Notre Dame defensive lineman Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa has been one of the constants on the front lines for the Irish. The Ewa Beach, Hawaii, native has battled and earned his way up to a major role in his last two years with the squad, racking up a total of 53 tackles including 3 sacks during his tenure.
Being a defensive lineman comes with a myriad of challenges, whether it be looking for play-type indicators, knowing alignments, or following scheme. For Tagovailoa-Amosa, his three-technique lineman role often lands him with double teams, something that he takes in stride to help his team.
“There’s definitely a sense inside of me where that’s just the sacrifice you have to make. We’re playing one of eleven,” Tagovailoa-Amosa said. “I just have to do my job, trust that my brothers got my back and that they’re doing their own jobs. Everyone wants to do more, everybody wants to make a play but when it comes to playing the game of football, you’re not going to make every play. Especially as an inside guy, interior D-lineman, that’s something that we understand, that sometimes we have to take on those double teams, sometimes we have to sacrifice the play to get the scheme correct.”
Tagovailoa-Amosa, or MTA as he is also known, has been no stranger to hardships during his career. After making appearances in all 13 games in 2017, his sophomore season in 2018 was limited to just two games due to a broken foot. Despite the injury, Tagovailoa-Amosa has been able to recover and fight his way into a starting position for the Irish as well as pick up honors for a Piesman Trophy finalist in 2019 (given to linemen who do un-lineman-like things, like Tagovailoa-Amosa’s 48-yard fumble return) and Phil Steele Preseason All-Independent First Team this season.
“For me, I’ve seen adversity. I’ve seen adversity my sophomore year, I’ve seen adversity throughout my time here,” he said. “I know that I’ve just got to stick to my process, trust that my brothers are going to go out there and do their thing.”
Progress is something that every player sets their sights on and it is no different for Tagovailoa-Amosa, who not only wants to improve his form, but also serve as a leader for the rest of his team.
“I definitely want to get my pressure on the QB up, I definitely want to affect the QB more, and just be an overall leader on the field,” Tagovailoa-Amosa said.
As Tagovailoa-Amosa’s senior season draws nearer to a close with the ACC Championship and potential Playoff berth looming ahead, he reflected on his high school years and how it prepared him for the road ahead.
“I really enjoyed my time at high school. I had a great coach, great teachers, teachers who really prepared me for basically what’s happening now,” Tagovailoa-Amosa said. “They were always hard on me in class. It definitely kept me in shape with academics as well as athletics.”
