re: Class of 2019 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: That's a Wrap Edition

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Many quarterbacks have trouble improvising a play when flushed from the pocket and forced to make a quick decision while avoiding oncoming pass rushers.

Thompson's Taulia Tagovailoa isn't one of them.

Tagovailoa seems to be at his best, said coaches who have game-planned against him during the last two seasons, when a play breaks down and the 4-star Alabama quarterback commit must make something out of nothing.

"He's unbelievable at executing the system," Mountain Brook coach Chris Yeager said, "but when you go one, two and three and now what do I do when it's covered? You've got to be a football player and you've got to be an athlete, and he does do that well."

Tagovailoa has thrown for more than 3,000 yards in back-to-back seasons and has Thompson in the Class 7A semifinals for the second straight season. Hoover limited the Warriors to just 258 yards of total offense -- the lowest total of Tagovailoa’s Thompson career -- in last year’s 31-12 semifinal win.

But then in Hoover’s 45-26 regular-season victory over Thompson in September, Tagovailoa threw for 474 yards and four touchdowns.

The two teams battle again in tonight’s 7A semifinals, and Hoover faces the daunting task of stopping Tagovailoa. Although he threw for just 141 yards last week, he led Thompson to a 37-13 victory over Hewitt-Trussville.

Earlier this season, he led a rally from a 28-0 deficit to beat Hewitt-Trussville 63-49 in a regular-season game televised by ESPN2.

"You've got to try to stay in front of him," Hewitt-Trussville coach Josh Floyd said. "I think he's better when the play breaks down. He can drop back and obviously make all the throws, but I think the scarier part is when the play breaks down and he runs around. That seems to be when the big plays happen."

Opposing coaches agree that pressuring Tagovailoa remains paramount, but they stressed defenders must be aggressive while preventing him from breaking containment.

Tagovailoa hasn't run much for Thompson, something designed to mask his running ability. Tagovailoa ripped a 50-plus-yard TD run against Hewitt-Trussville in the regular-season game. "I think he's a little better runner than people give him credit for," Floyd said.

"You've got to pressure him, but I'd like to keep him in the pocket and have the pocket collapse," Oak Mountain coach Cris Bell said. "Saying that and doing that are two different things, but if you can make him feel pressure without giving him the ability to get out of the pocket -- because he's so good when he gets out of the pocket … he's so accurate when he's scrambling.

“If you can force him to get out of rhythm, that’s your best bet,” Bell continued. “If he gets in any rhythm at all, you’re going to be in trouble.”

Thompson hasn’t advanced to the state championship game since 1982, while Hoover is shooting for a third straight 7A title and sixth state title in the last seven years.

Tagovailoa's performance will have a lot to say about who wins tonight.

“I don’t think pressure affects that guy one bit,” Yeager said. “I’ve always thought, let him take his chunks and as the field shrinks, then maximize your coverage. I’m not saying we’ve been ultra-successful, but the folks that have had any success against him, that’s what I’ve seen. You can watch what they do between the 20s, and he’s incredible. As the field shrinks, that’s the only time you’re going to get your chances.”

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