In his Canadian Football League debut on Monday, former Thompson High School and Alabama quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa scored on his first pro rushing attempt.
Making his first appearance in place of Hamilton starter Bo Levi Mitchell, Tagovailoa scored from 3 yards as the Tigers-Cats took a 14-0 lead over the Toronto Argonauts with 7:32 left in the first quarter.
The Tiger-Cats upended Toronto 31-28 during the Labour Day Classic at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario. Hamilton entered the game with a 2-9 record while the Argos were 6-4.
Tagovailoa had one other rushing attempt in the game and gained 7 more yards, and he completed his only pass for 6 yards.
Tagovailoa joined Hamilton as a member of its practice squad on June 10. The Tiger-Cats brought him to the active roster on Aug. 21, but he did not play in Hamilton’s 26-23 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Aug. 23.
Tagovailoa played at Alabama in the 2019 season before transferring to Maryland. In his four seasons with the Terrapins, Tagovailoa became the Big Ten’s career leader for passing yards. At Maryland, Tagovailoa completed 955-of-1,424 passes for 11,256 yards with 76 touchdowns and 37 interceptions.
Tagovailia was not chosen in the NFL Draft in April. He attended the rookie minicamps of the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals in May on a tryout basis but was not signed.
At Thompson High School in Alabaster, Tagovailoa was the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Class 7A Back of the Year for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Tagovailoa became the first player in Alabama high school history with at least four 400-yard passing games.
At Alabama, Tagovailoa was behind his brother, Tua Tagovailoa, and Mac Jones on the Crimson Tide’s depth chart. He completed 9-of-12 passes for 100 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions at Alabama in 2019.
