Tua Tagovailoa ‘a source of great pride for Polynesians’

Tua Tagovailoa ‘a source of great pride for Polynesians’

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is the 2023 Polynesian Pro Football Player of the Year, the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame announced on Thursday.

It’s the second year in a row the former Alabama All-American has won the award after sharing the honor with San Francisco 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga in 2022.

The NFL also announced on Thursday that Tagovailoa was a finalist for the 2023 FedEx Air NFL Player of the Year Award. He’s up against Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.

A native of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, Tagovailoa led the NFL with 4,624 yards this season as the Dolphins reached the playoffs. Miami will square off against the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the AFC postseason at 7 p.m. CST Saturday.

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“On behalf of the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Board of Directors, we congratulate Tua on a historic season,” Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Chairman Jesse Sapolu said. “He is a tremendous role model and a source of great pride for Polynesians everywhere.”

Tagovailoa is the eighth winner of the Polynesian Pro Football Player of the Year Award presented by Hawaiian Airlines.

Arizona Cardinals guard Mike Iupati was the inaugural recipient of the award in 2015. Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota received the award in 2016 followed by Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in 2017 and 2018, Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley in 2019 and Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner in 2021.

The Polynesian Pro Football Player of the Year Award was voted on by the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee, chaired by Jack “The Throwin’ Samoan” Thompson.

The award will be presented at the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Celebration Dinner on Jan. 20.

For the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Year Award, fans can vote online through 5 p.m. CST Feb. 7 to pick the winner. The winner will get to designate a Historically Black College or University for a $20,000 donation from FedEx.

There’s also a FedEx NFL Ground Player of the Year Award, with running backs Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers, Raheem Mostert of the Miami Dolphins and Kyren Williams of the Los Angeles Rams up for that honor.

The winners of the awards will be announced during “NFL Honors” at 8 p.m. Feb. 8 on CBS and NFL Network.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.