If Kiko Mauigoa sacks Tua Tagovailoa, he is almost certain the quarterback’s parents won’t hold it against him.
Take flight with the Jets
Text with Brian Costello all season as he brings Sports+ subscribers the latest Jets intel from on the field and off.
SIGN UP NOW“I’ve met them — very good people,” Mauigoa said. “It’s nothing personal, you know?”
Mauigoa, a rookie fifth-round draft pick, could make his first career start Monday night when the short-on-linebackers Jets visit the Dolphins. Not only will Mauigoa be returning to the site of some of his best football memories — his alma mater, the University of Miami, shares Hard Rock Stadium with the Tagovailoa’s Dolphins — but he will be chasing around a boyhood idol.
Mauigoa grew up playing quarterback in American Samoa, and the Hawaii-born Tagovailoa is of Samoan descent. American Samoa is known for producing a high rate of NFL players per capita, but many of the greats are linemen, and Mauigoa saw a path to being under center when Tagovailoa led Alabama to a national championship and Marcus Mariota led the Titans to the NFL playoffs.
