Tua stopped his brother from transferring to Auburn

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That big offer came his way: $1.5 million from an SEC school for a single season, according to the quarterback. Taulia didn't name the school, but according to sources familiar with the situation, Auburn was after Maryland's quarterback. That created a complicated situation for Taulia, who started his career at Alabama and whose brother won a national championship at the school. Could Tagovailoa really leave Maryland to play at Alabama's biggest rival?

Complicating matters was a belief that Taulia's father, Galu, was pushing him to secure the biggest possible offer. It got serious enough that Tua, now with the Miami Dolphins, got involved. Tua, who won Locksley his first national championship in 2017, couldn't stand to let his younger brother go to Alabama's biggest rival.

"We're an Alabama family," Tua told his younger brother. "You're not going to Auburn."

Still, a day before Maryland's spring game on April 29, Taulia was still contemplating entering the transfer portal. Locksley had to work the phones of loyal Maryland football supporters to raise as much money as he could to keep what he thought was one of the nation's best quarterbacks in his program. Ultimately, Tagovailoa got a significant deal in six figures to stay at Maryland, but nowhere near the $1.5 million he publicly claimed to have turned down.

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