Brotherly Bond: Francis and Francisco Mauigoa

This story originally appeared in the Fall 2024 edition of Hurricanes Magazine.

It’s a memory that still makes Francis Mauigoa smile.

He was back home in his native American Samoa during the COVID-19 pandemic, playing high school football and lining up on the defensive side of the ball when on one particular play he charged hard, the ball carrier firmly in his sights.

Suddenly, he felt a rush of air.

Mauigoa looked up just in time to see his older brother, Francisco Mauigoa, blow right past him and make the tackle, ending the play – and Francis’ hopes of making the stop himself.

Then, all Francis Mauigoa could do was shake his head. Today, four years later, he laughs.

“I was like, ‘This guy? Of course it’s this guy,’” Francis Mauigoa chuckled. “I was playing d-line, he was playing linebacker, and we were always fighting over who got to the ball first.

“That’s how competitive we are.”

These days, the Mauigoa brothers remain plenty competitive.

They push each other on a daily basis. And with Francis, a sophomore, now lining up as an offensive lineman for the Hurricanes and Francisco, a senior, playing linebacker, there’s plenty of good-natured trash-talking on Greentree during Miami’s practices.

But there are also post-practice conversations about how they can each get better or how to improve on technique. There are weekly dinners with their parents, who now live in Miami and are ecstatic two of their boys are playing college football together at a championship-caliber program.

And there is support, so much constant, unwavering support.

Last November, after a tough loss at rival Florida State, Francisco Mauigoa – clearly still upset by what had happened on the field – walked into a small room adjacent to the Miami locker room for his post-game press conference.

Standing nearby, quietly taking in the scene around him was Francis Mauigoa, who wanted to make sure his brother understood he wasn’t alone, not then, not ever.

“I really just wanted to be there to support him. That game meant a lot to him. Rivalry games always mean a lot,” Francis Mauigoa said after that tough day. “I just wanted to be there in support, to make sure my presence was there and was felt.”

This year, the brothers have shared far happier moments.

In the first half of the season, they celebrated a big season-opening road win over rival Florida. They enjoyed Miami’s epic comeback win over California, and both of them have been valuable contributors as the Hurricanes have risen in the polls.

For both of them, this is a season to savor – and not just because Miami is winning.

This season is one last opportunity to play college football together and to live out a dream that began really taking shape two years ago when Francis Mauigoa – then a five-star prospect at IMG Academy – dove headfirst into the college recruiting process.

After being separated by nearly 3,000 miles while Francis finished high school and Francisco played collegiately at Washington State, the brothers – and their parents – wanted to reunite in one place.

And so, on every official visit he took, Francis Mauigoa set out to find out not just how he’d fit into the programs he was trying to learn more about, but how his older brother would fit in, too.

Miami, of course, was more than happy to welcome both Mauigoas, a fact the entire family discussed during a holiday trip to Hawaii.

There, Francis and Francisco, their parents – Fa’alialia and Telesia – and their siblings went around the table and one by one, cast a vote on where Francis and Francisco should play.

When it came Francis’ turn to state his case, all he could think of was how happy his family had been during their visit to Miami, how much Telesia had been impressed with the University’s academic standards and support system, and how well both of his parents had connected with both Miami head coach Mario Cristobal and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal.

So, he told his family he wanted to be a Hurricane.

Francisco Mauigoa agreed.

“It was a long talk. We were all going through all the pros and cons and just figuring out what was the best fit for him. That was what the decision came down to, what was best for him and coming here to Miami was the best decision,” Francisco Mauigoa said. “The way Coach Mirabal and Coach Cristobal develop players is crazy. And we wanted to put him in the best spot to be able to grow as a young man and as an athlete. … And once I entered the portal, Miami was the first school to reach out. It all came down to that. To be around family, to be able to have the opportunity to play with my brother again, it was all in my head. It felt like such a crazy moment for me. I was in disbelief.”

Disbelief because, for the Mauigoa brothers, getting to that moment was a journey.

Like many youngsters in American Samoa, they fell in love with football after seeing players like Troy Polamalu, Junior Seau and Jesse Sapolu – all of whom have familial ties to the territory – shine in the NFL.

Francis and Francisco, along with many of their friends and neighbors, played football as often as they could. Before school, after school, on holidays. It was a passion, a way of life in American Samoa, even if resources and equipment were limited at times.

“When I was in seventh grade, playing JV high school football, I saw kids cut their own shoes and slippers up to use them as thigh pads because they didn’t have any. I saw kids share helmets with each other because they didn’t have the best helmets or they didn’t have helmets at all,” Francis Mauigoa recalled. “It really makes you appreciate what you have. … The game of football means so much to them. It means so much to me. I’m not going to waste the opportunity that has been given to me because I know kids back at home, they want this opportunity, too. It just really gives me the mindset to keep pushing.”

Pushing, for the Mauigoas, eventually meant leaving home and coming to the mainland United States to pursue their football dreams.

When Francis was a freshman and Francisco a junior, they made their way to California, where they lived in San Bernadino with a host family and played at Aquinas High School.

There, Francisco – who played quarterback and linebacker – was named the Ambassador League Offensive Player of the Year after throwing for 1,113 yards and 10 touchdowns, with 46 tackles and an interception on the defensive side of the ball.

But the COVID-19 pandemic forced the brothers to return to American Samoa, where they lined up together once again at Tafuna High School.

During Francisco’s senior year and Francis’ sophomore year, the Warriors went undefeated and before long, the opportunity to return to the mainland presented itself.

This time, though, the brothers went farther than California. They came to Florida, where they enrolled at IMG Academy.

Though Francisco had exhausted his high school eligibility, he trained at IMG and helped his younger brother acclimate to life on the mainland and football in Florida.

“Having Cisco there really helped me settle in. When we were in California, we were living with a host family, so it was like having a second mom and a second sister, but now we’re at IMG and living at a boarding school and it was only us,” Francis Mauigoa said. “I was homesick at first, but with Cisco being there, it really didn’t matter anymore. You know you have someone there that knows where you’ve been, what’s happened to you and knows what’s going on with you. It really relieved some pressure off my shoulders. He was a big, big impact.”

Eventually, though, it came time for Francisco Mauigoa to start his college career, something he did at Washington State, where older brother Frederick Mauigoa had played offensive line between 2016-2019.

The move marked the first time Francis and Francisco Mauigoa – who’d grown up playing together and traveled to the mainland together – were separated. That it came while they were an ocean away from their family in American Samoa only made the separation more difficult.

“It was all part of our parents’ sacrifice. They know our potential and had the mentality of not letting it go to waste. So, they made the sacrifices they did, and they made the choice to put us in a great position to fulfill our dreams,” Francisco Mauigoa said. “But it was tough. … Being miles away from home and not seeing your family was a different feeling. … I’m glad it happened, though, because I think without all of that, we wouldn’t be here, where we are right now. It was all part of God’s plan to put us in the place, on our feet, where we are right now.”

In two seasons at Washington State, Francisco Mauigoa totaled 77 tackles and as a sophomore, he also forced three fumbles, recovered a fumble and returned an interception 95 yards for a score.

Meanwhile, nearly 3,000 miles away at IMG Academy, Francis Mauigoa was growing into one of the top offensive line prospects in the country.

By his senior year, Francis Mauigoa was rated the No. 1 offensive tackle in the nation by ESPN and 247Sports. He was selected to both the Under Armour All-America Game and the Polynesian Bowl and helped IMG Academy average 49.7 points per game during a 9-1 campaign.

Oregon, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, USC, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State were among the schools hoping to add Francis to their rosters.

Ultimately, though, it was Miami where he – and his brother – felt most at home and where they’ve reunited to play together, to live together and to push each other to be better.

It’s an experience both say has meant the world to them – and one Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal understands well.

After all, he had the opportunity to play at Miami with his older brother, Luis Cristobal.

That means he, more than most, understands how special – and competitive – it can be to share a roster with a brother.

“Whenever they go against each other, there’s always an extra shove, an extra push and certainly, a little more of an edge when it comes to that because bragging rights at the house are just as important as bragging rights anywhere,” Cristobal said. “But it’s one of the more unique things you can have in sports, especially at this level. It was a game-changer for my brother and I, for our relationship, and from our family’s standpoint, too.”

As to the difference the Mauigoas have made at Miami, Cristobal said he couldn’t be more pleased with how the offensive lineman and linebacker have played or how they’ve represented the program off the field.

“They’re elite human beings who come from an elite family with an elite upbringing. They’re just really awesome people. They have a super-high care factor. They want to do right by others. They want to impact others,” Cristobal said. “Their drive and determination to be the best players they can be is just as strong as their drive and determination to impact others. I can’t think of a community service where they don’t volunteer their time. … They’re always about making people better.”

Along with making each other – and the Hurricanes – better, Francis and Francisco Mauigoa say they hope their experiences at Miami help inspire a new generation of young football players in American Samoa.

Representing their culture on the mainland has been a priority, with the brothers often teaching their teammates words in Samoan and wearing the ‘Ula Fala – a traditional Samoan necklace often worn by high chiefs on formal occasions – onto the field before pre-game warm-ups.

Those, they say, are just some of the ways they stay connected to their family and their homeland.

“We’re a big representation of where we come from, our island, our language, our Samoan culture,” Francisco Mauigoa said. “So, whatever we do, we do it a certain way just because of the way we were taught and the way we were raised. It’s important for us to have a good name and put a good name out there for our culture.”

Over the course of the next few weeks, the Mauigoa brothers hope they’ll continue to have more opportunities to not only continue educating and inspiring, but to help Miami continue to win games while helping each other make an impact.

There will still be some good-natured back-and-forth and maybe an extra shove or two at practice.

But they intend to enjoy their last few weeks as teammates.

“I don’t take these opportunities lightly because you never know what might happen, or when football is done for you,” Francisco Mauigoa said. “Being able to come back here and be with my family and with my brother is special. And having the chance to do that for two years, there’s no other feeling than lucky. I’m blessed that I made the decision to come back for my senior year, be with my brother, be around my family and be around a special team like this one at Miami.”

Added Francis Mauigoa, “It’s special when you think about it as this is his last year. It means, for me, you can never leave anything on the field. You have to put everything on the field and give it your all because I know he’s giving it his all and I want to give him something special to remember this year, whether that’s a championship game or an ACC championship or a national championship. I want to cherish every moment we go on the field. Whenever we hit the field, we do our prayers together and after every game, we pray together as well. Those are special moments. And just thinking about it makes you want to work to give him whatever you can, give him your all.”