Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said early this offseason that he was planning to work with some jiu-jitsu instructors to get a better handle on how to fall safely, to avoid his head hitting the ground and causing concussions. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel loves that.
McDaniel said today that Tagovailoa has taken his training very seriously, and that the type of work Tagovailoa is doing is valuable for all of the quarterbacks, who rarely get hit until the season starts and could use some practice on breaking their falls properly to protect themselves.
“I’ve seen a guy that has followed through on his words as much as any young man I’ve come across in my career. You talk about going above and beyond [with] training and martial arts. We’ve incorporated it into some of the drill work we do with the quarterbacks,” McDaniel said, via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
After last season’s scary concussions, Tagovailoa’s health is the No. 1 topic of conversation in Miami this offseason, and McDaniel believes that Tagovailoa has taken productive steps in learning how to protect his head when he hits the ground.