Miami Hurricanes’ Mauigoa brothers to make impact on both sides of the ball: “It’s very rare to be on the same team as your brother”
It’s perhaps not entirely unusual for the Miami Hurricanes to have second generation players on the team. And there have been brothers on teams together in the past as well, including of course Cristobal brothers.
This year there are two sets of brothers on the team: The Washington twins, Robby and Bobby, and the perhaps more unlikely pairing of MLB Francisco Mauigoa and 5-star OL signee Francis Mauigoa.
For that latter duo to play here together it took Miami winning out with Francis and then Francisco transferring across the country from Washington State.
It all worked out, and now the duo is set to start on their respective sides of the ball.
“Getting here with my brother is a blessing,” Francisco said. “We shared the field since youth football. Coming here, this level of the game, it’s a blessing to be here. It’s very rare to be on the same team as your brother.”
Unlike Francis, Francisco wasn’t as highly touted a recruit.
A former 3-star prospect in the Class of 2021 out of American Samoa, Mauigoa has two years of eligibility remaining and had 60 tackles, 5.5 TFL and 3.5 sacks this past season as a starter at Washington State, also forcing three fumbles (tied for the Pac-12 lead) with an interception. That interception was, interestingly enough, against Mario Cristobal’s former team – he took it back 95 yards for a TD against Oregon Sept. 24.
As a freshman in 2021 he started twice and had 17 tackles. His Pro Football Focus grades? In 457 reps last season he graded out at a solid 75.7 percent (70 is considered good). He had a 74.1 run defense grade, 69.9 tackle grade, 64.6 pass rush grade and 76.3 cover grade. So all around pretty solid. He also was noted by PFF with five QB hurries and nine missed tackles. Mauigoa only played 58 reps in 2021 as a freshman.
“(This) offseason I’ve worked on my footwork – I felt it could be better,” Francisco said. “It has improved.”
He adds of the competition in the LB room, which added KJ Cloyd from Louisville after the spring and has back last year’s starting MLB Corey Flagg, that “We try to outwork each other. It’s a competition, a brotherhood. Those guys have me working and they are working.”
As the older brother, Francisco of course watched Francis blossom into one of the nation’s top prospects.
And Francisco reflected how Francis actually played defense in ninth and 10th grade before switching to offense.
“(Francis) is a hard worker,” Francisco says. “Every day he always tells me to come to the facility, come work together. He gets me better, gets himself better. He has been putting in the work and it won’t be a surprise that he’s starting.”
As for Francis’ perspective? For him it’s all about making a quick adjustment to the college game after playing at a top IMG program this past year, with his parents making the sacrifice to send him away for the year to get prepared for the exact scenario he’ll face this coming season … starting at a major college program in Year 1.
“Weighing 300 pounds and moving how I’m moving, it’s not easy,” Francis said. “It’s all about the hard work you put in.”
He cites the “speed of the game, way plays are run” as the biggest adjustment to Miami.
“At this level, too, football is not a sport anymore, it’s a business,” Mauigoa said. “If you want to make it, you have to treat it as a business. It’s all about the mindset.”
Francis says that he’s learned a lot from his fellow offensive linemen and coaches and that he knows “They have high expectations of me.”
“We are going to be an explosive offense,” he says, adding that on the OL “a lot involves us pulling in the secondary.”
As he enters a likely starting role at right tackle for Miami as a true freshman, Francis says his goal is to keep a clear mind.
“My personal mindset is don’t really worry, just do it,” he says. “Don’t stress yourself out and just do it. Some people stress themselves out and just lose it in the game. So don’t think about it too much. People have high expectations of me, but just play your game.”
In the end both Mauigoa brothers plan to help this team win games.
As Francisco puts it, the goal is “Bring the title back home.”
“It’s been a while,” he said. “We’re trying to bring that here.”
Francis adds “Miami: The program is something else. We’re looking forward to turning the place around, bringing back the old U.”
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