Background

Francis Mauigoa was born in Ili'ili, American Samoa, a coastal village of about 3,000 people, and began his high school career at Aquinas in San Bernardino, California, playing both sides of the ball alongside his brother Francisco, a three-star linebacker. The pandemic sent him home to Pago Pago, where he played defensive line at Tafuna High and led the Warriors to an undefeated championship as a sophomore. He then moved to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, for his junior and senior years, earning MaxPreps Junior All-American honors and blocking opposite Alabama signee Tyler Booker. His brother Frederick started 39 consecutive games at center for Washington State and spent time with the Panthers and Bengals, so the family knew the NFL path. His parents, Fa'alialia and Telesia, left American Samoa and now live near campus. A consensus five-star ranked No. 5 overall nationally by ESPN and the No. 1 offensive tackle by both ESPN and 247Sports, he committed to Miami on July 4, 2022, over Alabama, USC, Tennessee, and Florida. He started all 13 games at right tackle as a true freshman in 2023, earning Freshman All-American and All-ACC Honorable Mention. His sophomore year brought another 13 starts and Second-Team All-ACC while anchoring the nation's No. 1 offense in points and yards per game. As a junior in 2025, he earned consensus First-Team All-American, won the ACC Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the conference's top blocker, and helped Miami reach the CFP National Championship game. He started all 42 games of his career without missing a single start and declared for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Physical Attributes

RAS:

Mauigoa is a very good athlete. He has a ton of power through his hands that push linemen off him every time they try to engage. His core through his base is also very strong and helps him maintain proper posture throughout pass sets. Against speed, he can struggle, as he has fast feet, but not elite foot speed. Very good initial burst helps him get the necessary depth on his pass sets. Huge hands are a plus, but slightly less than ideal arm length.

Data and Tape Analysis

If you are unfamiliar with my OL radar charts, you can find more information here

Mauigoa took nearly all of his 2,813 snaps of his college career at RT. 12 snaps came when Miami was doing a non-typical formation, with 10 snaps at RG, and 2 as an inline TE. He is a pass blocking specialist, who while still great in the run game, might struggle to assert himself on the next level.

The main reason I think Mauigoa struggles in the run is that he is not a multi-directional athlete. When asked to turn or take curvilinear routes, he struggles to look the same athlete he is when he stays on one plane. There is tightness in those movements that limit how he can apply his strength on blocks that might not be in the ideal position for him.

You can see that play out in his Gap versus Zone Scheme grades. In the more movement and flow-based zone blocking, Mauigoa struggles to apply his physicality and strength onto defenders. Then, moving onto the second level for double teams, the sometimes circuitous route he has to take to get to the second level defender, who is typically much more mobile, negates his violent hands and sturdy base. In a gap scheme, he is much better because he can essentially identify his man and go hit them in a straight line right off the snap. It helps when they are right across from him, but when split out more widely, he struggles to affect them.

This is not to call him a poor run blocker by any means, just that when someone is being talked about being the top prospect in one of the most important position groups, we need to be nit picky in our evaluations.

As a pass blocker, Mauigoa is fantastic. That more single planar movement, and early identification of who he is blocking, helps him use the best of his athleticism. He sets well and lands great punches on defenders. He is just so hard to move. One of my favorite reps of his was against Texas A&M where a defender got an arm onto his chest, and Mauigoa could not respond with his hands. So instead he just stood there, immovable, using his core, center of gravity, and legs to anchor in spot.

He identifies blitzers well, but when they come with speed, he struggles. Whenever he has to extend to the limits of his athleticism, his play becomes slightly erratic. Watch Cashius Howell's sack in the CFP if you want an example of that.

Grade and Outlook

Mauigoa is a very good OT prospect. I would imagine that he stays at RT for whoever drafts him, as that is where he is most comfortable, but could imagine he makes the switch if he needs to and takes his lumps early on. Has the look, tools, and potential of a top-end RT, if not an elite one.

Grade: 6.6 (1st Rounder)