Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa expects to play in bowl game

Tua Tagovailoa is optimistic that he will be fully recovered from ankle surgery and ready to play in the Orange Bowl.

The Alabama quarterback and Heisman Trophy runner-up said his left ankle will be just fine for the College Football Playoff semifinal game with Oklahoma on Dec. 29.

"I'll probably be at 100 percent by the time the game comes," Tagovailoa said Wednesday. "That's my prediction. Definitely."

He has been practicing on a limited basis since the top-ranked Crimson Tide began playoff preparations last Friday. Coach Nick Saban has said his star quarterback "is probably ahead of schedule ."

Tagovaila suffered a high ankle sprain on the opening series of the Southeastern Conference championship game Dec. 1 against Georgia. He had surgery the next day. Saban says other Tide players have returned in about two weeks from that procedure.

Tagovailoa said he has been able to do footwork drills and other work but still hasn't been able to make cuts.

"Other than that, there's nothing that's hindering me too much," he said. "It's just the surgery that hurts. My ankle's fine and everything's fine. Just the scar."

On Wednesday, Tagovailoa was joined by his little brother on the Tide. Taulia Tagovailoa, a four-star prospect, signed with Alabama.

"It's just an opportunity for me and my family and my brother to just come in and learn from me, learn from our coaching staff," Tua Tagovailoa said.

"It's just a great opportunity for him to be here. To have my brother here, it's awesome."

But, he made one thing clear: "There's no competition."

Wisconsin home football games in 2018 were played in front of the smallest crowds in at least 13 years.

The average of 61,844 tickets scanned per game was the lowest in 13 years of data on record since Wisconsin started using ticket scanners in 2006.

Announced attendance figures represent the number of tickets sold or distributed for a game. The ticket scan count shows the actual number of people in the stadium, and in 2018, more than one in five tickets was unused.

Wisconsin students have faced scrutiny on the internet for the swaths of empty seats in their sections at the start of games.

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