Some things are deeper than the divisional rivalries in the NFL, even between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets. Jets and Dolphins usually go together like cats and dogs; even in the midst of the recession of the two franchises over the past decade. But last week, when asked about his former Miami Dolphins teammate Tua Tagovailoa on ‘The Zach Gelb Show’, Jets defender Quinnen Williams offered his quarterback a lot of love.
“I think (Tagovailoa) will be an amazing quarterback, man. He is an amazing leader. Great arm, great player, great leader, just a great teammate in general, man, and I think like me, some guys need more time than others to become that player that everyone knows can be in the NFL, “Williams said.
“He probably struggled a bit in his first year, man, but I’m sure he won’t fight his second year just because of the learning and experience he had the opportunity to be on the field his first year, and the things he did wrong his first year will not be allowed to do wrong again his second year. That’s how we built in Alabama. “
Williams and Tagovailoa overlapped in the 2017 and 2018 seasons at Tuscaloosa and together won a national championship in early 2018 after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs in the college football playoffs. So Williams has seen the best Tagovailoa has to offer. And, to be fair, the Dolphins saw the best Williams can offer with their 2020 play against Miami. Williams was an absolute terror in both games against the Dolphins, gaining spaces ahead with speed and power alike. Williams scored for the Dolphins by 1.5 sacks in their second game of the season, a 20-3 victory over the Dolphins with Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm amid a thumb injury at Tagovailoa.
The next time the two teams cross paths to be the first time Williams and Tagovailoa will line up as starters against the NFL – and here we hope Tagovailoa can prove his former college teammate has a right to help Miami to stay comfortably ahead of the New York Jets in the standings.