Tua Tagovailoa has been impressive so far but is it for real?

The Miami Dolphins are rolling through training camp and long gone are the five-interception days by Tua Tagovailoa. He has looked confident and on target. The question is whether or not this is what fans and the Dolphins themselves should expect come September?

So far through camp after a first-day slow start, Tua Tagovailoa has been a bright spot on the offense, even getting props from Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel. Players are saying that he looks confident and he is decisive.

A knock on Tua has been his “inability” to throw the deep ball. That wasn’t a problem at Alabama but seemed to be last year. One of those issues was obviously his hip. Tagovailoa said that he was never 100% last year in both physical and mental confidence. Throwing the deep ball would be an issue given the fact he has to contort his body to make the throw.

Now healthy, Tagovailoa seems to have that Alabama swagger he used to have. He is making jokes with his teammates and the media and has been having fun. He is maturing into a leader and that bodes well for his future.

So should fans be excited? Absolutely. There is no reason to believe that his play won’t continue. He will throw more interceptions and have some bad days but these are going to come during sessions when he is trying out new throws to see what he can and can’t do at this level. He will be pushing himself. The same way he has pushed himself through his life, to get better.

Tua should make a big jump this year and while he won’t reach the level we hope he will in his second season, the growth should be very noticeable and the consistency should also be seen clearly week to week.

We tend to make a big deal out of players who have bad camps and find reasons to criticize or make excuses when a player has good practices. In the case of Tua, it’s been a very good camp and having a full off-season is starting to show what he is capable of doing. That’s a good thing and it could be very good for the Miami Dolphins in 2021 if he carries it over into the season.