Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa: Getting praise from Lamar Jackson ‘one of the coolest things'

MIAMI GARDENS — There’s no way for both of them to be happy on Sunday. When Lamar Jackson and Tua Tagovailoa are reunited, they’ll both be chasing the same thing. Although the public will focus on two quarterbacks high on the list for MVP, their concern will be leading their teams to victory in a game that will go a long way toward determining the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

Maybe it’ll be Jackson and his Baltimore Ravens. Maybe it’ll be Tagovailoa and his Miami Dolphins. Regardless, the mutual respect the quarterbacks have for one another isn’t about to change.

Wednesday, Tagovailoa reflected on how that respect came to be — namely, how Tagovailoa wasn’t even a Dolphin at the time but still at the University of Alabama when a message came out of the blue.

“I can vividly remember when I was in college, I think he was in the NFL,” Tagovailoa said. “And he reached out to me and, like, told me that I was balling. And I thought that was like one of the coolest things.”

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Tagovailoa said if memory serves, it was 2019, the year Jackson was named NFL MVP. Tagovailoa was in his final season with the Crimson Tide, about to become a first-round pick of the Dolphins.

“Just the amount of respect that I have for him, who he is as a player, and then I’ve been hearing talks about what people say about him and whatnot and how he handles himself and how he goes about his business — very respectable, very commendable,” Tagovailoa said.

Oddsmakers have both QBs among the top four for MVP even though Tagovailoa has consistently said he couldn’t care less about individual honors. After leading the Ravens to a convincing 35-23 victory in San Francisco on Monday night, Jackson has become the odds-on favorite to win the honor.

Jackson has thrown for 3,357 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season in addition to rushing for 786 yards and five scores. Tagovailoa leads the NFL in passing yards (4,214) and completion percentage (70.5) with 26 TDs and 10 interceptions.

“He’s a baller,” Tagovailoa said. “That’s just flat-out what he is and that’s what he does. He’s a game-changer with what he can do in the pocket, throwing the ball deep on the run. And then he can make you miss with his legs as well.”

Jackson, a Boynton Beach High star quarterback and 2014 Lou Groza Player of the Year, has led the Ravens to a 12-3 record and first place in the AFC race. The Dolphins are next with Tagovailoa directing an 11-4 start even though Miami can control the race for the bye with two more wins.

Just as he steered away from hearing that a win over Dallas last weekend would clinch a playoff berth, Tagovailoa doesn’t want to know the permutations for playoff seedings.

“I would say every time we step foot on that field we want to win,” Tagovailoa said. “Doesn’t matter what’s at stake.”

Even inside the locker room, he added, you won’t chatter about a bye.

“No one’s talking about, ‘Oh, we need to beat this team to do this, we need to beat this team to do that,’ ” he said. “ … We understand what’s at stake, but I think if you overdo it, you could get to a point where you start chasing ghosts.”

Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com.Follow him on social media @gunnerhal. Click here to subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa has utmost respect for Lamar Jackson