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One went from Saint Louis School all the way to Alabama. The other took the route from Mililani to Central Florida.
For two quarterbacks recognized as among the best to put on a high school uniform in Hawaii, those places are a long way away and, to some, they were taking a long shot.
But Hawaii’s college football fans received a monumental double treat this fall and winter when Tua Tagovailoa and McKenzie Milton made an indelible mark on the national consciousness.
What they did was one (or two, if you will) for the history books. Tagovailoa came off the bench to lead Alabama to a 26-23, come-from-behind, overtime win against Georgia in the Jan. 8 national championship game. Seven days earlier, Milton and his UCF teammates rang in the New Year by knocking off SEC bigwig Auburn 34-27 in the Peach Bowl to cap a 13-0 season and make a claim — unofficially, as the only unbeaten team — to a national championship of their own.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser caught up with both of them via cellphone recently and both spoke extensively about their adventures.
A BLESSING, BUT TD PASS WAS “NOT A PRAYER”
“It’s been a blessing for me, and people have probably heard it before, but I’m always going to say it because that’s the best way to describe it,” Tagovailoa said. “First, it was a blessing to be there to support (starting QB) Jalen (Hurts) and then to get a chance to play on the biggest stage. That’s really a blessing. That’s how God works. Coming into the game, I thought about what pastors have told me, to come expecting. Expectations are what bring down some miracles. I expected everything. As things went, I had the opportunity to go in and make the best of it. It was a really good experience for me both on and off the field, from teammates coming up to me telling me ‘good job’ to the fans and all the people in Hawaii cheering us on. A lot of things played a big role and now here we are national champions.”
Tagovailoa’s faith never wavered.
“Every time I came to the sideline or before any series or play, I asked God to give me the knowledge of what’s right from wrong and for the strength so that I can help the team become successful,” he said.
And then came the moment of truth in overtime and what turned out to be the Saint Louis alum’s winning 41-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith.
“We had four verticals with checkdown,” Tagovailoa said. “I like to call it touchdown checkdown. The safety disguised his coverage like he was going to come inside, then he ran back outside and then back inside. I was trying to hold him in the middle. Then I side-eyed the single receiver on the left side, so as soon as I had the opportunity to throw it, I snapped my head back and threw it. I knew he was open. It wasn’t like a prayer.”
Prior to Alabama’s missed field-goal attempt to win it at the end of regulation, Tagovailoa raised a bit of ire from Saban due to a miscommunication. It was a play in which he took a long time to call for the snap and ran the ball to the right sideline. Saban immediately inserted Hurts for one play to take a snap and run the ball to the middle of the field for a presumed better field-goal angle.
“That was about clock management,” Tagovailoa said. “I didn’t figure out what the signal was for that. Coach called timeout. He was telling me he didn’t agree with this and that. It was my fault.”
Tagovailoa had plenty of good words about Milton, a former youth football opponent and teammate, high school rival and really good friend.
“McKenzie is a competitor,” he said. “I love the kid and I’ve been playing with and against him since I was little. I played for the Waipio Panthers when his dad (Mark Milton) was the head coach. McKenzie was a slot before he even played quarterback. He’s just an athlete and he’s over there doing his thing at UCF now. I wouldn’t mind getting an opportunity to play against him in the college realm. It would be something special if UCF and Alabama got to play. People want to see it, and it would be extra special for the people of Hawaii.”
Lots of people around the nation wonder what would have happened if the Crimson Tide and Knights met on the field this year. Nobody beat the Knights, who defeated Auburn, which upended two of the teams (Alabama and Georgia) that qualified for the four-team College Football Playoff.
To the people of Hawaii, Tagovailoa said, “Thank you guys for all the support. I know many of you are not Alabama fans, but whenever local kids are out there, you show your support and I really appreciate it. I was told that they lit fireworks in Ewa Beach after we won the national championship. Hawaii gives a tremendous amount of support and it means a lot. Hopefully, we can lead the way for the next generation to come.”
“WE DIDN’T EVEN PLAY THAT GREAT OF A GAME”
Milton, who was in Hawaii to appear at Saturday’s Polynesian Bowl high school all-star game at Aloha Stadium, looks back in amazement at what his team accomplished against the odds.
“Everything started in spring ball, really,” he said. “We wanted to get working after the (31-13) Cure Bowl loss to Arkansas State to end the previous season. It was a disappointing end. We worked hard in the spring and summer workouts with coach Scott Frost and the strength coaches, getting our bodies right. We started quick with a win over FIU and a big win over Maryland. Our biggest win to get us rolling was against Memphis, and we put a pretty big number (40-13) on them.
“Then there were rumors of Frost leaving, but we did a good job of blocking that out. After we won the conference and found out he was going to Nebraska, his alma mater, we understood where he was coming from. The Peach Bowl was incredible and we didn’t want to have anyone else on the sideline than Scott Frost. I don’t know if we could have done it without him. It was such a great year, very special. I had a lot of friends and family come to the Peach Bowl, which was very cool.”
Wholeheartedly, Milton believes UCF could easily have played better in the Peach Bowl.
“We didn’t even play that great of a game, pretty average,” he said. “We still ended up winning by a touchdown. We struggled getting our rhythm on offense, but I thought the defense played great the whole game. Not many people know this, but at one point, we played 11 straight weeks and that takes a toll, especially on the defense. Our offense was playing really good late in the season in wins over USF and Memphis (a rematch for the American Athletic Conference championship) and we were healthy going into the bowl game. But the offense had no live reps, having not played in three weeks. But we finally hit our stride in the third quarter and, all in all, it was a slightly above-average game.
“In a way, we can claim a title. We’re the only team to run the table and beat two of those teams in the (final four). I understand the strength of schedule argument and stuff like that, but Memphis and USF and Houston from our conference can play with anyone. The whole year, I don’t think the (CFP selection committee) respected us, but it is what it is. I’m not sure they got the best four. Oklahoma was worthy, but Clemson lost to Syracuse. Where does that come in to hurt you? To make it into the playoff next year, we would have to go undefeated again I think. But I’ll take the year we had. No one can take the year we had away from us.”
“CALM, COOL TUA WEATHERED THE STORM”
Milton enjoyed watching Tagovailoa do his thing to beat Georgia.
“It was unbelievable to see what he did,” Milton said. “Personally, I think he should have been able to play the whole year. He was calm, cool and collected and I’m super proud of that kid. He and his boys weathered the storm and won the national championship. He is one of the best quarterbacks I’ve ever seen and been around and he’s an even better kid. He walks humbly, like another similar guy from Saint Louis (Marcus Mariota). I’ve known Tua since I was about 10 years old, and what he did at the highest college level was unbelievable. Maybe we will play each other in college or maybe the NFL, I’m not sure.”
Milton did not hesitate when asked for a comment about all of his Hawaii fans.
“I just want to thank you for the support and thoughts and prayers,” he said. “I always carry Hawaii with me, and I want to thank my Mililani family, too. I am so grateful for the support of everybody at the high school. I got a text from Coach Rod (York) and everyone saying congratulations. It’s pretty unbelievable to have that kind of stuff, and whether it’s Mililani, Kahuku, Punahou or Saint Louis or other schools, when people move on to college, we’re all supporting each other.”
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