Maryland picked up its fourth win of the season, defeating Michigan State 27-13 behind a strong defensive performance and an impressive outing from Terrapins quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa.
But after handing the Spartans their third consecutive loss of the season, Maryland coach Michael Locksley told reporters that it was a rough week mentally for Tagovailoa leading up to Saturday’s game. Taulia, the younger brother to Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, watched Tua get carted off the field during Miami’s 27-15 loss to the Bengals on Thursday.
Taulia seeing his brother in pain came only four days after Tua was briefly removed from the Dolphins’ game against the Bills on Sunday for what appeared to be a possible head injury but was later confirmed as a back injury. However, Tua returned in the second half of the game after Miami stated that he cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Locksley told reporters that Taulia did not showcase his normal flow of energy until after the team’s dinner on Friday night ahead of Saturday’s game, saying everyone in the program was concerned about him. “Everybody was really on pins and needles watching him as he worked through it Friday, which is a big mental day for us,” Locksley said. “We all knew that he was not necessarily all the way there.”
It was not until Taulia had the chance to FaceTime Tua that he began to “settle down” and really lock in for the game. “Tua basically said, ‘Hey, I’m fine, man. Go play. I’m looking forward to seeing you go play and win a game,’” Locksley recalled of the conversation between the two brothers.
Taulia, a redshirt junior, finished Saturday’s game with 314 yards and one touchdown while connecting with 10 different receivers in the contest after suffering a knee injury against Michigan last week. He also moved into third place on the program’s all-time passing list and eclipsed 6,000 passing yards to move ahead of Boomer Esiason in Maryland’s record book.
Maryland (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) returns to action on Saturday at home against Purdue.
