Two more for Tujague: Flores, Amaama commit to Virginia

Tony Elliott’s decision to retain Garrett Tujague as the offensive line coach for the Virginia Cavaliers looks like a pretty good one.

After a good week already, with four offensive line commitments to UVA, Tujague reeled in two more big ones in grad transfer tackle John Paul Flores, and 2022 prospect Tapuvae “Snoop” Amaama.

Flores comes to Charlottesville by way of Dartmouth, where he was a two-year starter. Originally from Texas, Flores was named to preseason All-Ivy teams in 2020 and 2021; he earned second team All-Ivy distinction in the 2021 postseason as well. SMU was the other major contender for his transfer but Virginia was able to beat out the hometown draw.

He’s a very effective blocker in the zone running game, equally adept at cutting off backside pursuit and sealing lanes on the play side. At 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds, Flores moves well in space as you can see when Dartmouth pulled him or asked him to pave the way on screen passes. And he’s a stone wall in pass protection against both power and speed moves. With two years of eligibility left, expect Flores to push for a starter’s spot right away and anchor things this season and next.

Amaama, meanwhile, continues the trend of Utah kids following Tujague east. A 6-foot-4, 340-pound monster, Amaama hails from Skyridge in Lehi, Utah. He’s been selected for the Polynesian Bowl in 2021, and Virginia won out over offers from BYU, Syracuse, Miami, Jackson State, Hawaii, and others.

While his Twitter announcement was pretty standard, the way Amaama told his decision to the UVA coaching staff was unique:

After the initial excitement, you can hear Elliott telling Amaama that one of the things Coach E likes about Snoop is an aggressive mindset. That mindset comes through on Snoop’s game film in spades.

Skyridge plays Amaama at right tackle, but expect him to move inside at the next level. He seeks out contact in the run game and plays all the way through the whistle. But he isn’t just a brute: Amaama shows good technique and hand skills countering pass rushers. It will be exciting to see what a collegiate strength-and-conditioning program can do for a kid who already comes in at his size.

The second national signing day for the class of 2022 is February 2nd.