This Guy Plays Notre Dame Football: #95 Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Defensive Tackle

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a roster full of players, and we want to talk about them all. One Foot Down’s player profile series will take a look at every single one of them, and hopefully we all learn a little bit more about these guys, and Notre Dame’s chances for the upcoming 2020 season.

#95 Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa DT

Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa committed to the Irish on February 1^st, 2017 and joined the 2017 recruiting class. Despite the Irish offering him late in the process (early January), he chose Notre Dame over offers from USC, Vanderbilt, Navy, Oregon, and Washington, among others. Per 247Sports Composite Rankings, Tagovailoa-Amosa was rated as a 3-star prospect. He was ranked as the 3^rd best player in Hawaii, 18^th best strong side defensive end, and 472^nd best player in the country in the class of 2017. He attended Kapolei High School, and his hometown is Kapolei, Hawaii. He currently stands 6’2’’ and weighs 285 pounds.

During his freshman season, Tagovailoa-Amosa filled in as a backup to Jerry Tillery. He provided meaningful snaps off the bench, playing in all 13 games. He recorded 12 tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss. His 2018 season was truncated due to a broken foot sustained in the 1^st half of the Michigan game. He did not return to action until the College Football Playoff against Clemson. On the season, he registered 2 tackles.

Tagovailoa-Amosa turned in a breakout campaign last season. Starting 12 of a possible 13 games (missed the Stanford game due to injury), he logged 477 snaps as the starting defensive tackle. Proving to be a disruptive interior force, he logged 22 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, 6 quarterback hurries, and 1 fumble recovery. In one of the more memorable highlights of the season, Tagovailoa-Amosa rumbled 48 yards after recovering a fumble against Virginia. Unfortunately, he was caught from behind at the 7 yard line and denied fans the opportunity to celebrate a rare defensive lineman touchdown.

Spirit Animal

Wildebeest

Photo by Wang Chengjie/VCG via Getty Images

Wildebeest are among the more underrated animals on the African savanna. Lacking the clout of animals like the zebra, lion, elephant, or cheetah, wildebeest are nonetheless a vital component of the famous ecosystem. These animals possess size and agility that would make a defensive line coach drool. Similarly, Tagovailoa-Amosa has been overlooked throughout his time in South Bend. As he demonstrated last season, he is a twitchy defensive lineman that gets on opposing interior linemen rather quickly.

2020 Outlook

Heading into summer, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa is poised to retain his starting defensive tackle position. With that said, he may be facing splitting reps with Jayson Ademilola. This could turn out to be a positive development for both players as Tagovailoa-Amosa possesses better run-stopping capabilities, while Ademilola possesses better pass rushing skills. Though Tagovailoa-Amosa may not reach his stat line from 2019, he should be fresher down the stretch, which will be a big boost to the defense.

Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images