Tua Tagovailoa is the man of the hour after leading Alabama to a 26-23 overtime victory over Georgia in the College Football Playoff National Championship - and his friends are coming out in droves to support him.
The freshman quarterback came off the bench for Alabama to replace Jalen Hurts and connected with DeVonta Smith on a perfect 41-yard touchdown strike to lead the Crimson Tide to the national title.
Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota has served as a mentor to the Alabama rising star and raved about his friend following Monday's victory.
"Tua is a stud. He's the next guy coming up. Proud of him," Mariota said to ESPN's Cameron Wolfe. "From where that kid's come, how he's grown and how he handled the situation last night. He's very special. Hopefully he can continue his success. I'm sure you guys saw the interview after the game. That's who he is."
Mariota believes Tagovailoa will continue to develop into one of college football's brightest stars as his career progresses.
"He's done it all himself. Where he gets his humility is from his family. How he carries himself is from where we grew up. I hope he uses this as motivation to continue to get better and see how far he can take it."
It's not inconceivable to imagine a scenario where Mariota and Tagovailoa square off in the NFL, but the latter is a few years away from this reality. In the meantime, he'll have to settle for a national championship while one of college football's most raucous fan bases rejoices.
