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Tua Tagovailoa 2020 NFL Draft Status Revealed By ESPN’s Mel Kiper

Tua Tagovailoa 2020 NFL Draft Status Revealed By ESPN’s Mel Kiper

Tua Tagovailoa 2020 NFL Draft Status Revealed By ESPN’s Mel Kiper

Tua Tagovailoa’s 2020 NFL draft status has been revealed by ESPN’s Mel Kiper.

Tagovailoa, the Heisman-level quarterback that was viewed by many as the top player in the upcoming draft, sustained a brutal injury this weekend.

Heading into the end of the first half of Alabama’s dominant victory over Mississippi State, Tagovailoa found himself on the wrong end of a brutal hit.

Tagovailoa ended up badly injuring his hip and his season is now over.

The obvious question everyone came away with after realizing his college football career is now over is: what does this mean for his professional prospects?

Well, Kiper has the answer to that.

“When you look at the medical situation — that has to play out,” he said on ESPN.

“We don’t have all the answers on that to what the hip situation is moving forward in terms of the rehab,” he continued.

“But what we do with the ankles, slight knee and lower extremity injuries over the last couple of years have obviously affected Tua and impact how teams will view him moving forward, especially when you think about Joe Burrow at LSU with the great year he’s had.

“He’s moved up to that No. 1 quarterback spot up near the top of the draft board. Then, Tua was right in with Justin Herbert from Oregon who’s been red hot of late with a big game last night.

“He’s on a roll and has weapons on that offense. He’s a big rocket armed quarterback.

“So, now, you look at Tua. He’s not 6-3. He doesn’t have the big-time arm strength and now the durability concern is obviously real and has been for a period of time because of the ankle injuries.

“So, this kind of complicates matters when you’re competing with two other quarterbacks who are highly rated — it puts you (Tua) right now third in line instead of No. 1 or No. 2 when you project forward to late April.”

The hope is obviously that Tagovailoa’s draft stock will not be heavily impacted by what transpired, but a lot of that will depend on his recovery process.

Related: Oklahoma vs Oklahoma State Winner Is Obvious, Says ESPN

Jennifer Withers Hoey

Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.

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