The Miami Dolphins can now get an up-close look at Tua Tagovailoa, and based on his physical trainer’s opinion, they’re going to like what they see from the former Alabama star who is recovering from a fractured hip.
“He’s doing miraculously well,” Kevin Wilk, who’s been working with the No. 5 pick from the 2020 NFL Draft at Champion Sports Medicine in Birmingham, Ala., told the Sun-Sentinel. “The miraculous part is that he healed so well. The second part is, he’s been so well at getting his strength back, which usually takes a long time after something like this.”
The 22-year-old made his move from Alabama to the Miami area over the weekend, and the Dolphins can see exactly where he’s at as the NFL has allowed rehabbing players to return to practice facilities. Tagovailoa’s recent workouts, per the Sun-Sentinel, have focused on his hip, which he injured while with Alabama in November, his ankles, both of which were operated on after high-ankle sprains, and strengthening his left shoulder. Tagovailoa has stayed at the facility after rehab to partake in the Dolphins’ offseason program via video conference.
“You can barely talk to him when he’s at the clinic. He’s either doing exercises or his face is buried in the iPad, learning the system,” said Wilk, who has worked with Michael Jordan. “He’s laser focused. One of the most focused I’ve ever seen anybody, to be honest.”
Wilk would actually prefer if Tagovailoa slows down somewhat.
“He wants to do more and more so we have to hold him back,” Wilk said. “And really, that was from the beginning. He always wanted to do more.”