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From the tennessee board:
Just spoke with Nico after his weekend visit.
Of course there was plenty of talk on Francis Mauigoa. Said the big man and his family had a great time this weekend, and he’s working hard on him.
Also said he learned this weekend that he (Nico) likes lakes more than the ocean. Said he had a blast on the water with everyone and the lakes here were awesome.
After visiting Tennessee for the first time less than a month ago, Francis Mauigoa returned there this weekend with his parents to take a closer look at the Vols on his fifth and final official visit. He now expects to make his college decision soon.
The five-star Class of 2023 offensive lineman from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., said Sunday morning that he plans to announce his commitment on July 4. He has taken official visits to Alabama, Florida, USC and Miami in addition to Tennessee, and he said he and his family expect to choose between his finalists soon.
“I’m going to be able to commit on July 4th,” said Mauigoa, who’s ranked the No. 9 overall prospect and No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2023 class, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.
“We had a conversation with my family, so I’m probably going to commit on July 4th. So keep posted and we’ll see how it goes.”
The 6-foot-5, 330-pound Mauigoa visited the Vols for the first time the weekend of May 28 to attend their “Rocky Topalooza” event. He said they impressed him again this weekend and, perhaps most importantly, left his parents feeling good about everything Tennessee has to offer.
Five-star Vols quarterback commitment Nicholaus Iamaleava of Long Beach, Calif., also took his official visit to Knoxville this weekend, accompanying Mauigoa throughout the weekend just as he did during Mauigoa’s unofficial visit last month. Mauigoa said Iamaleava’s family helped to make the visit a memorable experience for his parents.
“After the visit, (Saturday) night we had a little meeting,” he said. “We talked about how the visit went, how it compared to other visits. I think this is one of their favorite visits that we’ve taken.
“With Nico’s grandfather here, my dad had someone to talk to a lot in Samoan, because my dad doesn’t speak English — not very well, but he tries his best. Having him accompanied by someone old, but someone that has the experience and knows where his grandchildren are heading to, that kind of gave him an idea of how Tennessee is and stuff like that.”
Mauigoa said “it’s the experience they had over here” that made the trip stand out to his parents, and he and his family enjoyed learning about a few different aspects of Tennessee’s program, from how the Vols could develop him on the field to their facilities and academic support.
“From talking with them, they like — because me, I look at the football side of it,” he said. “My dad looks at the facilities side of it. My mom looks at the academic side of it, so that’s how we base our look.
“I know my mom doesn’t know nothing about football, so (she) will look at the academic side of it. My dad rarely speaks English, so he’ll look at, like, the facility and is there, like, everything an athlete needs to work with? I look at the football side of it, the development side of it. So I think everything that they saw was there.
“The new facility, my dad loved it, that they showed us. Academic side of it, my mom had a lot of questions on the football players when we had our little meeting with the football players and with the academic advisors. I know my mom loves asking questions.”
Mauigoa said enjoyed spending time with Tennessee coach Josh Heupel and “getting to, like, build that relationship and have that trust with him.” Vols offensive line coach Glen Elarbee also talked extensively with Mauigoa, telling him how Tennessee can help him as a player and what he could add to the Vols’ offensive line.
“I talked with Coach Elarbee. He’s a really good guy,” Mauigoa said. “He never had a five-star. He always got the three-stars and two-stars kind of kids, so I know, with him developing those kids, (getting them) to the NFL, that means a lot.
“Three-stars and two-stars, I don’t know, but, to me, those are the kids that somewhat — they hardly make it to the NFL. But Coach Elarbee, he will guide you. He will coach you. He will love you. He’ll make sure that you get it right, and he’ll put you in the right spot.”
That’s important to Mauigoa, who said he’s focusing on “the development” he could get at each school.
“Academics is there. Every school, every college that I took my official visit to, academics is there, so we don’t have to worry about academics,” he said. “It’s the development part of the football. I can get myself to the NFL if I put in the work. But I need someone to just guide me there.”
Iamaleava, who posted “#INEEDFRANCIS” on his Twitter account late Saturday night, also did his best to convince Mauigoa to join him at Tennessee.
“I got to the hotel (Saturday) night from dinner. I already seen (Iamaleava) yelling and screaming at people, like, ‘Oh, Francis, go Vols!’ — stuff like that — so it was amazing,” Mauigoa said. “The support group and the fan base over here, it’s immaculate. It’s very awesome.”
With his official visits now behind him, he said he expects to arrive at a decision in the coming days. But he and his family still have some thinking to do before he reveals his choice.
“We’ve still got some family-based decisions,” Mauigoa said. “Got to talk with the whole family, because my parents have been taking videos and sending it back to the family, to a little group chat we have with my family. We’ve still got stuff to talk more about.”
Just spoke with Nico after his weekend visit.
Of course there was plenty of talk on Francis Mauigoa. Said the big man and his family had a great time this weekend, and he’s working hard on him.
Also said he learned this weekend that he (Nico) likes lakes more than the ocean. Said he had a blast on the water with everyone and the lakes here were awesome.
After visiting Tennessee for the first time less than a month ago, Francis Mauigoa returned there this weekend with his parents to take a closer look at the Vols on his fifth and final official visit. He now expects to make his college decision soon.
The five-star Class of 2023 offensive lineman from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., said Sunday morning that he plans to announce his commitment on July 4. He has taken official visits to Alabama, Florida, USC and Miami in addition to Tennessee, and he said he and his family expect to choose between his finalists soon.
“I’m going to be able to commit on July 4th,” said Mauigoa, who’s ranked the No. 9 overall prospect and No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2023 class, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.
“We had a conversation with my family, so I’m probably going to commit on July 4th. So keep posted and we’ll see how it goes.”
The 6-foot-5, 330-pound Mauigoa visited the Vols for the first time the weekend of May 28 to attend their “Rocky Topalooza” event. He said they impressed him again this weekend and, perhaps most importantly, left his parents feeling good about everything Tennessee has to offer.
Five-star Vols quarterback commitment Nicholaus Iamaleava of Long Beach, Calif., also took his official visit to Knoxville this weekend, accompanying Mauigoa throughout the weekend just as he did during Mauigoa’s unofficial visit last month. Mauigoa said Iamaleava’s family helped to make the visit a memorable experience for his parents.
“After the visit, (Saturday) night we had a little meeting,” he said. “We talked about how the visit went, how it compared to other visits. I think this is one of their favorite visits that we’ve taken.
“With Nico’s grandfather here, my dad had someone to talk to a lot in Samoan, because my dad doesn’t speak English — not very well, but he tries his best. Having him accompanied by someone old, but someone that has the experience and knows where his grandchildren are heading to, that kind of gave him an idea of how Tennessee is and stuff like that.”
Mauigoa said “it’s the experience they had over here” that made the trip stand out to his parents, and he and his family enjoyed learning about a few different aspects of Tennessee’s program, from how the Vols could develop him on the field to their facilities and academic support.
“From talking with them, they like — because me, I look at the football side of it,” he said. “My dad looks at the facilities side of it. My mom looks at the academic side of it, so that’s how we base our look.
“I know my mom doesn’t know nothing about football, so (she) will look at the academic side of it. My dad rarely speaks English, so he’ll look at, like, the facility and is there, like, everything an athlete needs to work with? I look at the football side of it, the development side of it. So I think everything that they saw was there.
“The new facility, my dad loved it, that they showed us. Academic side of it, my mom had a lot of questions on the football players when we had our little meeting with the football players and with the academic advisors. I know my mom loves asking questions.”
Mauigoa said enjoyed spending time with Tennessee coach Josh Heupel and “getting to, like, build that relationship and have that trust with him.” Vols offensive line coach Glen Elarbee also talked extensively with Mauigoa, telling him how Tennessee can help him as a player and what he could add to the Vols’ offensive line.
“I talked with Coach Elarbee. He’s a really good guy,” Mauigoa said. “He never had a five-star. He always got the three-stars and two-stars kind of kids, so I know, with him developing those kids, (getting them) to the NFL, that means a lot.
“Three-stars and two-stars, I don’t know, but, to me, those are the kids that somewhat — they hardly make it to the NFL. But Coach Elarbee, he will guide you. He will coach you. He will love you. He’ll make sure that you get it right, and he’ll put you in the right spot.”
That’s important to Mauigoa, who said he’s focusing on “the development” he could get at each school.
“Academics is there. Every school, every college that I took my official visit to, academics is there, so we don’t have to worry about academics,” he said. “It’s the development part of the football. I can get myself to the NFL if I put in the work. But I need someone to just guide me there.”
Iamaleava, who posted “#INEEDFRANCIS” on his Twitter account late Saturday night, also did his best to convince Mauigoa to join him at Tennessee.
“I got to the hotel (Saturday) night from dinner. I already seen (Iamaleava) yelling and screaming at people, like, ‘Oh, Francis, go Vols!’ — stuff like that — so it was amazing,” Mauigoa said. “The support group and the fan base over here, it’s immaculate. It’s very awesome.”
With his official visits now behind him, he said he expects to arrive at a decision in the coming days. But he and his family still have some thinking to do before he reveals his choice.
“We’ve still got some family-based decisions,” Mauigoa said. “Got to talk with the whole family, because my parents have been taking videos and sending it back to the family, to a little group chat we have with my family. We’ve still got stuff to talk more about.”
