TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Recruiting victories are not uncommon for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Year after year, Nick Saban has brought in the top recruiting classes in the country. For the class of 2017, Alabama has received a commitment from the “quarterback of the future”: Tua Tagovailoa, a dual-threat player out of Hawaii.
With championship pedigree, an elite coaching staff, and top notch facilities, there are reasons aplenty to choose the Tide. But Tagovailoa chose to highlight a much different, more humble reason for coming to Tuscaloosa.
“I feel like I’m home over there,” Tagovailoa told KHON2. “Everybody on Sunday goes to church and that’s something big in my life as far as spirituality. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
Tagovailoa’s feeling about the community is substantiated by survey data. In a yearly study by the Pew Research Center, Alabama tied with Mississippi as the most religious state in the union, with 77% of adults claiming they are “highly religious.”
Alabama is also first in the number of people who believe in God, with 82% of Alabamians say they believe in God “with absolute certainty.”
RELATED: Study: Alabama is the most religious state in the country
The study also asked how frequently people attend church and pray. Alabama came in second in both of these categories, with 51% saying they attend church at least weekly, and 73% saying they pray daily.
In addition, Nick Saban has also been an outspoken advocate of his faith in public life.
Coach Saban recently spoke to Catholic Channel EWTN’s News Nightly about the role that his Catholicism plays in his development of championship teams.
“I don’t think there’s any question about the fact that character (and) moral development are all a part of leadership,” Saban said.
RELATED: Saban: ‘No question’ my faith has helped me develop champions on and off the field
Saban discussed how he believes individuals are called to exhibit God’s mercy towards other people.
“That mercy…it’s not a well, it’s not a cistern. It’s a channel that should run through us to other people,” he stated.
Saban’s faith clearly had an impact on the young man.
“Coach Saban has talked to us and his beliefs are God first before anything,” Tagovailoa told SEC Country. “Every school is going to have good academics. Every school is going to have good football. But when you have a coach like Saban, who believes in God and is a defending champion, that makes it even more special.”
“Coach Nick Saban is a really good guy and a really humble man,” Tagovailoa added. “Soft-spoken, but the words hit.”
In addition to his commitment to his faith, the young man also happens to be very talented. A video of his high school highlights can be seen below.
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