It’s no secret that the transfer portal has changed much of what we know about college football.

Players change teams more than ever now and that often includes staying in the same conference and sometimes transferring to a rival school.

A new book set for release next week tackles a near transfer that would’ve shocked many people in the state of Alabama, directly involving one if its most revered football families in modern times.

The insight comes from an excerpt of “The Price: What It Takes to Win In College Football’s Era of Chaos,” a new tell-all from veteran journalists Armen Keteyian and John Talty (formerly of AL.com), set for release Aug. 27.

The excerpt details Taulia Tagovailoa’s career going from Alabama to Maryland, and nearly transferring from Maryland after the 2022 season.

Taulia claimed in The Price that an SEC school offered him $1.5 million for one season.

“Taulia didn’t name the school, but according to sources familiar with the situation, Auburn was after Maryland’s quarterback,” part the excerpt read.

While Taulia was deciding whether or not to enter the transfer portal, his brother, Tua, chimed in to dissuade him from jumping across rivalry lines.

“We’re an Alabama family,” Tua told his younger brother, according to The Price. “You’re not going to Auburn.”

Taulia ultimately decided not to enter the transfer portal after the 2022 season, playing his final college season at Maryland.

Coincidentally, Auburn and Maryland met in the Music City Bowl at the end of the 2023 season, but Taulia opted out of the game.

Taulia looked to continue his college football career at a new school following the 2023 season, but the NCAA denied him a waiver for a sixth year of eligibility.

The excerpt details that process, saying that Maryland head coach Mike Locksley signed off on Taulia waiver appeal to find a third school.

“He had better offers to go to other places, but he chose to stay here. That’s huge on his part, and it helped us, it helped me, it helped our program,” Locksley said, according to The Price. “So, when I reverse engineered, I saw that it was kind of selfish, but I also knew that I probably wouldn’t be able to afford what he was going to be offered by somebody else. And so, how can I be mad at the kid? It’s business.”