July Player Performance Index top 30 deep dive: No. 12 OL Francis Mauigoa

CaneSport is breaking down the top 30 Miami players on the roster, and today we’re at No. 12, OL Francis Mauigoa.

THE BIG PICTURE

Mauigoa entered Miami as a prized 5-star signee, and he lived up to the billing by spending the spring as the first-team right tackle. He showed he has the size, strength and quickness to hold his own there, and he is expected to be your Day 1 starter when the season kicks off. With that said, it’s always a tall task for a true freshman on the offensive line to be consistent. So he will really need to buckle down in fall camp and make sure he’s got everything fine-tuned. The good news is he arrived at Miami from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, which is essentially a college preparatory program in football. So he has a good sense of what it’s like to go against top national players at the high school level. That just has to translate to the next level fairly quickly now. Mauigoa is part of a reshaped offensive line off the one that faltered last season (No. 108 in the nation in sacks allowed and No. 95 in rushing offense). He’ll be joined by RG Javion Cohen from Alabama and center Matt Lee from UCF, with Jalen Rivers either starting at RG or LT (Anez Cooper could start at guard or the team might be better off with Samson Okunlola or Zion Nelson at LT with Rivers back inside).

THE ANALYSIS

Mauigoa may not have played a single down of college football yet, but he has that look of a future first-round NFL tackle. He has all the tools you want in a top end tackle, what he’s lacking is simply experience and some of the strength he’ll pack on during his time at this level. We were sold on Mauigoa when we watched him this spring – there’s just nothing you can point to as an area in which he should really struggle. So we feel very good about Mauigoa coming in and not just being an impact as a true freshman but being one of the Miami Hurricanes’ best offensive linemen. At 6-6 and 326 pounds and with 17 percent body fat, Mauigoa is No. 12 on this list for a reason.

THE PROJECTION

Go ahead and pencil Mauigoa in as the starting right tackle, and Miami fans will get a chance to see first-hand his off-the-charts physical gifts. While we expect a strong freshman season, it’s also good to keep in mind that this is just his first season at the college level. So there can be some hiccups along the way as he adjusts to some of what other teams will be throwing his way to try and confuse him / get his technique to break down. It’s also worth noting that during his recruitment On3 compared him to Penei Sewell – “Francis Mauigoa’s nimble athleticism and physical play style reminds us of Penei Sewell,” On3 wrote. “Both are strong functional movers despite their weights at over 320 pounds. They excel as run blockers while also having the feet and coordination to succeed in pass protection as offensive tackles. Mauigoa tests as a better athlete than Sewell at the same stage.”

THE JUMP HE NEEDS FROM SPRING TO FALL CAMP

Mauigoa knows that just because he was a first-teamer in the spring doesn’t mean he’ll start automatically in Game 1. It has to be earned. So the hope is that Mauigoa really put in the extra time this summer to refine his skills while getting bigger, stronger and faster. We’ll find out at the start of fall drills if he looks like an even better version of what we saw at the end of spring, when he certainly looked the part. Also remember that seven months ago Mauigoa was still in high school, so he also has to show that when the lights come on it’s not too big for him. We would not be surprised if a year from now Mauigoa is on the top 5 on this list. He’s that talented.

THE QUOTE

“All that 5-star stuff? I don’t think it really matters on this level right now. Coming in here you’re zero stars, same as everyone. So all that hype, it doesn’t really mean anything if you don’t put out the work.” -Francis Mauigoa

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