One could pinpoint a multitude of what-ifs in the world of college football from over the years, including Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s call to enroll at Alabama over USC in Jan. 2017.

Tagovailoa, who starred at Saint Louis High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, garnered interest from multiple powerhouse programs. For one, USC was in the running for the versatile quarterback, and the Pac-12 school even hosted him for an unofficial visit. In the end, he opted to take his talents to the Crimson Tide, where he ended up winning a College Football Playoff national title and also set multiple school records.

Tagovailoa did consider enrolling at USC, but as he revealed during a press conference ahead of the Dolphins’ Week 14 road matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers, his father played an instrumental role in his decision to join Alabama instead.

“Yeah, I thought I was going to go to USC,” Tagovailoa said. “I thought I was going to be a ‘Fight on Trojan,’ but my dad wanted me to go to Alabama. It was always a dream of mine to go to USC, because in Hawaii, we normally get the Pac-12 games.

“And when I was young growing up, USC was the hot team here on the West Coast. So when I ended up getting an offer in high school, it was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is crazy.’ I can’t say that I regret going to Alabama, because I know I wouldn’t be in the position that I’m in now if I hadn’t gone there and experienced what I did. But I would have went to USC.”

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Had Tagovailoa elected to enroll at USC, he would have featured under now-former Trojans head coach Clay Helton. Tagovailoa did reveal in 2019 that he was “really close” to transferring to USC after he served as Jalen Hurts' backup at the quarterback position for much of the 2017 season. He ultimately stayed put at Alabama for the 2018 campaign, which came months after he led the Crimson Tide to a national title victory over Georgia in overtime.

Tagovailoa is currently in his third season with the Dolphins, where he has recorded 21 passing touchdowns in 10 games played this year.