Rose Bowl Preview - A Look at Rey Maualuga

by BSD on Dec 23, 2008 8:00 AM EST in Game Previews Comment 38 comments

Feel me?

Every good defense has a player that serves as an emotional leader. They are the heart and soul. They play every down as if the entire universe depends on them making a stop. When they are injured or not playing well the entire defense looks lifeless. But when they are on they elevate the play of those around them. For USC, linebacker Rey Maualuga is that player.

Rey Maualuga was born in Oklahoma to American Samoan parents. Shortly after his birth his family moved to Hawaii. Maualuga started playing football in the sixth grade because he thought it was cool how the older kids carried their pads to school with them. Unfortunately for Penn State, the older kids didn't carry chess boards to school. Otherwise he might have started some kind of underground violent chess club or something.

Chess Club (via saveanalog)

When he got older his parents moved to California where Maualuga decided he did not want to become a farmer.

In Eureka, where his father practiced a Pentecostal ministry, he was again an outsider.

"I grew up in the city, and all of a sudden I was in the country," he says. "I drove by a bunch of cows and horses and said, 'What am I doing out here?

Amazingly, Maualuga did not list Penn State among his favorite schools during the recruiting process.

Maualuga is a three year starter that has had a fantastic career at USC.

Rey Maualuga	Tackles					Sacks		Interceptions
	Solo	Ast	Total	TFL	TFL Yds	Sacks	Yds	Int	Yds	IntTD
2006	46	32	78	5	17	2	8	1	0	0
2007	41	38	79	10.5	40	6	32	1	19	0
2008	45	28	73	2.5	11	0	0	2	48	1

Maualuga had no shortage of hardware in 2008 bringing home the ~~Best Penn State Linebacker~~ Bednarik Award as well as First Team All American honors. He was also named to the All PAC-10 team and singled out as the PAC-10 Defensive Player of the Year.

Now please enjoy this youtube highlight film showing the same six plays over and over from different angles to give the impression that he can dominate a game.

Ray Maualuga #58 USC (via thebutkusaward)

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Comments

The number of tackles

certainly don’t jump out at you (they’d be middling stats at PSU), but that’s probably more a reflection of the type of defense they play, or other team’s offensive tendencies.

Hella playa, though.

'People are about as happy as they decide they want to be'

by Pete the Streak on Dec 23, 2008 8:10 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

That's what I noticed too

I’m sure he’s a great player, so I don’t mean to disrespect him by saying that there are probably 10 or 20 other similar players across the country with similar stats that don’t get noticed because they don’t play at USC. He looks fast, and I know he hits like a truck, but he’s a linebacker…he’s supposed to. He doesn’t seem like a guy to gameplan around. Am I way off?

by jimbo2psu on Dec 23, 2008 8:49 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Taylor Mays is the guy you gameplan around

I think he’s the best player on USC and the best pro prospect currently playing in all of college football. The guy is simply a freak of nature.

Do I know what rhetorical means?

by NLseattle on Dec 24, 2008 4:12 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

injured

he missed sometime this season. But USC fans will say that he doesn’t have a lot of tackles because there are so many “athletic freaks” on the defense that guys across the field will make tackles instead of just one guy at PSU….

PSU Softball

by QBsneak12 on Dec 23, 2008 10:20 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Side note

See the bicep bands of the tacklee? Ever wonder where they came from?

Yes – good old PSU. Can’t link the article, but here’s a screen shot – it was in the recent Nittany Lion Newsletter.

Penn State – where good things begin;

'People are about as happy as they decide they want to be'

by Pete the Streak on Dec 23, 2008 8:19 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Actually, the tacklee in the top pic is wearing calf bands.

Same origin.

'People are about as happy as they decide they want to be'

by Pete the Streak on Dec 23, 2008 8:20 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

my two favorite parts about that article

1. the equipment manager saying how they have little to no effect and are now basically decoration (though i doubt they realized how ineffective they were when first trying them)
2. how the miami equipment manager called up nike complaining how his players we’re jealous that psu players had something they didn’t

by The JuggerNitt on Dec 23, 2008 9:48 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Just read about the Bicep Bands in the NLC newsletter...

Pretty cool that PSU players started this trend. In 2001 PSU players started cutting up wristbands so they fit around upper arms and around knees to keep sweat contained, then they just decided they looked cool. When PSU played Miami, the Canes players took notice. They being a Nike school as well got on the batphone and rang the sneaker gods in Oregon complaining that PSU has Nike stuff they don’t – what gives. Alas, the sneaker god admitted they had nothing to do with the new bands.

The only question now is – are they paying royalties to the inventors??

pinkertonpark.com - you owe yerself a laugh.

by rahpsu92 on Dec 23, 2008 10:15 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

DC

it should be required for players to have DC size arms to wear the bands

PSU Softball

by QBsneak12 on Dec 23, 2008 10:21 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He is an excellent LB, wonder what will happen if he is matched or should I say mismatched w/ Zug?

by SweepTheLeg on Dec 23, 2008 9:21 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

This is probably media driven...

But this is my biggest fear. That Maualuga, Cushing, Mays, etc. will be flying all over the field and knocking Clark on his ass all day, and we’ll just end up in the same category as Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio State. I can handle losing to USC in a tough, close game, but just not like that.

by speedomike on Dec 23, 2008 9:32 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

My biggest concern

Maualuga and the rest of the LB’s and safeties cannonballing through the occassionally soft center of our line, down after down, wreaking havoc on Clark.

by Cairo on Dec 23, 2008 9:58 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Soft Center?

Do we not have the best center in the nation weighing down the line? Guys, this USC defense is probably top three in the nation, but keep in mind that it’s real easy to look great against teams such as Washington, WSU, etc… Our line is one of the best in the country. Yes, there has been some trouble here and there this year, but I don’t understand the panic.

by Bstoner52 on Dec 23, 2008 10:03 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Nougaty goodness?

For some, the sky will always be falling.

There is a tractor in the parking lot, West Virginia license EIEIO. Your lights are on.

by leeharvey418 on Dec 23, 2008 10:07 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Further explanation.

My biggest concern is pressure up the middle and in the face of Clark. While I love him and he’s good he has shown terrible pocket presence at times. Also, our O-Line is phenomenal ON THE MOVE but they can get blown back into a collapsing pocket. They’re also not big. I fear a lot of blitzing of their LBs, like cannonballs into our line just to create disruption. If I can see it on film, surely they can. This also plays into USC’s strengths, which is simply being bigger, stronger, and more physical than the other guy.

by Cairo on Dec 23, 2008 10:35 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah...

I don’t get where you’re getting that we have a “soft center”. If anything, I feel like we should pound right at them with Royster, AQ and Wiz. The thing that makes me feel a lot better is that USC hasn’t faced a ground game like ours all year.

The stats are interesting for Maualuga. His total tackles are pretty similar to last year, but his TFL and sacks went way down.

by speedomike on Dec 23, 2008 10:35 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Hmm

The best ground game they faced all year was Oregon State. And, well, you know.

Throw it to Zug!

by ReadingRambler on Dec 23, 2008 10:45 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Uhhhhh no....

Incorrect. Statistically the best running attack SC faced all season was Oregon. Oregon is ranked 4th in the nation in rushing offense. Penn state is 15th. Kind of hard to say definitively that SC has not faced a ground game like Penn state this year.

by RCollier27 on Dec 23, 2008 4:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

When SC faced them

Oregon was down to their 3rd-string QB. They led in the 1st quarter, but once USC committed defensively to the run the Ducks were done.

114 yards in penalties on the Trojans.

by Cairo on Dec 23, 2008 5:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Why?

Admittedly, I’m not all that familiar with USC’s D-line, but the fact that he has zero sacks this year says that he’s probably not used all that much in the pass rush. As Pete said above, it may be that this is just a product of the type of defense USC generally runs; but it also could be because he’s prone to over-pursue and therefore not used by their DC for pass rushing.

There is a tractor in the parking lot, West Virginia license EIEIO. Your lights are on.

by leeharvey418 on Dec 23, 2008 10:05 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

A valid concern

Iowa’s interior defense made our interior line look silly. It’s a legitimate concern. But it can be countered. The coaches need to be creative in rolling the pocket to the outside to get Clark in free space where he can look down field. It will slow down the pass rushers and force the linebackers to guess whether he’s going to run or throw. Get Clark in the open and give him options and we’ll be ok.

They should also open the game with a screen pass or two. We always seem to keep them in our back pocket until the pass rush gets to be more than we can handle. Why not open the game with one to slow down the pass rushers right off the bat? Give the defense something to think about rather than let them dictate what you do.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

by BSD on Dec 23, 2008 10:57 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Let's hope we see the early season Clark

The guy who wasn’t afraid to tuck the ball and run.
It seemed as the season went on, he was more concerned about proving he was a good passer. Or maybe he was just never completely over (mentally and physically) the effects of the concussion.

by NJ lion on Dec 23, 2008 11:03 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Or maybe...

He, Jay, Joe, Galen, and everybody who ever cared one whit about Penn State Football were so gunshy after watching the scramble-fumble-repeat routine by TQBWMNBN the last two years that the QB scramble has been coached out of existence.

There is a tractor in the parking lot, West Virginia license EIEIO. Your lights are on.

by leeharvey418 on Dec 23, 2008 11:11 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Tuck the Ball and Run

OMG, if only. Did anyone read that MRob interview over at BWI, where he characterized himself as a ‘runner, who could pass’ while Clark sees himself as a ‘passer, who can run’

I’m picturing similar defensive pressure to Mitch King and Matt Kroul, and to Thad Gibson & Cam Heyward. Both those defenses took us way outta our rhythm.

pax et amor

by jtothep on Dec 23, 2008 11:33 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Dont forget

We have no experienced back-up QB unless you count DWill. We do have Cianciolo who should have a great understanding of the game but obviously does not have the athletic ability of Clark. I fear that we may play conservative to protect Clark but have doubts about our ability to win if we fall into that trap.

by Rockin on Dec 23, 2008 1:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I must add.

I’m not saying that Clark and the Oline can’t handle USC’s defense. Far from it. I’ve posted several times the outliers that makes USC’s defense appear otherworldly when it’s actually comparable to PSU’s defense. It’s just a concern that could lead to an untimely turnover.

Keep in mind we had Clark in with a concussion against an underrated team with a Top 10 defense in blowing cold and still almost pulled out a win. He also had no problem with the defenses of Ohio State and Wisconsin. I think the conditions will be far more ideal in Pasadena.

by Cairo on Dec 23, 2008 12:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I see your point...

I think the screen is vital. It’s been a key play for this program for years, and for some reason they tend to shy away from it. Royster (and of course Green), have shown what they can do in the open field. And they need to get Clark rollin out of the pocket…

by Bstoner52 on Dec 23, 2008 2:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Is it me . . .

Or does Clark never seem to throw the ball on the run? I feel like he scrambeles like he’s going to bootleg out and then he finds a spot to stop and plant his feet. I think its worked for the most part this year, but he’s taken some pretty descent hits for doing it. I wonder if he doesnt feel comfortable throwing on the run?

by TITCUS on Dec 23, 2008 11:14 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

at wisky he did

he threw a laser on the run (to the left no less) on a 3rd and 21 in the 3rd quarter. He can, i dont’ know if he’s been coached out of it or not, but he’s got the arm to do it.

by millzners on Dec 23, 2008 1:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I thought of the same play.

One of the underrated highlights of the season was Clark’s ability to convert 3rd & long.

by Cairo on Dec 23, 2008 4:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It seemed like 3rd and long was never a real concern with Clark

I don’t know if the stats show that or not, but I never felt too nervous in those situations.
Let’s hope that continues for the Rose Bowl

by NJ lion on Dec 23, 2008 8:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I kind of like that

I like that he plants his feet and throws. I would prefer he gather himself and show good mechanics than throw a ball off his back foot that floats down the middle and gets intercepted. I think he’s comfortable throwing on the run if he has to.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

by BSD on Dec 23, 2008 2:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Penn State wants local kid

Check this out: www.nittanynetwork.com

All free recruiting stuff ….

by Nittany Network on Dec 23, 2008 11:16 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Now that's funny!

Somebody actually has the balls to put the phrases ‘An Official ESPN Affilliate’ and ‘Independent & Free’ in the same banner.

I just found a new picture to put beside ‘irony’ in the dictionary.

There is a tractor in the parking lot, West Virginia license EIEIO. Your lights are on.

by leeharvey418 on Dec 23, 2008 11:19 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

How 'bout it

These guys actually approached me a few months ago trying to lure me over to run that site. Having now seen the finished product I’m glad I stopped responding to the guy’s repeated emails. I can’t believe ESPN would sanction something so crappy looking.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

by BSD on Dec 23, 2008 11:32 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Fascinating

Wow. {shaking head}. Way to fend off the sellout, Mike!

pax et amor

by jtothep on Dec 23, 2008 11:35 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No brainer for me

This is easily the best platform out there for blogging about Penn State. I’m surprised they lured Jeff Rice there. The Centre Daily Times must not be paying very well.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

by BSD on Dec 23, 2008 11:41 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs