Even from more than 3,000 miles away, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has kept his eye on 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga.
As the young QB gave his scouting report about Hufanga ahead of the Dolphins-49ers clash on Sunday, Tagovailoa couldn’t help but bring up a comparison that has taken the NFL world by storm this season.
“Looking at [Hufanga’s] tape, I watched a lot of Troy Polamalu when I was growing up just because of him being a [Polynesian] brother as well, and then kind of seeing Talanoa’s film, very similar,” Tagovailoa told reporters Wednesday ahead of the Week 13 matchup. “Very instinctive, very intuitive, understands what has to be done in their defense. Doesn’t necessarily do much as far as not trying to disguise -- like really good at disguising.
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Hufanga, a fifth-round pick out of USC in the 2021 NFL Draft, was elevated into San Francisco’s starting lineup to begin the year after the team parted ways with Jaquiski Tartt during the offseason.
So far, the second-year safety has been nothing short of excellent and brought a new type of energy onto the field for the 49ers.
Hufanga clearly must be doing something right if he has already drawn comparisons to a Hall of Famer by Tagovailoa and legendary NFL defensive backs Richard Sherman, Charles Woodson and Ronnie Lott.
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And while Hufanga's presence presents such a big problem of its own for opposing offenses, Tagovailoa is aware of all the other weapons the 49ers have.
"It’s not just him that we have to worry about," Tagovailoa said. "Dre Greenlaw, No. 54 (Fred Warner) who in my eyes is like a really, really, really good ball player. They got [Nick] Bosa.
"They got dudes everywhere at every position so it’s going to be a great opportunity for us offensively to dial in on the details of our offense and execute them."