Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick offered Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa some serious advice during an appearance on Tyreek Hill’s It Needed To Be Said podcast. Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young needs to take notes as well.
Tua briefly considered retirement after missing several games, including the Dolphins’ Wild Card game last season, due to suffering multiple concussions. Tua is coming back this season and hopes to stay healthier and avoid taking the kinds of big hits he sustained last season.
NFL News: Michael Vick offers Tua Tagovailoa advice
Vick has an idea for Tua. According to a transcription of Hill’s podcast by Mike Florio with NBC Sports, Vick said Tua needs to add weight in order to absorb and better survive the hits he will inevitably take as a quarterback:
“I just think he’s got to bulk up a little bit,” Vick said. “Get a little bit bigger. Get stronger. As you grow into your man body, that’s what needs to happen. Ain’t nothing wrong with picking up another 10 pounds, 15 pounds. . . . Don’t get hit. Don’t get knocked around.”
That’s good advice from Vick. Tua’s size was a concern coming out of Alabama. The average quarterback size in the NFL is about six-foot-three, 225 pounds. Tua is six-foot-one, 217 pounds. Eight pounds is a big difference in a league where 280-310 pound defensive linemen are trying to slam the quarterback down.
Bryce Young needs to bulk up too
Fellow Alabama quarterback Alumn, Young, is even smaller than Tua. The Panthers’ number one overall pick came into the league at five-foot-ten, 194 pounds.
Pictures from Panthers OTAs show Young is tiny. He will need to bulk up, or he could be eaten alive in the NFL. It would be a tragedy if Young and Tua suffered a similar fate as what Tua endured last season.
The best remedy is to follow the steps of another Alabama quarterback, Jalen Hurts. Hurts was a smaller quarterback when he started out at Alabama. He’s spent considerable time and effort in the gym.
Hurts hard work paid off last season when he finished second in the MVP race. No defense could stop his fierce six-foot-one, 223-pound frame on quarterback sneaks. If Tua and Young want to survive for several more years, they might have to follow Hurts’ lead.
For More Wisconsin Sports:
Follow me on Twitter at @JordanSig, and follow us @WiSportsHeroics. You can also reach out to Jordan Sigler via email at jordanmsigler@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Wisconsin sports, click here! Green Bay Packers, Wisconsin Badgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks.
