Their older brother was about to get married, their family members were getting ready inside a rented lake house, and college football stars Francis and Kiko Mauigoa were on the lawn practicing their pass rush footwork.
No days off.
“Just the thought that they brought their cleats with them, they knew they were going to do something,” Frederick Mauigoa, the groom, said laughing. “They weren’t like, ‘If we have the chance, we’ll find somewhere to go.’ They knew they were going to do something to be a little bit better than the other guy who is not doing anything on his break.”
Three years later, small moments of dedication like that one — plus childhood afternoons that required an even greater level of commitment growing up in American Samoa, where football equipment is scarce — are about to pay off.
Francis is expected to be a top 10 pick and the first offensive tackle selected in the 2026 draft, joining Kiko (a Jets 2025 fifth-round pick) in the journey from the Ili’ili village of about 3,000 islanders to the pros. They have two older brothers, a younger brother and two sisters in a family of seven siblings raised on three principles: faith, family and respect.
“It’s the craziest thing,” Frederick, a former center at Washington State, told The Post. “Nobody ever saw this as the trajectory of our family. My parents moved off the island — that was never a thought that was ever going to happen. Both of them making it to the NFL is surreal. We never looked at these kids growing up and were like, ‘You guys are going to be stars.’ We knew that they were good football players and hard workers. But not that good.”
What changed?
Kiko left home midway through high school to gain more recruiting attention at St. Thomas Aquinas and live with a host family in California. He also pivoted from designs of becoming the next Marcus Mariota or Tua Tagovailoa — quarterbacks with Samoan roots — to becoming a hard-hitting linebacker signed by Washington State.
“In high school and middle school, Francis was on my blind side. He literally had my back,” Kiko told The Post. “When I made the transition to linebacker, it was the right fit for me because of the physicality — and I fell in love with it.”
Francis followed the same path from Ili’ili to St. Thomas Aquinas before winding up at Florida’s IMG Academy. A five-star offensive tackle recruit, Francis signed with Miami, which scored a sort of 2-for-1 recruiting package.
Kiko transferred 3,000 miles to be his brother’s roommate — and his game took off with an ACC-leading 18 tackles for loss in 2023.
The brothers relocated their parents to Miami by pooling NIL incomes. Their head-to-head battles intensified practice as the program turned a corner.
“It frustrates me sometimes because he does get under my pads, but I know he feels it too because I don’t take it lightly on him,” Kiko said. “It’s the same killer mindset that I always have — to do whatever I can to make a play, even if it’s against my brother. He loves that I’m getting him better. He doesn’t take it lightly, either.
“When he gets a good play, he’ll make sure you know. I don’t think other people know what we’re saying but we do talk a lot of trash. After practice, we’re back to being brothers. We have a strong bond — a tough-love type of relationship — and we’re very competitive.”
Home game
American Samoa produces a disproportionate number of NFL players for its population.
And the history over generations from Mosi Tatupu (1978-91) to Joe Salave’a (1998-2006) to Mike Iupati (2010-20) to Penei Sewell (2021-active) keeps inspiring youngsters to overcome geographic obstacles.
“I’m not going to waste the opportunity that has been given to me,” Francis told MiamiHurricanes.com, “because I know kids back at home, they want this opportunity, too. It just really gives me the mindset to keep pushing.”
Rugby and volleyball are kings of the local playgrounds, but football just takes a little extra creativity: A light coconut can take the place of a missing ball, and cardboard boxes or footwear can be cut and reshaped to trick an official into seeing the proper padding.
“Now it’s getting better because we are getting equipment shipped over, but when I was there we had to do what was necessary to be able to play,” Kiko said. “Whether that was cutting slippers into thigh pads, sharing helmets, [going] without mouthpieces. Sometimes kids would show up to practice without cleats because they were more comfortable running barefoot.”
The Mauigoa siblings learned the value of hard work from their parents and through chores at home or at their grandparents’ house: If they weren’t planting a long line of taros and using a machete to hedge the tree-line fence, they were picking up leaves.
“Football players who make it to the college level, it comes out of thinking about how you grew up and your whole past,” Frederick said. “Who are you representing?”
But an NFL highlight reel has the same effect in Ili’ili as it does in Islip.
“Kids watch and they just want to hit somebody,” Kiko said. “Or work on their steps and juke everybody. We love to be active and outdoors, but the fun thing about our tight-knit community is people just get along very well. You can go to your neighbor’s house and just sleep there.”
The NFL is known for its brothers: Watts, Kelces, Bosas. Few have come this far — literally and figuratively.
Before his final regular-season home game, Francis performed a traditional Samoan farewell haka dance in the locker room. Kiko, who was back at his alma mater, emerged from the crowd and jumped in — to Francis’ surprise.
“The way I grew up back in the island, it’s all from the heart,” Francis said at the NFL combine. “Samoa is very little, so the people stay together. We were raised on the quote that ‘It takes a village to raise a kid.’ ”
Brotherly love
Kiko is the older brother, but he rarely had to step in to protect young Francis.
“He is a protector himself,” Kiko said. “I don’t think a lot of people would pick on him because he was a big, strong dude growing up. I always tell him, ‘Just be you. Don’t ever try to be somebody else. I, for sure, think other people see it because you do all these big things and lead the way.’ Younger brother doing the things he’s doing right now is very encouraging for me to do big things.”
The 6-foot-5, 329-pound Francis has only gotten bigger.
And stronger. To the point where Frederick says, “I got punched with the palm in football drills all the time, but this guy’s hands hurt a little harder.”
And faster? Well, probably not, but he was one of the fastest on the field in his youth.
“The other kids started running in slow motion when he is around,” Frederick recalled. “I don’t know how the other kids were not keeping up with him. I don’t know if they were just scared of how big he was so they backed off or what.”
Francis allowed two sacks on 1,055 pass blocking snaps over the past two seasons, per ESPN. He could be a Day 1 starting right tackle, though some NFL teams project a higher ceiling as the type of road-grading guard that the Giants could use — making him a sleeper candidate for the No. 5 pick if he lasts past the Cardinals at No. 3.
“When you study the top teams in the league — for the most part — their tackles are premium picks, so you almost have to get uncomfortable with where you take them if you want one or you just won’t get one,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. “Mauigoa is powerful. He played at 345 [pounds] with less than 20 percent body fat. He is a strong, sturdy dude.”
Kiko’s rookie year with the Jets included 45 tackles in 12 games and eight starts. He has the potential to be a longtime core special-teamer, too.
“He knows what the quarterback is looking for,” Frederick said. “He has the insights of the offensive side of the ball.”
As has always been the case, Kiko is a key been-there, done-that resource for Francis during the predraft lead-up. What are the NFL combine and pro day like? What happens on top 30 visits to team facilities? Should he be willing to make a position change?
“There’s five positions, I’ll make sure I take one,” Francis, a career 42-game starter, said. “I credit [where I am] to my parents. They sacrificed a lot. Sending me to IMG Academy at an early age, I didn’t know [any] English but they took a chance on me to go myself. That gave me the opportunity to grow and get in a discomfort zone. I’m making sure I’m not letting them down.”
Unless Francis falls further than expected or the Jets trade up, it’s unlikely that the Mauigoas will be teammates in 2026 like they were in high school and college.
But AFC East rivals or New York neighbors? That would be new.
“I’m less stressed this year because I know the work he has put in and I’m confident that he has put in to put himself in the position he is right now,” Kiko said. “He is a smart dude, too, so he will be able to pick up on those interviews. I’m excited for him and whichever team he ends up with — because he’s going to make a difference.”