Listed Measurements: 6-foot-4, 250 pounds
2017-18 year, eligibility: Freshman yet to enroll
Depth chart: Tagovailoa-Amosa will start at the bottom of a tackle grouping that may or may not present him the chance to move upward. (More on that later.) He will be competing with the likes of senior Pete Mokwuah and juniors Micah Dew-Treadway and, if healthy, Elijah Taylor for the chance to back up senior Jonathan Bonner.
Recruiting: Rivals.com rated Tagovailoa-Amosa as a three-star prospect, but the other recruiting services split between three stars and four stars for the Hawaiian. His recruitment was quick and late, but that was partly Tagovailoa-Amosa’s personal choice. With Hawaii high school playoffs being later than most followed by state-specific all-star games, Tagovailoa-Amosa could not take at least some of his official visits until after the season.
The Irish coaches had to wait until the morning of National Signing Day to learn if they had landed the interior project.
QUOTE(S)
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly spoke highly of Tagoailoa-Amosa’s potential in his comments on National Signing Day. Taking those remarks at face value, Kelly may have portended a year of preserving eligibility for the incoming freshman.
“When you talk about D-linemen that are really emerging, Myron Tag-Amosa—I’m not going to give you the whole name because I will butcher it. I’ll save that as I get to know him a little better—Myron jumped off the screen with his first-step quickness,” Kelly said. “For a big guy, we really think he’s got a huge upside. We think he’s starting to scratch the surface in terms of where he can be.
“He has some length to him, pass-rush ability, inside guy. Not necessarily strictly an edge guy. He’s got some versatility. We like the fact that he’s a younger player that’s going to get better and develop.”
WHAT WE SAID WHEN TAGOVAILOA-AMOSA’S NATIONAL LETTER OF INTENT ARRIVED
“Tagovailoa-Amosa continues a line of Hawaiian recruits landing in South Bend, following Manti Te’o and Kona Schwenke, both of whom excelled at Notre Dame … An excellent athlete, Tagovailoa-Amosa will be asked to fill the middle of the defensive line, but he could likely hold his own on the edge if needed in certain situations.”
2017 OUTLOOK
Tagovailoa-Amosa’s autumn will be determined by two things: His actual current weight and the progression of the three players ahead of him in the aforementioned depth chart.
Recruiting services listed Tagovailoa-Amosa at about 270 pounds his senior year, while Notre Dame touted him as 250 in its National Signing Day coverage. Typically, recruiting listings are very prone to player embellishment, unless recorded at a particular and recent camp. On the other hand, 250 pounds seems awfully light for a player Kelly considers an “inside guy.” Perhaps it explains his first-step quicknes.
If he is more toward the 270 mark, if not more after some time spent in a college weight program, then Tagovailoa-Amosa very well may be ready to give Notre Dame some worthwhile snaps in his freshman season. However, if that 250 mark is somewhat accurate, the season may be best spent on the sideline getting ready for the physicality of college football.
Between Mokwuah, Dew-Treadway and Taylor, the Irish do not have a reliable backup for Bonner. If one of those three emerges—remember Taylor suffered a LisFranc fracture in spring ball but is expected to be healthy by the end of the summer—then the need for Tagovailoa-Amosa to play in 2017 decreases drastically. If none of those three separates from the pack, though, Tagovailoa-Amosa could prove himself worthy of consideration with a strong fall camp, even if that would be in only a small sample size.
DOWN THE ROAD
The odds are Tagovailoa-Amosa spends 2017 on the sidelines. Those fictitious betting odds were heavily influenced by Kelly using buzz words such as “huge upside,” “starting to scratch the surface,” “younger player,” and “develop.”
Not to fall into the easy trap of comparing a Hawaiian to a Hawaiian, but consider former Irish defensive lineman Kona Schwenke. He appeared in a smattering of games in his first two seasons (by now, it is rather universally regarded as an unnecessary shame he lost a year of eligibility by playing in the final five games of his freshman season, 2010) and only recorded five tackles in 11 games his junior year.
Then, Schwenke recorded 23 tackles and was an all-around defensive presence his senior year. In that one season, he went from a complete non-contributor to a fringe NFL prospect.
Such a progression from Tagovailoa-Amosa while following a five-year schedule would be quite promising, and Notre Dame’s roster should present that type of opportunity following this season. Up to four defensive tackles could depart following 2017, leaving few bodies and even fewer proven commodities on the front line. (Senior Daniel Cage will be out of eligibility. It is unlikely Mokwuah is offered a fifth year and questionable for Bonner. Junior Jerry Tillery is considered a possible NFL Draft prospect after this season.)
As for this space, when will it be acceptable to refer to Tagovailoa-Amosa as simply “MTA”? That 13-character decrease into a ready-made nickname would be greatly appreciated.
Aside from the five early enrollees, the numbers are not yet known for the Irish freshmen class. That is one of the admitted drawbacks to organizing this summer-long series numerically. But a little bit of educated guessing can garner estimates for those numbers, and those estimates can allow the series to proceed without pause.
After all, the real purpose is to take a look at each player. The order, quite frankly, doesn’t matter. It is nothing more than a gimmick, be it done alphabetically, numerically or by the magic number crafted by adding the single integers of each player’s birthday. (For example, Derek Jeter’s June 26 birthday would equal 0 + 6 + 2 + 6 = 14.)
How are those estimates crafted? The first step is to take a look at certain NCAA rules. That is less helpful on defense than it is on offense. The NCAA places no stipulations on defensive integers. That is how Notre Dame ends up with one defensive end named Hayes wearing No. 93 (senior, Jay) and one defensive end named Hayes wearing No. 9 (sophomore, Daelin). Yet, only so many numbers are available. The Irish are likely to avoid any unnecessary doublings so as to lessen the chances of somehow ending up with two players wearing the same number defending, hmmm, a field goal, by chance. Obviously, such a noticeable infraction would inevitably draw a flag.
For this exercise, at least, the estimates are garnered under that presumption.
Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa is probably not going to wear No. 92, but it is possible. It certainly seems more likely than No. 25 or No. 84, both of which are unclaimed on the Notre Dame roster. Only time will tell. For today, let’s just go with No. 92.
2017’s Notre Dame 99-to-2
Friday at 4: Goodbye A-to-Z, hello 99-to-2 (May 12)
No. 99: Jerry Tillery, defensive tackle
No. 98: Andrew Trumbetti, defensive end
No. 97: Micah Dew-Treadway, defensive tackle
No. 96: Pete Mokwuah, defensive tackle
No. 95 (theoretically): Darnell Ewell, defensive tackle
No. 94 (theoretically): Kurt Hinish, defensive tackle
No. 93: Jay Hayes, defensive end