5-Star offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa set for first visit to Tennessee

Since his friend Nico Iamaleava committed to Tennessee, the Vols have surged for five-star offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa. The No. 10 prospect in the On3 Consensus has been in contact with Josh Heupel and Glen Elarbee on a regular basis over the last six weeks.

Mauigoa has been wanting to check out Knoxville and he will get to do so for the first time this weekend. The trip will be an unofficial visit for Mauigoa. The Vols will have a long list of recruits on campus Memorial Day weekend and the 6-foot-5, 327-pound five-star out of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy is one of them.

When asked about Tennessee in a recent interview, Mauigoa said, “The whole staff is showing love to me. I talk most to coach Elarbee and coach Heupel, and they are great guys. Coach Elarbee is someone I really like. He is a smart offensive line coach and we are getting along.”

His friend, Nico, is in his ear, too.

“Nico talks about creating a whole new team at Tennessee. He talks about the skill guys being there, but to win national championships at Tennessee, they need linemen like me. That is what they are missing he said.

“Nico has talked about the school and the coaches and he says everything is great. The coaches have a plan to get Tennessee back to the top and Nico has been talking to me about it. It all sounds great.”

Mauigoa is in the process of narrowing his list down to five schools. Tennessee is expected to make that cut in the coming weeks.