Tua at luau: ‘Smiling a lot more,' already itching to ‘get things rolling' for 2023
HOLLYWOOD — It wasn’t just the new mustache that was making a statement for Tua Tagovailoa on Monday night.
The rest of his face was, too.
“How do I feel now compared to a year ago? I’m smiling a lot more,” he said. “So I would say good.”
Tagovailoa, looking fit, upbeat and relaxed, was hosting his second annual Luau with Tua community event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, drawing scores of teammates and coaches including Mike McDaniel.
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For many, it was the first look at Tagovailoa since Christmas, when he suffered a concussion against Green Bay that ended his season. After suffering at least two known concussions in 2022, he has been focusing on ways to stay healthy, adding jiu-jitsu to his training to help him fall without banging his head on the turf.
“Offseason training has been good,” he said. “Been working on strength in many areas and been chapping away at things that I felt like I needed to work on to get to where I feel like I can get to in the later parts of the season.”
After seeing the Dolphins reach the playoffs in the first season with McDaniel and Tyreek Hill, Tagovailoa has watched with interest as the team has made more additions including All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Even though the draft hasn’t even taken place yet, Tagovailoa admitted he’s itching “to get things rolling” in preparation for the 2023 season.
“I'm very excited,” he said. “I think our entire team is excited to get back out there. Get to meet a lot of the newer guys and guys who have been in this system for a whole year now. So it's very exciting. And I think a lot of fans, the community, everyone is very supportive.”
The buzz was evident from the crowded ballroom Monday night despite the daylong downpour that forced the luau indoors. The event benefited the Tua Foundation, the Jason Taylor Foundation and Special Olympics, with a focus on children, education and extracurricular activities.
“The Polynesian culture, this is my culture,” Tagovailoa said. “My Samoan culture that raised me — one thing that I did see a lot of growing up was giving back — giving back to the community and giving back to those that have helped my parents, those that have helped my grandparents, my aunts and my uncles.”
Tagovailoa showed off the new ‘stache even though if it were his choice, it would have been gone by Monday night.
“The mustache is new,” he said. “I don't necessarily like the mustache. My wife likes my mustache. So that's why I left the mustache. I was gonna go to cut it all off.”
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com and followed on Twitter @gunnerhal.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tua Tagovailoa: ‘Smiling a lot more,' itching to ‘get things rolling'
