Slimmer Tua Tagovailoa hosts luau, talks ‘love language' of helping kids

HOLLYWOOD — Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel has suggested we might see a more mobile quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa in 2024. Tagovailoa flashed a sample of how mobile he can be by hosting the third annual South Florida edition of Luau with Tua on Thursday night at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

It was a slimmed-down Tagovailoa who greeted guests poolside at the Hard Rock, although he claimed he hadn’t weighed himself lately. The past several days saw him move deftly — he was fresh off hosting a golf tournament and football camp for kids in his native Hawaii.

You never would have known it as he offered heartfelt words about how much it means to him to help kids in need.

At one point, he uttered a phrase in Samoan, then translated it.

“That means the pathway to leadership is through service,” he said. “And for everyone that’s here, this is their service. This is service by giving back, not expecting anything in return.”

More: What are the top 3 best-case NFL draft scenarios for the Miami Dolphins? We break it down

All this while his agent and the Dolphins continue talks on a contract extension. The fact no deal has been struck yet isn’t going to stop him from participating in the team’s offseason program.

“Just letting my agent deal with that and talk to the team about that,” he said. “For me, my focus is when OTAs come, go to OTAs, show up and be the best teammate I can be.”

Tagovailoa confirmed he’s preparing for the offseason program by working with quarterback coach John Beck, the former Dolphins QB. Tagovailoa said he wanted to keep details of their work private but said the training is helping him achieve “little goals that lead up to the bigger goals that I have.”

The most pressing financial issues on the night were raising money for both the Tua Foundation and the Dan Marino Foundation, both focused on helping kids. The Tua Foundation has raised more than $800,000 for kids. McDaniel, Marino and Dolphins teammates were on hand to make the evening a success after last season’s event was forced indoors because of a storm.

“It’s really cool to have an event like this with great weather right now,” Tagovailoa said. “You’re in Miami, you sort of don’t even know if it’s Miami or Hawaii, just with all the palm trees out here.”

Although he’d hosted two previous luaus at the Hard Rock, the meaning is getting deeper as his family expands. He now has two children, Ace and Maizy.

“I sort of had a newfound perspective on life, having my own kids and being able to give back,” he said. “Giving back to the kids, though — those kids are the future generation. They’re the future of this world here. Those guys are going to make this world go round. And so, for me, that’s my heart. My heart is giving. I think that’s also my love language.”

As Tagovailoa spoke, a silent auction continued with items ranging from signed football photos of NFL legends to a framed photograph of Taylor Swift, the Chiefs fan. Tagovailoa knows the auction will only increase the amount he can turn over. Later, Tagovailoa grabbed his guitar and sang Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds (Everything's Gonna Be Alright)."

“You see how it makes others feel,” he said. “It makes them feel happy, but deep down inside, at least for me, I think that feeling is 10 times greater than what they’re feeling.”

If it requires him to fly from South Florida to Hawaii and back, so be it.

“I don’t look at any of that as time-consuming,” he said. “That is time well spent.”

It was for teammates Terron Armstead, Raheem Mostert and Jalen Ramsey. They joined him for his events in Hawaii.

“A lot of those kids, they grew up watching me play high school football,” Tagovailoa said. “They’ve gotten to see me personally. But with my teammates, they only get to see these guys on TV and never in a million years, those kids in Hawaii, would have thought someone like Jalen, someone like Terron, would have flown all the way out there to Hawaii just to support the camp. And so the kids were grateful for that and I definitely was extremely grateful.”

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: Tua Tagovailoa to report for Dolphins OTAs, focuses on giving back at luau