Former Miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa established himself as a top tackle in college football last season as the Hurricanes reached the College Football Playoff. Mauigoa is in contention to be the first offensive tackle selected in the NFL Draft.
Mauigoa started 42 games for the Hurricanes and earned first-team All-ACC and All-America honors, in addition to winning the 2025 ACC Jacobs Blocking Trophy, awarded to the best blocker in the conference.
Francis Mauigoa Discusses Mario Cristobal’s Impact
During Tuesday’s episode of the “Gramlich & Mac Lain” podcast, Mauigoa credited Miami head coach Mario Cristobal’s coaching for elevating the Hurricanes’ offensive line and discussed why he stayed in Coral Gables for his college career.
“He’s a nitty-gritty type of guy. The old school type of coach and that’s why I picked him to be my head coach and stayed there for three years,” Mauigoa said. “He has that mindset of running everybody over. Taking a guy from point A to point B against his will. That explains his mentality of ‘We’re gonna push you and take you wherever you don’t wanna go.’
“We’re gonna push you where we want you to go. He’s a straight through toughness type of guy. He’s always out there, always at the O-line and explains the toughness that needs to be at the O-line. It explains how the O-line did during the last couple of years.”
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Austin Swaim Predicts Mauigoa to the Kansas City Chiefs
In his latest mock draft on Monday, PFSN draft analyst Austin Swaim predicted the Kansas City Chiefs would select Mauigoa with the No. 9 pick to help their run game.
“Mauigoa is a mauler in the run game with a tremendously thick frame, and his arms came back long enough to alleviate concerns that he can play right tackle in the NFL due to length,” Swaim wrote.
“Foot speed, though, is still a question for a prospect some feel might eventually end up at guard. The Chiefs desperately need a Jawaan Taylor replacement at one of their three top-40 selections. They’ll scoop up Mauigoa here to immediately elevate a run game that struggled to generate a push on the right side a year ago.”
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Mauigoa earned a PFSN College Player Offensive Line Impact score of 90.4 last season, allowing two sacks on quarterback Carson Beck in 440 pass-blocking snaps.
