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Do IT this week: Layering
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 09:10 p.m. EDT, Apr 04, 2009
Rey Maualuga might prove to be one of the ultimate conundrums of this month's NFL Draft.
When it comes to the senior inside linebacker from USC, there is so much for coaches and general managers to fall for. The long, flowing hair of a Troy Polamalu. The punishing tackles of a Ray Lewis. The game-changing plays of a Junior Seau.
Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman and receiver Brian Hartline know plenty about the latter, giving chase on Maualuga's 48-yard interception return for a touchdown last September that turned a supposed slugfest into a 35-3 rout.
But for teams considering Maualuga in the first round, there are just as many concerns.
In 2005, he was arrested for punching a man at a Halloween party. In 2006 he was disciplined by coach Pete Carroll, reportedly for unruly behavior at a fraternity party. Maualuga blames both on immaturity, fueled by the attitude he could do anything he wanted while his father was dying of brain cancer.
Before January's Rose Bowl, Maualuga danced seductively behind ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews. His senior season was marred by missed tackles, most notably in a 27-21 loss to Oregon State, but he still won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation's top defensive player. He developed a reputation as one who needs watching by strong locker-room leaders. Standing 6-foot-2, he weighed nearly 270 pounds before the bowl game, but had dropped to 249 at the combine.
Once considered by Browns fans as a possible savior for their struggling defense, Maualuga has seen his draft stock slip into the middle of the first round. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. doesn't deem Maualuga worthy of the Browns' fifth overall pick on April 25.
''This year he wasn't as consistent, he didn't make the type of plays at the line of scrimmage to be that Seau, that wow type of player,'' Kiper said in a recent conference call. ''He was a wow player as a junior. He could go in that 20[th pick] area. He's certainly got a lot of ability, but this year he didn't have a top-10 type of year.''
USC linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr., who played 13 years for the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers, offers a strong case to succumb to the temptation of Maualuga.
''He has a very strong presence. When he's on the field, you know it,'' Norton said last week. ''He's very explosive. He can cause havoc, blow things up.
''He has a certain swagger — very confident, very successful, very dominant. He would certainly be a good nucleus to build around. I had him four years and I wish I had him four more years. It would be hard to pass him up.''
Norton said Maualuga's partying ways were merely ''a young college student who moved away from home having some fun. He was in a very high-profile city on a high-profile team. When people find out, it becomes a big deal.
''As he's gotten older and matured, he realized he shouldn't do those things. He's stayed out of trouble.''
As for Maualuga's tendency to overrun plays, considered one of his biggest weaknesses, Norton said Maualuga was merely doing as he was told.
''My style of coaching him is to play real fast, really attack the line of scrimmage,'' Norton said. ''I've got him coming so fast that when a running back sees it's Rey Maualuga, he will cut back into the rest of the defense. It looks like he's overrunning, but he's really doing what I coached him to do. I coached him to be a north-south guy.''
Maualuga admitted at the combine that's something he must work on.
''I tend to zone out,'' he said. ''When you watch guys like Ray Lewis and Troy Polamalu make magnificent plays, you try to do it. I tend to leave my feet and overrun plays and be a player I'm not. Coach always teaches me that it's all about making the plays you're supposed to make and not plays that go beyond your ability. I learned to tone it down a little bit.''
Off the field, Maualuga might have been staggered by the loss of his father his freshman year, just two days before USC lost the national championship to Texas in the 2006 Rose Bowl. He is also driven to provide for his mother after the poverty-plagued days of his youth.
He confirmed a story about his family living in a church attic when they were kicked out of their tiny apartment in Hawaii as his father pursued the ministry. Maualuga was born in Oklahoma when his father served in the U.S. Army, but the Maualugas moved to Honolulu, to Oxnard, Calif., then to Eureka, Calif.
''Things were rough growing up. You learn from it and you pick up from there,'' Maualuga said. ''You hope things never go back to the way it was.''
Maualuga said he came to the combine to get ''rediscovered'' and to show people who he really is. While there he deflected a comparison to Lewis made by New York Jets coach Rex Ryan, the former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator. When Ryan was asked whether there was another Ray Lewis in this draft, Ryan said, ''I think somebody has the first name.''
''I'm nowhere near Ray Lewis,'' Maualuga said. ''I'm just a guy coming out of college. I've got a lot to prove, a lot to work on. I respect Ray Lewis. I'm way far away from his game.''
Norton didn't go as far as Ryan, but privately might agree with him.
When asked whether Maualuga's interception against Ohio State was something he might repeat in the NFL, Norton said: ''He's going to do that all day. He excels in the passing game, in the running game, attacking blockers and destroying the opponent.
''Coming out of high school, it takes two years to understand what you're doing. He's had two years of being a front-line guy, playing the game at the highest level. Now he's mature, confident, understands he's very special. He'll take his game to a different level as an adult. The best is yet to come.''
Rey Maualuga might prove to be one of the ultimate conundrums of this month's NFL Draft.
When it comes to the senior inside linebacker from USC, there is so much for coaches and general managers to fall for. The long, flowing hair of a Troy Polamalu. The punishing tackles of a Ray Lewis. The game-changing plays of a Junior Seau.
Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman and receiver Brian Hartline know plenty about the latter, giving chase on Maualuga's 48-yard interception return for a touchdown last September that turned a supposed slugfest into a 35-3 rout.
But for teams considering Maualuga in the first round, there are just as many concerns.
In 2005, he was arrested for punching a man at a Halloween party. In 2006 he was disciplined by coach Pete Carroll, reportedly for unruly behavior at a fraternity party. Maualuga blames both on immaturity, fueled by the attitude he could do anything he wanted while his father was dying of brain cancer.
Before January's Rose Bowl, Maualuga danced seductively behind ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews. His senior season was marred by missed tackles, most notably in a 27-21 loss to Oregon State, but he still won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation's top defensive player. He developed a reputation as one who needs watching by strong locker-room leaders. Standing 6-foot-2, he weighed nearly 270 pounds before the bowl game, but had dropped to 249 at the combine.
Once considered by Browns fans as a possible savior for their struggling defense, Maualuga has seen his draft stock slip into the middle of the first round. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. doesn't deem Maualuga worthy of the Browns' fifth overall pick on April 25.
''This year he wasn't as consistent, he didn't make the type of plays at the line of scrimmage to be that Seau, that wow type of player,'' Kiper said in a recent conference call. ''He was a wow player as a junior. He could go in that 20[th pick] area. He's certainly got a lot of ability, but this year he didn't have a top-10 type of year.''
USC linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr., who played 13 years for the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers, offers a strong case to succumb to the temptation of Maualuga.
''He has a very strong presence. When he's on the field, you know it,'' Norton said last week. ''He's very explosive. He can cause havoc, blow things up.
''He has a certain swagger — very confident, very successful, very dominant. He would certainly be a good nucleus to build around. I had him four years and I wish I had him four more years. It would be hard to pass him up.''
Norton said Maualuga's partying ways were merely ''a young college student who moved away from home having some fun. He was in a very high-profile city on a high-profile team. When people find out, it becomes a big deal.
''As he's gotten older and matured, he realized he shouldn't do those things. He's stayed out of trouble.''
As for Maualuga's tendency to overrun plays, considered one of his biggest weaknesses, Norton said Maualuga was merely doing as he was told.
''My style of coaching him is to play real fast, really attack the line of scrimmage,'' Norton said. ''I've got him coming so fast that when a running back sees it's Rey Maualuga, he will cut back into the rest of the defense. It looks like he's overrunning, but he's really doing what I coached him to do. I coached him to be a north-south guy.''
Maualuga admitted at the combine that's something he must work on.
''I tend to zone out,'' he said. ''When you watch guys like Ray Lewis and Troy Polamalu make magnificent plays, you try to do it. I tend to leave my feet and overrun plays and be a player I'm not. Coach always teaches me that it's all about making the plays you're supposed to make and not plays that go beyond your ability. I learned to tone it down a little bit.''
Off the field, Maualuga might have been staggered by the loss of his father his freshman year, just two days before USC lost the national championship to Texas in the 2006 Rose Bowl. He is also driven to provide for his mother after the poverty-plagued days of his youth.
He confirmed a story about his family living in a church attic when they were kicked out of their tiny apartment in Hawaii as his father pursued the ministry. Maualuga was born in Oklahoma when his father served in the U.S. Army, but the Maualugas moved to Honolulu, to Oxnard, Calif., then to Eureka, Calif.
''Things were rough growing up. You learn from it and you pick up from there,'' Maualuga said. ''You hope things never go back to the way it was.''
Maualuga said he came to the combine to get ''rediscovered'' and to show people who he really is. While there he deflected a comparison to Lewis made by New York Jets coach Rex Ryan, the former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator. When Ryan was asked whether there was another Ray Lewis in this draft, Ryan said, ''I think somebody has the first name.''
''I'm nowhere near Ray Lewis,'' Maualuga said. ''I'm just a guy coming out of college. I've got a lot to prove, a lot to work on. I respect Ray Lewis. I'm way far away from his game.''
Norton didn't go as far as Ryan, but privately might agree with him.
When asked whether Maualuga's interception against Ohio State was something he might repeat in the NFL, Norton said: ''He's going to do that all day. He excels in the passing game, in the running game, attacking blockers and destroying the opponent.
''Coming out of high school, it takes two years to understand what you're doing. He's had two years of being a front-line guy, playing the game at the highest level. Now he's mature, confident, understands he's very special. He'll take his game to a different level as an adult. The best is yet to come.''
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Mentor, OH
Posted 09:30 PM, 04/04/2009
Risks at #5?
At least 4 of the players that the Browns may consider with that first pick have either had off the field problems or failed drug tests. Either steriods or recreation drugs. Not to mention the stupidity of using drugs when you know you are about to be tested.
So take a drug user who also maybe stupid? Or just so chronic he has no control?
Then you have the best WR in the draft that should be there at #5 who is comming off foot surgery.
Only one solution, trade down.
Easier said then done.
Cuyahoga Falls, Oh
Posted 10:18 PM, 04/04/2009
Just give the pick to the steelers. At least that way they train the guy up and not waste his career. The browns organization is a black hole and a disgrace.
Posted 10:45 PM, 04/04/2009
Rey is probably the Browns' number-one trade-down option, the next-best ILB candidate to Wake's Curry. If Curry is not there at five, maybe Rey is part of the deal-down alternative. Otherwise, get ready for Sintim in Round Two.
Sagamore Hills, OH
Posted 11:49 PM, 04/04/2009
The Steelers and their fans are pure trash
Hoschton, GA
Posted 05:23 AM, 04/05/2009
This guy is a 2 down MLB. That's all he ever played in college. He can't cover a pass. He has bust written all over him. Reminds me of Brian Bosworth who had the same type of hype. Could fall to 2nd round. People who don't spend the time evaluating players pump this guy up.
Garden Grove, ca
Posted 05:15 PM, 04/06/2009
As much downside as Rey has, it has to be step up from the swiss cheese we have now at the LB corps..
Who knows what Mankok will do next... they've traded or walked most of our offensive talent, and allowed other teams to cherry pick the few bright spots on our defense in yet another "rebuild" did we need a full makeover over last season? no, we were 10-6 and and on the brink a year ago. it was bad coaching and injuries and bad decisions and dropped passes that dropped us. now these rookie clowns come in and thrash our lineup to sign former JETS? come on give a break, I feel really bad for Browns season ticket holders forking out that cash, and having to deal with this, Im a younger generation Browns fan and even I get sick to my stomach thinking about the circus that is Eric Mangina......
