When quarterback Nico Iamaleava committed to Tennessee on March 21, the hope for Volunteers fans was that other five-star prospects would follow in this 2023 recruiting cycle.
That hasn’t been the case.
The Vols lost out to Miami on Monday afternoon for Francis Mauigoa of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, who is the nation’s top tackle and No. 9 overall prospect on the 247Sports.com composite rankings. The 6-foot-5, 330-pounder made his announcement on the CBS Sports HQ website.
Mauigoa took visits last month to Alabama, Florida, Southern California, Miami and Tennessee, with Knoxville being his last trip on June 24.
When asked during his CBS Sports HQ announcement what separated Mario Cristobal’s Hurricanes from his other finalists, Mauigoa said, “The coaching staff there recruited me when they were at Oregon, and we’ve done a lot of bonding. To play for a coach who played O-line is an O-lineman’s dream right there.”