You think Miami ‘elite monstrosities’ Mauigoa, Okunlola are 5-stars? They’re ‘0-stars’ now

They each tower above the common man at 6-foot-6 and as of Tuesday weighed 325 pounds.

They were rated the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 offensive tackles as Class of 2023 prep players signing with the University of Miami — two five-star, recruiting-world diamonds that any school would covet separately, let alone as a duo.

Francis “Sisi” Mauigoa, the top-rated tackle in America, and Samson Okunlola, ranked No. 2 depending on the recruiting site, instantly helped bring credibility to a UM offensive line that has been injured and depleted and just not good enough for several years.

But on Tuesday, when the duo spoke to the Miami media for the first time, Mauigoa, the mature, physically imposing young man from Ili’ili in American Samoa, said, basically, that as soon as he hit Coral Gables, he was “a zero-star.’’

“All that five-star stuff, I think it really doesn’t matter at this level right now,’’ said Mauigoa, wearing a bright red T-shirt with “SAMOA” on the front. “All that five-star, that ended up way back when I was in high school. Coming in here, you’re a zero-star. You’re the same as everyone. So all that hype, it doesn’t really mean anything if you don’t put out the work.”

If Mauigoa, who is down to 17-percent body fat and played his final two high school years at IMG Academy in Bradenton, is a “zero-star,” he’s a zero-star who was promoted to first-team right tackle the third day of spring practice. The rest of the first-team: left tackle Jalen Rivers, left guard Javion Cohen, center Matt Lee and right guard Anez Cooper. Former standout tackle Zion Nelson still hasn’t practiced this spring and played in only one game in 2022 after offseason knee surgery.

Rivers is considered a high-level lineman, and Cohen is a former Alabama starter who recently transferred, as did Lee, a standout UCF transfer.

‘Freakish’

“They’re freakish,’’ Cohen said in late March of Mauigoa and Okunlola. “They’re very advanced for their age. Samson’s technique is very close to being pro. I tell him that almost every day, which is why I’m on his tail a lot. I want him to be great.’’

Okunlola, out of Thayer Academy in Braintree, Massachusetts, said spring has helped him get accustomed to the speed of the college game, as well as more intricate details and language. He’s nicknamed “Pancake Honcho” because he’s known for flattening defenders.

When asked for the best pancakes in Coral Gables, Okunlola hinted of a pending NIL deal, though he never said those words. “I’m actually coming out with something pretty soon,’’ he said. “I’ve got something cooking up. Pancake Honcho is going to be eating some pancakes very soon.’’

Okunlola said he and Mauigoa were “best friends/rivals: What makes us different is our flexibility and our speed and our athleticism [and] all that other stuff we have. Just being able to move as quickly as we can move, how agile and flexible we are — and also our brain. When it comes to thinking, he thinks a little fast.”

“We have the same goal in our mind — that’s to become freshmen All-American, make it out in three years,’’ Mauigoa said of the pair. “I don’t see a very big difference in us. ...We tend to work, and just try to got to the top.”

UM coach Mario Cristobal, a former UM national champion offensive lineman who still helps Alex Mirabal coach the O-line, described Mauigoa and Okunlola as “elite monstrosities” the day they signed with Miami in December:

“It doesn’t get better than those guys. It doesn’t get better coming out of high school,’’ Cristobal said. “...Exceptional football IQ, relentless work ethics. They are as mean and nasty on the field as you can imagine.’’

Mauigoa’s brother

Mauigoa is the younger brother of recent Washington State transfer Francisco “Kiko” Mauigoa, who has lined up at first-team middle linebacker much of this spring. Francisco called it “a great opportunity to play beside my brother.’’ Younger brother said Tuesday that it’s “amazing’’ to play with Francisco.

“Him being on the defense, me being on the offense, you know, we tend to get some family transaction there,’’ Mauigoa said. “We tend to talk to each other a lot in our foreign language — just to get him pumped up and ready to get my taste of football.”

What do they say to each other in Samoan?

“We tend to tell each other, ‘Hey, man, you’ve got to come on my side. You’re not getting the play right.’’’

Mauigoa said it is “an honor to run with the ones now,’’ but that “it’s still spring, so the job ain’t secured yet. Still working to that level.’’

Fellow freshman defensive end Rueben Bain, a Central High alum and the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade County Defensive Player of the Year for Classes 2M-1M, acknowledged Tuesday that Okunlola and Mauigoa “know they were five-stars in high school, but both of the don’t care about none of that now.”

“They know it’s an even playing field,’’ Bain said, “so they’re just trying to leave all of that in the past and create a new path. I like that about both of them.’’