There appears to be considerable excitement about how quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will perform in his second season in Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel’s offense. Despite missing five full games with two concussions, the former Alabama All-American led the NFL in passing-efficiency rating in 2022.

But the Miami fanbase wasn’t always so energized about Tagovailoa during his first two seasons after joining the Dolphins as the fifth selection in the 2020 NFL Draft.

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Against Tagovailoa’s detractors rose the Twitter account “We Are Tuanon.” The social-media persona took on all critics of the quarterback, with the account sometimes featuring videos of an unidentified figure wearing the head of a dolphin and speaking through a voice modulator to praise Tagovailoa and attack his detractors.

The identity of the fan behind Tuanon became known last week when Eric Carmona died in a motorcycle accident in Murrieta, California, on Thursday.

Besides being a diehard fan of Tagovailoa and the Dolphins, Carmona was a 30-year-old U.S. Navy veteran who worked as a military aviation electrician. He left behind a wife and four children, and a GoFundMe account was set up for them.

The biggest donation to the account so far? $10,000 from Tua Tagovailoa.

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The account has a $75,000 goal and had reached $63,394 at 11:30 a.m. CDT Wednesday. That includes $7,000 from another Miami player, wide receiver Tyreek Hill, a former West Alabama star.

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