterback, we feel comfortable with the position and look forward to improving each day across the roster. We're always trying to find ways to get better as a ball club, and we feel like this transaction represents that sentiment."
The brother of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Taulia began his collegiate career at Alabama in 2019 and played behind his brother and Mac Jones. In five games as a true freshman, he was 9 of 12 passing for 100 yards and a touchdown.
The next season, the Ewa Beach, Hawaii native transferred to Maryland, where his college career took off. After four seasons with the Terps, Tagovailoa finished his career as the Big Ten's All-Time passing leader with 11,256 yards. As a redshirt senior in 2023, he started all 12 games and completed 290 of his 437 attempts for 3,377 yards and 25 passing touchdowns. He also rushed for five touchdowns. He led the Big Ten in completions with 290, passing yards with 3,377, passing touchdowns (25), and 281.4 passing yards per game. Tagovailoa ranked in the top 20 nationally in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and completions per game. He also set a school record with 15 games with 300 passing yards.
At the end of the season, he was named a Second Team All-Big Ten selection for the second consecutive year. He was also an All-Big Ten Academic selection and the Polynesian Offensive Football Player of the Year.
His 2021 campaign saw Tagovailoa set Maryland single-season records in passing yards (3,860), completions (328), completion percentage (69.2%), passing touchdowns (26), and 300-yard passing games (7). He was also named New Era Pinstripe Bowl MVP, leading the Terps to a 54-10 win over Virginia, completing 20-of-24 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another 42 yards on four carries.
Tagovailoa played in 41 games at Maryland and also holds school career records with 955 completions, 76 passing touchdowns, 11,473 total yards, and a completion percentage of 67.1 percent.
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