Tagovailoa would have left Alabama if he didn't play in championship vs. Georgia

Tua Tagovailoa etched his name in college football history with a brilliant second-half performance to lead Alabama to a dramatic comeback win in the national championship game.

The freshman pivot entered the game at halftime for an ineffective Jalen Hurts, throwing three touchdowns, including the winner in overtime, to deliver Nick Saban his sixth national title.

Not only did Saban save the game with the decision to insert Tagovailoa into the lineup at halftime, but it appears he kept the star pivot at Alabama in the process.

"I told myself if I didn't play in the last game, which was the national championship game, I would transfer out," Tagovailoa told a crowd of students in his native Hawaii on Thursday, as per Taryn Hatcher of Hawaii News Now.

Sitting behind Hurts throughout the season weighed heavily on Tagovailoa's mental state, as he admitted that very early on in the schedule he approached his family about leaving the Crimson Tide program.

"I called my dad and asked him if my offer to the University of Southern California was still available," Tagovailoa said. "I wanted to leave. I told my dad I wanted to go to a school where I thought it'd be easier for me and wouldn't challenge me so much."

His father would convince him to stay, a decision that turned out to be a massive one for both Tagovailoa and the Alabama program. The 20-year-old enters his second year with the Crimson Tide as the likely starter ahead of Hurts, who has been rumored as a potential transfer himself if he is the backup to enter the season.