NEW YORK >> When Tua Tagovailoa chose to accept a football scholarship at Alabama, Nani Vegas, his former religion teacher at Saint Louis School and confidant over the years, questioned him about the decision.

“I said, ‘Tua you could play at any other school in the country, Alabama is so far away and they already have somebody (who is starting as a freshman). Why, Tua? Why Alabama?’ ”

Vegas said, “He told me, ‘ ’Cause they are the best. To be the best I have to be at the best school and play with the best and compete against the best.’ That was quite a statement and it has never left my mind,” she said.

Saturday night Tagovailoa came close to realizing his avowed goal in just his second year of college, finishing a close second to Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray for the 2018 Heisman Trophy, symbolic of being the outstanding player in college football.

Tagovailoa’s 1,871 points were the most for a runner-up in the 84 years of the Heisman, but left him 296 points short of Murray’s total (2,167) in the tightest balloting and most dramatic finish since 2011. Tagovailoa’s 229 first-place votes were the third highest of any runner-up.

Murray, a fourth-year junior, made it back-to-back Heismans for the Sooners, following Baker Mayfield, who won the 2017 trophy, and seven overall.

“He’s dynamic; he can beat you with his arm or his legs,” said Tagovailoa, who sat next to Murray during the announcement in a theater overlooking Times Square. Afterward his family presented Murray with a congratulatory lei.

Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr., the only other finalist in balloting by 882 voters composed of media, former Heisman winners and a composite Nissan House fan vote, finished a distant third with 783 points in this year of record-breaking quarterbacks.

Tagovailoa said Saturday, “Not too many kids get to have the opportunity to come here. I’m just blessed to be here.”

Upon arriving in New York on Friday after receiving two other major player of the year awards, the Walter Camp and Maxwell awards, in Atlanta, Tagovailoa said, “I thought it would be amazing if I did win (the Heisman) but even if I didn’t, there is always another year.” He said, “It is not an individual sport, it is a team sport and the best thing I have to offer my team is giving it all I can.”

An Alabama spokesman said Tagovailoa would be flying out right after the announcement and not be immediately available to the media. His post on Twitter said, “Humbled and grateful for the tremendous amount of support from my family, the University Of Alabama, and our fans throughout this process. Big congrats to Kyler on winning the Heisman and Dwayne on a tremendous season this year! Now, we’re back to work. #RollTide.”

But as they departed the theater Saturday night amid an intermittent, light snowfall, many, including Murray, were expecting Tagovailoa to be back on the Heisman stage in 2019.

“I’m pretty positive he (Tagovailoa) will be back here next year,” Murray said.

Archie Griffin, the only two-time Heisman winner (1974 and ’75), told the Star-Advertiser, “He’ll absolutely (have another chance). I mean, the guy has been a tremendous player and done a terrific job for Alabama.”

Griffin said, “I expect that Alabama is always going to have a great team and I’ve always looked at it (the Heisman) as kind of a team award, everybody working together for that cause of winning football games and having success.”

Murray, who signed a $4.66 million contract earlier this year with Oakland after being selected as the ninth overall pick in the MLB Draft, has committed to playing for the A’s. Though the NFL could tempt him. ESPN draft analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay say Murray could be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft.

Haskins, a third-year sophomore, is expected to opt for the NFL Draft.

“Tua had a spectacular season and it has been such a pleasure to share his Heisman experience with his family here in N. Y. regardless of the outcome,” said Saint Louis President Glenn Medeiros, who led a large Crusaders contingent to the Big Apple.

Indeed, it has been a remarkable ascent by the left-handed quarterback from Ewa Beach, who less than a year ago wasn’t even a starter for the Crimson Tide.

But his storybook saga of coming off the bench to rally Alabama to the College Football Playoff National Championship against Georgia in January made him, in some estimations, the second-most well-known figure in Alabama after head coach Nick Saban.

The passing acumen he has brought to the traditionally ground-bound Crimson Tide offense persuaded Saban to make major upgrades that helped Alabama to retain the No. 1 ranking at 13-0 heading into the CFP.

That and the naturally infectious personality Tagovailoa exhibited have won him a place in fans’ hearts.

“The fans have embraced him 100 percent,” said Eli Gold, the radio play-by-player announcer for the Crimson Tide network, who, in describing touchdowns likes to say, “Tua says ‘aloha’ to the defense.”

The phrase “Tusca-aloha” now refers to Tuscaloosa on game days.

Tagovailoa thanked his parents, coaches and teammates. “I wouldn’t have been here without them,” he said.

Vegas, who is now the dean of students at Saint Louis School, came to New York as an invited guest of the family to share in his moment. “Mrs. Vegas has been my teacher since seventh grade,” Tagovailoa said. “She always gave me words of encouragement and wrote them on little cards” that would be stuck on Tagovailoa’s refrigerator at home as a reminder.

“She really helped me to get to where I am in my life right now,” Tagovailoa said.

For Tagovailoa, the quest to be the best continues.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.