‘23 FL OT Francis Mauigoa (Miami commit)

#432
#432
In March, Francis Mauigoa released a list of his top 13 college choices that didn’t include Tennessee. His view of the Vols has changed since then, to say the least, and his first visit to Knoxville this weekend made them even more of a factor.
Not too long ago, the five-star Class of 2023 offensive lineman from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., wasn’t even in contact with Tennessee — not to his knowledge, anyway — and the Vols were barely on his radar. After a three-day visit to Tennessee that he described as “pretty great,” he said he’s “going to be back here, for sure,” and he’s now taking a hard look at the Vols.
“Tennessee has stepped up a lot. They have come from — I didn’t have them in my top 13,” said Mauigoa, who’s ranked the No. 8 overall prospect and No. 2 offensive tackle in the 2023 class, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.
“I didn’t know that they were hitting me up on Twitter, because for some reason my Twitter will be acting up and blocking people now. I didn’t know that they were recruiting me. As soon as I knew that, I started reaching back and stuff. They’re one of the schools that some Poly kids, they’re like, ‘I like that school a lot.’ Some Polynesian kids are here, so I can see myself fitting into their school.”
Since announcing his commitment to Tennessee on March 21, five-star quarterback Nicholaus Iamaleava of Long Beach, Calif., has helped the Vols become a contender for the 6-foot-5, 320-pound Mauigoa.
Over the past several weeks, Mauigoa has started to build more of a relationship with Tennessee coach Josh Heupel’s staff, including offensive line coach Glen Elarbee, and the Vols impressed him this weekend during his stay in Knoxville with Iamaleava.
“Nico was part of it,” Mauigoa said. “I’ve been working with Coach Heupel. Coach Heupel has been a great model to me. He was one of my uncle’s teammates back in Utah. I don’t know what school it was, but they used to play together. My uncle’s the one that’s involved with my recruiting, so he’s the one that does all that, talks with the coaches and stuff.
“So hearing from my uncle, he’s a really great man, so I trust him 100 percent. And Coach Elarbee is a great man. He knows what he’s doing. He taught me a lot (Sunday) with the meetings and stuff. …
“There’s one saying that they do: We don’t brag about family, because family is what you feel. They don’t include family like, ‘We are family,’ and stuff like that in recruiting because you’ve got to feel that, so I 100-percent felt that today. And, with them, we had a pretty great visit with my boy Nico.”
Elarbee, Heupel and Alex Golesh, Tennessee’s offensive coordinator and tight ends coach, were among the coaches who talked extensively with Mauigoa during his stay at Tennessee.
“I spent my time here with Coach Elarbee, Coach Heupel, the OC,” Mauigoa said. “We talked a lot about how the offense runs over here, and techniques and stuff with Coach Elarbee. I think part of it is they could help me. I could help them. The trust is number one, and I could have that trust over here. I felt that trust over here. I could trust these guys with my four years of (my) career — three years, actually.”
Mauigoa, who arrived at Tennessee on Friday, said the atmosphere on campus and throughout the city of Knoxville impressed him while he was there.
“It’s a vibe,” he said. “It’s the atmosphere. It’s a different type of vibe. The atmosphere over here is something where I would want to play. Over here is pretty different. It has that different mentality. They run a different type of offense, from the meetings and stuff.”
The chance to team up with Iamaleava is one of the reasons Mauigoa is intrigued by his opportunity at Tennessee.
“Nico’s my boy,” Mauigoa said. “Nico’s my boy. He’s one of the realest out here. I’ve been wanting to play with this kid, so we’ll see how it ends.”
Mauigoa, who’s from American Samoa, said Iamaleava is telling him “everything” about the Vols in hopes of convincing him to join the five-star quarterback in Knoxville.
“The opportunity over here is amazing,” Mauigoa said. “Over here, he’s telling me a lot about starting, bringing Tennessee back and hopefully winning another ‘ship, another championship.”
The Vols are recruiting Mauigoa to play “tackle,” he said, but it doesn’t “really matter” to him where he lines up on the offensive line.
“I can play all five positions on the line,” he said. “As long as I can play all of them, there’s more opportunity to start, so that’s where I may be able to come in as a true freshman and play as a true freshman, get my tapes in, get my plays in and try to make it to the League.”
While Mauigoa is already planning to visit Tennessee again, he stopped short of revealing his upcoming official-visit plans. He said he intends to release a short list of favorites on Saturday that will be accompanied by his scheduled visits.
“We’re going to release a top five June 4th, and then we’re going to release visits with that,” Mauigoa said.
He’s set to graduate in December and arrive at the school of his choice in January as an early enrollee. He currently plans to announce his college decision before the start of his senior season.
“I’ll probably commit in July or August,” Mauigoa said.
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#433
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AresTheVol said:
In March, Francis Mauigoa released a list of his top 13 college choices that didn’t include Tennessee. His view of the Vols has changed since then, to say the least, and his first visit to Knoxville this weekend made them even more of a factor.
Not too long ago, the five-star Class of 2023 offensive lineman from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., wasn’t even in contact with Tennessee — not to his knowledge, anyway — and the Vols were barely on his radar. After a three-day visit to Tennessee that he described as “pretty great,” he said he’s “going to be back here, for sure,” and he’s now taking a hard look at the Vols.
“Tennessee has stepped up a lot. They have come from — I didn’t have them in my top 13,” said Mauigoa, who’s ranked the No. 8 overall prospect and No. 2 offensive tackle in the 2023 class, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.
“I didn’t know that they were hitting me up on Twitter, because for some reason my Twitter will be acting up and blocking people now. I didn’t know that they were recruiting me. As soon as I knew that, I started reaching back and stuff. They’re one of the schools that some Poly kids, they’re like, ‘I like that school a lot.’ Some Polynesian kids are here, so I can see myself fitting into their school.”
Since announcing his commitment to Tennessee on March 21, five-star quarterback Nicholaus Iamaleava of Long Beach, Calif., has helped the Vols become a contender for the 6-foot-5, 320-pound Mauigoa.
Over the past several weeks, Mauigoa has started to build more of a relationship with Tennessee coach Josh Heupel’s staff, including offensive line coach Glen Elarbee, and the Vols impressed him this weekend during his stay in Knoxville with Iamaleava.
“Nico was part of it,” Mauigoa said. “I’ve been working with Coach Heupel. Coach Heupel has been a great model to me. He was one of my uncle’s teammates back in Utah. I don’t know what school it was, but they used to play together. My uncle’s the one that’s involved with my recruiting, so he’s the one that does all that, talks with the coaches and stuff.
“So hearing from my uncle, he’s a really great man, so I trust him 100 percent. And Coach Elarbee is a great man. He knows what he’s doing. He taught me a lot (Sunday) with the meetings and stuff. …
“There’s one saying that they do: We don’t brag about family, because family is what you feel. They don’t include family like, ‘We are family,’ and stuff like that in recruiting because you’ve got to feel that, so I 100-percent felt that today. And, with them, we had a pretty great visit with my boy Nico.”
Elarbee, Heupel and Alex Golesh, Tennessee’s offensive coordinator and tight ends coach, were among the coaches who talked extensively with Mauigoa during his stay at Tennessee.
“I spent my time here with Coach Elarbee, Coach Heupel, the OC,” Mauigoa said. “We talked a lot about how the offense runs over here, and techniques and stuff with Coach Elarbee. I think part of it is they could help me. I could help them. The trust is number one, and I could have that trust over here. I felt that trust over here. I could trust these guys with my four years of (my) career — three years, actually.”
Mauigoa, who arrived at Tennessee on Friday, said the atmosphere on campus and throughout the city of Knoxville impressed him while he was there.
“It’s a vibe,” he said. “It’s the atmosphere. It’s a different type of vibe. The atmosphere over here is something where I would want to play. Over here is pretty different. It has that different mentality. They run a different type of offense, from the meetings and stuff.”
The chance to team up with Iamaleava is one of the reasons Mauigoa is intrigued by his opportunity at Tennessee.
“Nico’s my boy,” Mauigoa said. “Nico’s my boy. He’s one of the realest out here. I’ve been wanting to play with this kid, so we’ll see how it ends.”
Mauigoa, who’s from American Samoa, said Iamaleava is telling him “everything” about the Vols in hopes of convincing him to join the five-star quarterback in Knoxville.
“The opportunity over here is amazing,” Mauigoa said. “Over here, he’s telling me a lot about starting, bringing Tennessee back and hopefully winning another ‘ship, another championship.”
The Vols are recruiting Mauigoa to play “tackle,” he said, but it doesn’t “really matter” to him where he lines up on the offensive line.
“I can play all five positions on the line,” he said. “As long as I can play all of them, there’s more opportunity to start, so that’s where I may be able to come in as a true freshman and play as a true freshman, get my tapes in, get my plays in and try to make it to the League.”
While Mauigoa is already planning to visit Tennessee again, he stopped short of revealing his upcoming official-visit plans. He said he intends to release a short list of favorites on Saturday that will be accompanied by his scheduled visits.
“We’re going to release a top five June 4th, and then we’re going to release visits with that,” Mauigoa said.
He’s set to graduate in December and arrive at the school of his choice in January as an early enrollee. He currently plans to announce his college decision before the start of his senior season.
“I’ll probably commit in July or August,” Mauigoa said.
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AresTheVol said:
In March, Francis Mauigoa released a list of his top 13 college choices that didn’t include Tennessee. His view of the Vols has changed since then, to say the least, and his first visit to Knoxville this weekend made them even more of a factor.
Not too long ago, the five-star Class of 2023 offensive lineman from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., wasn’t even in contact with Tennessee — not to his knowledge, anyway — and the Vols were barely on his radar. After a three-day visit to Tennessee that he described as “pretty great,” he said he’s “going to be back here, for sure,” and he’s now taking a hard look at the Vols.
“Tennessee has stepped up a lot. They have come from — I didn’t have them in my top 13,” said Mauigoa, who’s ranked the No. 8 overall prospect and No. 2 offensive tackle in the 2023 class, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.
“I didn’t know that they were hitting me up on Twitter, because for some reason my Twitter will be acting up and blocking people now. I didn’t know that they were recruiting me. As soon as I knew that, I started reaching back and stuff. They’re one of the schools that some Poly kids, they’re like, ‘I like that school a lot.’ Some Polynesian kids are here, so I can see myself fitting into their school.”
Since announcing his commitment to Tennessee on March 21, five-star quarterback Nicholaus Iamaleava of Long Beach, Calif., has helped the Vols become a contender for the 6-foot-5, 320-pound Mauigoa.
Over the past several weeks, Mauigoa has started to build more of a relationship with Tennessee coach Josh Heupel’s staff, including offensive line coach Glen Elarbee, and the Vols impressed him this weekend during his stay in Knoxville with Iamaleava.
“Nico was part of it,” Mauigoa said. “I’ve been working with Coach Heupel. Coach Heupel has been a great model to me. He was one of my uncle’s teammates back in Utah. I don’t know what school it was, but they used to play together. My uncle’s the one that’s involved with my recruiting, so he’s the one that does all that, talks with the coaches and stuff.
“So hearing from my uncle, he’s a really great man, so I trust him 100 percent. And Coach Elarbee is a great man. He knows what he’s doing. He taught me a lot (Sunday) with the meetings and stuff. …
“There’s one saying that they do: We don’t brag about family, because family is what you feel. They don’t include family like, ‘We are family,’ and stuff like that in recruiting because you’ve got to feel that, so I 100-percent felt that today. And, with them, we had a pretty great visit with my boy Nico.”
Elarbee, Heupel and Alex Golesh, Tennessee’s offensive coordinator and tight ends coach, were among the coaches who talked extensively with Mauigoa during his stay at Tennessee.
“I spent my time here with Coach Elarbee, Coach Heupel, the OC,” Mauigoa said. “We talked a lot about how the offense runs over here, and techniques and stuff with Coach Elarbee. I think part of it is they could help me. I could help them. The trust is number one, and I could have that trust over here. I felt that trust over here. I could trust these guys with my four years of (my) career — three years, actually.”
Mauigoa, who arrived at Tennessee on Friday, said the atmosphere on campus and throughout the city of Knoxville impressed him while he was there.
“It’s a vibe,” he said. “It’s the atmosphere. It’s a different type of vibe. The atmosphere over here is something where I would want to play. Over here is pretty different. It has that different mentality. They run a different type of offense, from the meetings and stuff.”
The chance to team up with Iamaleava is one of the reasons Mauigoa is intrigued by his opportunity at Tennessee.
“Nico’s my boy,” Mauigoa said. “Nico’s my boy. He’s one of the realest out here. I’ve been wanting to play with this kid, so we’ll see how it ends.”
Mauigoa, who’s from American Samoa, said Iamaleava is telling him “everything” about the Vols in hopes of convincing him to join the five-star quarterback in Knoxville.
“The opportunity over here is amazing,” Mauigoa said. “Over here, he’s telling me a lot about starting, bringing Tennessee back and hopefully winning another ‘ship, another championship.”
The Vols are recruiting Mauigoa to play “tackle,” he said, but it doesn’t “really matter” to him where he lines up on the offensive line.
“I can play all five positions on the line,” he said. “As long as I can play all of them, there’s more opportunity to start, so that’s where I may be able to come in as a true freshman and play as a true freshman, get my tapes in, get my plays in and try to make it to the League.”
While Mauigoa is already planning to visit Tennessee again, he stopped short of revealing his upcoming official-visit plans. He said he intends to release a short list of favorites on Saturday that will be accompanied by his scheduled visits.
“We’re going to release a top five June 4th, and then we’re going to release visits with that,” Mauigoa said.
He’s set to graduate in December and arrive at the school of his choice in January as an early enrollee. He currently plans to announce his college decision before the start of his senior season.
“I’ll probably commit in July or August,” Mauigoa said.
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I mean....

If we don't get these guys, it's not because we aren't doing it the right way. This is not typical recruit speak. Something special is going on at Tennessee, and these kids know it.
 
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#437
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Liked hearing his uncle is an old teammate of CJH, but I loved reading this.

“There’s one saying that they do: We don’t brag about family, because family is what you feel. They don’t include family like, ‘We are family,’ and stuff like that in recruiting because you’ve got to feel that, so I 100-percent felt that today"
 
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#438
#438
VolForLife83 said:
Liked hearing his uncle is an old teammate of CJH, but I loved reading this.

“There’s one saying that they do: We don’t brag about family, because family is what you feel. They don’t include family like, ‘We are family,’ and stuff like that in recruiting because you’ve got to feel that, so I 100-percent felt that today"
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Couldn’t agree more!!
 
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#441
#441
T2P_Priceless said:
Watched the full interview. He told AP all his visits in June…AL, FL, Miami, USC and then we get the last one at the end of June! I bet he’ll announce his commitment to the good guys shortly after. Vol!
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Getting that last visit will be huge especially with this recruit...I don't think this one is over by any means.U got an uncle that's Polynesian on the Miami staff and Cristobal who coaches the oline just little things each of these teams offer...but let him make his rounds them come home where he belongs...
 
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