/Bama vs Ole Miss leis and hulas, anyone

Bama vs Ole Miss leis and hulas, anyone

This time it’s Alabama’s Tuanigamanuolepola Tua “Tua”, against Ole Miss’s Jordan Ta’amu. What are the odds? Ole Miss vs. Alabama. Hawaiian vs. Hawaiian. This is the truth: Bama’s Tagovailoa, Ole Miss’s Ta’amu, and Bama’s Tagovailoa have made great strides to present many problems for Deep South sports writers and sportscasters. Sports writers must spell their names. Sportscasters must correctly pronounce their names. They must be stopped. It is not easy. Sports writers and sportscasters have had more success this season than defenses. Ta’amu completed 45 of 65 passes and scored seven touchdowns, without interception. Tagolvailoa completed 25 of 35 passes, for 455 yards and six touchdowns, without an intercept. They have almost been atoatoa. Atoatoa, you say? This is Samoan for perfect. Both Ta’amu and Tagovailoa are throwing Samoans. Both can also hurt your running. This is where the similarities end. Both Samoans have taken very different paths to get where they are today in football and life. Four-star prospect Tagovailoa, from Saint Louis High School in Honolulu, was highly sought-after. Ta’amu didn’t receive a Division I scholarship offer from the smaller Pearl City High in Honolulu and instead went to a junior college in New Mexico. Tagovailoa turned 20 in March and could have traveled anywhere in the country to play college-level football. Ole Miss was a strong recruiter. Tagovailoa flew over 4,000 miles to visit Ole Miss and Auburn in one recruiting trip. Before choosing Bama, he narrowed down his college options to Alabama, Ole Miss and Southern Cal. Ta’amu turned 20 in December. He received two partial Division II scholarships and one junior college offer from high school. Ta’amu decided to attend Ole Miss instead of Minnesota or New Mexico after two years at New Mexico Military. Hugh Freeze, former head coach of Ole Miss, recruited Ta’amu and Tagovailoa for the Rebels. He was not surprised by the success of either. Freeze stated that Tua was an easy choice and that he was the one we pursued. We believed we had the best chance of winning. His family and I had a wonderful relationship. We felt we connected because they are faith-based and a close family. He ended up at the school that I believed could beat us. “He’s as good as we thought when we recruited him.” Ta’amu That’s an entirely different story. Freeze’s connections to Hawaii date back to his time as a coach at small Lambuth, an NAIA school located in Jackson, Tenn. Ben Aigumoua (an American-Samoan) played for Freeze at Lambuth before joining his staff at Ole Miss. Freeze stated, “When I was at Lambuth, we went over the islands and signed eleven kids.” “We made great connections over There.” Although everyone knew Tagovailoa from college football, Freeze and the Ole Miss staff knew more about Ta’amu from the smaller high school. Freeze stated that he liked him but wasn’t certain. Freeze was certain after watching tape of Ta’amu during his second year at New Mexico Military. Freeze stated, “We wanted him, but we already have Shea Patterson.” It wasn’t an easy pitch, as everyone assumed Shea would be the Ole Miss quarterback in the future. We assured Jordan that he would be able to compete. When Patterson fell with a torn ligament in one knee, Ta’amu took advantage of the opportunity and won. Many observers, including this one, believe Ta’amu is a better passer and a better overall quarterback. Freeze won’t be there. Freeze said, “I’ll just add that Jordan throws deep balls as accurately as any person I’ve ever seen throw them.” Saturday will see Ta’amu face the toughest challenge of his short college career, against a No. Ta’amu will face the toughest test of his college career against a No. 1 ranked national television team. It is even more special that he does it against fellow Hawaiians.