Shrine Bowl Breakdown: Notre Dame DE Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa Has Rock Solid Week

It has been a fascinating journey for Notre Dame defensive lineman Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa. Originally a strong-side defensive recruit out of Kapolei (Hawaii), Tagovailoa-Amosa earned immediate playing time shifting to the interior early on in his career. He finished his career in a much better spot.

CHANGE FOR THE BETTER

After multiple seasons of production, Tagovailoa-Amosa would again make a transition - this time back to the “big end” position that he was originally recruited for. With that move, he would shed some weight to get back closer to the 260-265 range, which is much better suited for his frame.

A compact defender, Tagovailoa-Amosa did not seem to carry the 285 plus efficiently, leading to some durability question marks during his Irish career. Dating back to the summer, his impact at defensive end was largely unknown. There is a solid overall profile, with some notable twitch, but until you saw it in action, it was difficult to imagine.

ALL STAR CIRCUIT

After a solid season on the edge for the Irish, Tagovailoa-Amosa made his way out to Las Vegas for the East-West Shrine Bowl to prove his worth in front of NFL evaluators. The result was a rock solid week, presenting a baseline that might provide a roster spot down the road.

In NFL circles, there is a huge difference between a tweener and a hybrid. The latter means that a player has the ability to work successfully from multiple spots, while the former demonstrates a middle ground without an appropriate perfect fit.

Tagovailoa-Amosa worked to prove that his versatility was a bonus and not a curse. Of course, the slipperiness that “MTA” plays with is easily translatable.

While working at defensive tackle early in his career, the 6-2, 260-pounder made it a habit of splitting gaps, showing the ability to get skinny and create some penetration. Even at a lower weight, Tagovailoa-Amosa has continued to show that his talent can translate.

He is an ultra high effort player who makes a variety of plays off of sheer want to.

Evaluators are going to want to see what type of ability that Tagovailoa-Amosa can have in the passing game. While not a traditional outside track rusher, MTA again wins with a ton of effort.

That slipperiness again translates. He is adept at inside moves, quickly winning on the inside track for the effort. Counters are his best friend as a pass rusher.

There is a bit more twitch than you may expect for Tagovailoa-Amosa. No, he’s never going to be your quintessential speed rusher - but he has shown some ability to win the upfield shoulder.

You can see a bit of tightness in his lower half but whether it’s just based on effort, Tagovailoa-Amosa has flashes of winning in that area. Effort is going to be the name of the game for MTA’s ability to work inside and out.

LONG TERM OUTLOOK

Unfortunately, the fit does feel a bit of a tweener projection. There is some stay power for Tagovailoa-Amosa as a movable piece who can align from various techniques for a defense. That potential, on top of his baseline impact as a run defender, could be his ticket to a roster spot in 2022.

As for the NFL Draft capital, Tagovailoa-Amosa left Vegas on the uptick. Teams will love the experience and personality he brings. He’s played a ton of football and that part can be unquantifiable.

Expect a Day Three designation without a definitive role on a defense. From there, it’s MTA’s job to capitalize on opportunity.

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