College teams design their Pro Day to make their draft-eligible players look as good as possible, which is why it’s often said that quarterbacks always have a good pro-day performance. However, that apparently wasn’t the case for Maryland Terrapins quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa.
A Pro Day is perfectly designed to make a quarterback look good. The player is throwing to wide receivers they’ve spent years playing with, making passes without even the threat of pressure and going through scripted plays that were planned out weeks in advance.
Related: 2024 NFL Draft QB rankings
- Taulia Tagovailoa stats: 3,377 passing yards, 25-11 TD-INT, 145.1 QB rating, 66.4 percent completion rate, 7.4 yards per attempt, 5 rushing touchdowns in 2023
Taulia Tagovailoa, the brother of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, recently held his workout at Maryland’s Pro Day. Coming off consecutive seasons with second-team All-Big Ten selections, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for him to prove himself as an NFL Draft prospect.
Instead, according to Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda, Tagovailoa struggled to make a positive impression on scouts and executives in attendance. The consensus on his performance noted that Tagovailoa displayed “little arm talent” with his deep passes proving to be the biggest problem.
- Taulia Tagovailoa height: 5-foot-11
Related: 2024 NFL Draft order, picks by team
On throws deep downfield, Tagovailoa showed very little velocity on the passes with the football even fluttering at times. To make matters worse, after not being invited to the NFL Combine, Tagovailoa didn’t do any athletic testing at Maryland’s Pro Day.
The poor performance backs up what the Terrapins’ quarterback put on tape this past season. According to Pro Football Focus, Tagovailoa ranked 58th in completion rate (37.3 percent), placed 53rd in Big Throw Rate (25.9 percent) and he was 32nd in NFL QB rating (112.7) when throwing 20-plus yards downfield.
Already viewed as a fringe Day 3 pick heading into the offseason, Tagovailoa’s limited athleticism and below-average arm strength give him very little ceiling even as a backup quarterback in the NFL. Ultimately, he might have to fight for a spot on a practice squad as an undrafted free agent in 2024.
