Navy senior offensive tackle Adam Amosa-Tagovailoa and Notre Dame sophomore defensive lineman Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa are brothers despite the fact their last names are flipped.

Adam and Myron are the sons of Tulileie and Saipeti Amosa, who reside in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. Their mother’s maiden name is Tagovailoa.

Adam was born with the last name Amosa while Myron was born with the last name Tagovailoa-Amosa. That is because their mother’s father, High Chief Seu Tagovailoa, wanted one of his grandsons to hold the family name.

When High Chief Seu Tagovailoa died, Saipeti Amosa decided she wanted all of her children to hold their grandfather’s name. After graduating from the Naval Academy Prep School, Adam legally changed his last name to Amosa-Tagovailoa.

Adam Amosa-Tagovailoa explained that his heritage traces to Atu’u, a village in American Samoa and that his grandfather was the high chief of that village. The 6-foot-2, 278-pound senior said he and Myron are proud to carry their grandfather’s name.

“Yes it is a great honor. He raised me and Myron, gave us our morals and formed us into the men of God that we are today,” Adam said.

“Basically, my grandfather has been the pillar — the foundation for our family to go to church, stay in school and also play football. He was always there to support us, rain or shine. He also bought all of our football equipment,” Adam added.

Adam initially had planned to change his last name to Tagovailoa-Amosa to match his younger brother, but his mother wanted the Amosa name listed first so that at Naval Academy graduation her son would be in the front of the class.

Adam and Myron are cousins with Tua Tagovailoa, starting quarterback at Alabama and leading contender for the Heisman Trophy. Adam Amosa-Tagovailoa was asked if he is surprised by the success his cousin is enjoying with the Crimson Tide.

“No, I kind of expected it. If you are a man of God you have to be extraordinary and different from the rest,” he said.

Adam Amosa-Tagovailoa made his first career start at left tackle against Houston and is likely to be in the lineup again on Saturday versus Notre Dame. That’s because Navy’s top left tackles, starter Jake Hawk and backup Kendel Wright, are both nursing injuries.

Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa did not follow in his brother’s footsteps as an offensive lineman.

“Myron didn’t like the big boy mentality. He liked the dog mentality that goes along with D line so he went with that,” Adam said with a smile. “Seriously, I’m very proud of him, super proud of where he’s come from and how hard he had to work to get where he is now.”

Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa seriously considered the Naval Academy and took an official visit to Annapolis before choosing Notre Dame. The 6-foot-3, 285-pounder appeared in all 13 games as a true freshman and registered 12 tackles (seven solo).

“Myron was a very highly-recruited kid out of Hawaii who had a ton of offers. The only reason we had a shot was because his brother was here,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said.

A perfect ending to the story would be for the brothers to butt heads in the trenches, but that will not happen since Myron suffered a broken foot during the Michigan game and will not play against Navy.

Adam Amosa-Tagovailoa is a graduate of James Campbell High while Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa played for Kapolei, a perennial powerhouse on Oahu. The brothers are three years apart in age and never played against each other high school. However, they did square off in the backyard a few times.

“More so off to the side doing one-on-ones, duking it out with me talking smack to him and him talking smack back to me,” Adam said of battling his younger brother.

bwagner@capgaznews.com

twitter.com/BWagner_CapGaz