Mac Jones goes way back with the quarterback he will square off against Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots will open their 2021 regular season against the AFC East rival Dolphins. Miami, of course, is quarterbacked by Tua Tagavailoa, a collegiate teammate of Jones at Alabama.
During an appearance Tuesday on WEEI's "Merloni & Fauria," Jones looked ahead to his season-opening showdown against Tagovailoa.
"Tua's an awesome guy," Jones said, as transcribed by the Boston Herald. "He's really a good, talented football player. Learning from him, and Jalen (Hurts) was great, obviously. Now that we're all getting a chance here in the NFL, I think it'll be cool to go up against each other."
Both Jones and Tagovailoa have something to prove this season. The former must show Bill Belichick and Co. they made the right decision to name him the Patriots' starter, while the latter needs to start making it clear he's a legitimate franchise signal-caller.
