Garrett Gilbert has never thought about this, but he could have been Tua Tagovailoa before Tua Tagovailoa. The whole true-freshman-gets-thrust-into-national-championship-game-and-saves-the-day story was his for the taking 10 years ago.
When Colt McCoy was knocked out five plays into the national championship game that capped off the 2009 season, Gilbert was called up. He remembers being on the Rose Bowl sideline in a baseball cap and looking at the video board for a replay because he didn’t see the hit. Then he remembers seeing chaos on the sideline, spending too much time looking for his helmet, and finally going in.