The date has been set for what could be the most impactful NFL draft decision of the college football offseason.
Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, mulling a decision to return to Tuscaloosa or declare for the 2020 NFL draft, announced on Twitter that he'd make his decision on Monday.
I’ll be making my decision on the 6th.. God bless and Roll Tide
— Tua. T 🇦🇸 (@Tuaamann) January 2, 2020
MORE: Injury update, return date, latest updates on Tagovailoa
Affecting Tagovailoa's decision, of course, is the season-ending hip injury he suffered in Alabama's Nov. 16 game against Mississippi State. Tagovailoa suffered a dislocated hip — a high-impact injury more often seen in car crashes — and posterior wall fracture. Tagovailoa's draft status was immediately impacted, not only because of his dislocated hip, but also because it added to an injury history that also includes high-ankle sprains to both his legs.
Tagovailoa in late November said this was not a decision he could rush, and admitted the potential loss of money changed his perception on whether to leave. Prior to his injury, he was considered a lock as a top-five pick.
"You think of risk-reward on coming back, you think of risk-reward on leaving," Tagovailoa said in an interview with ESPN. "Now is not the time to be making emotional decisions. Now, you have to change into thinking as a businessman. You have to make business decisions."
MORE: What's next for Nick Saban, Tagovailoa at Alabama?
If Tagovailoa elected to return in 2020, he wouldn't be the first big player to come back to school: Linebacker Dylan Moses, projected to be a first-round pick by Sporting News, announced he would return to school as well.
Should he leave, however, Alabama would have several players who could challenge for the starting quarterback position, including incumbent starter Mac Jones, Taulia Tagovailoa and Paul Tyson, four-star quarterbacks in the class of 2019, and Bryce Young, the top overall quarterback in the class of 2020.
