Taulia Tagovailoa transfer: Does Maryland QB have another year of eligibility?

Taulia Tagovailoa has been one of the top quarterbacks in the Big Ten in recent years. He started his career in 2018 at Alabama, where his brother, Tua Tagovailoa, was the starting quarterback before transferring to Maryland after just one season.

Teaming up with the Terrapins in 2020, Tagovailoa took over the starting role in a season disrupted by COVID-19. He spent four seasons in College Park, claiming the Big Ten record for most all-time passing yards and many Maryland records.

Does Taulia Tagovailoa have another year of eligibility?

After spending five seasons in college football, Taulia Tagovailoa has exhausted his years of eligibility and won’t return in 2024 unless he is granted a waiver. He was unable to redshirt in his freshman season at Alabama after appearing in five games.

If Tagovailoa had appeared in four games, he could have redshirted that season and retained a year of eligibility. Notably, Taulia only handed off twice to end the game against Mississippi State in his freshman year after Tua suffered a season-ending hip injury.

“Honestly, if I could do it again, hopefully, my brother doesn’t get injured, and I’m not in that emotional state where I want to play in the game,” Tagovailoa told ESPN’s Pete Thamel. “If I got to do it over again, I wouldn’t have played in the game.

“Coach asked me if I wanted to go in. Of course, I wanted to go in and play for my brother. And that’s what happened.”

Taulia Tagovailoa holds the top position in Maryland program history in several categories, including career passing yards with 11,256, single-season passing yards with 3,860 in 2021, and career pass completions with 955, marking an impressive four-year tenure with the Terrapins.

Taulia Tagovailoa has applied for a reinstatement waiver

While he has exhausted his years of eligibility, Taulia Tagovailoa has entered the transfer portal to play his sixth year in college football. The quarterback disclosed to ESPN on Friday that he had filed a reinstatement waiver with the NCAA on Thursday.

"It's with the NCAA right now," Tagovailoa said. "We're all just a waiting game on seeing if it gets approved or not."

The waiver request focuses on Tagovailoa's participation in five games as the third-string quarterback in his freshman year at Alabama in 2019, playing just two snaps against Duke and Mississippi State.