HOOVER, Ala. — After two days of zero star power, it has come to this: the undersized quarterback in the bowtie just shook up SEC Media Days.
Maty Mauk, Missouri’s sophomore quarterback, says he can be like Johnny. That’s right, another talented, charismatic blur of beauty seizing the moment every fall Saturday.
“He could turn anything into a big play,” Mauk said of the college football supernova Johnny Manziel. “I feel like I have the ability to do similar things.”
Only this time, without all the baggage.
Here’s a guy who wasn’t recruited by the Power 5 heavyweights because he didn’t fit the mold. And a guy who, when he arrived at Missouri, was more like Manziel than you think.
He was arrested during his redshirt season for leaving the scene of an accident, when a scooter he was driving — with two women on board — made contact with two cars, and after he eluded police. A moment only Bobby Petrino could love.
But know this about Mauk: he’s enormously talented, even if he’s only 5-11 and maybe 200 pounds soaking wet. In fact, he says he lost about 8-9 pounds recently because of a viral infection.
“I’m fine, really,” Mauk said. “The main thing is, I feel fast.”
And that’s where the Manziel comparisons, in a perfect world, will begin and end. Mauk went 3-1 as a starter last season when James Franklin was injured and showed flashes of Manziel-type ability.
He had 10 TDs and 2 INTs in those four games, and only lost the South Carolina game after the Missouri defense couldn’t protect a 17-point fourth-quarter lead. He was the dual threat quarterback — he rushed for 114 yards in a win over Tennessee — the Tigers thought they had all along with Franklin.
Now it’s his job, his time to grow into a leader and, by his own admission and ambition, into a star. He was invited to the Manning Passing Academy (didn’t get sent home like You Know Who), and says mechanics and nuances he learned from Peyton and Eli Manning will help him this fall.
He says he rushed too much last year as a thrower, got too aggressive and didn’t let routes develop for another second or two. That’s why he completed just over 50 percent of his passes.
Changing that number is all part of the process of becoming an elite player, of moving his game more toward what Manziel accomplished on the field.
“He’s a winner,” said Missouri coach Gary Pinkel. “Players know it. He’s a remarkable competitor. That’s why he did so well last year when we threw him in there as a freshman. There’s a reason guys are like that.”
There’s a reason Mauk didn’t play last year like a typical freshman; why the Missouri offense didn’t even hiccup when Franklin went down. This is what happens when your older brother was a successful college quarterback, and a mentor who has seen every possible scenario and knows every possible outcome.
Ben Mauk spent six seasons in college football, playing through numerous injuries and finally leading Cincinnati in 2007 to its first 10-win season since 1951. A legendary high school quarterback in Ohio, Ben never got the chance to make the most of his college career.
That’s why Maty making the most of his is so important.
“When I go home, all we do is talk football,” Maty said. “He has gotten me where I am now. I can ask him anything, and there’s a good chance he knows what I need to do. He wants me to be great; he expects big things from me.”
That’s why Maty began SEC Media Days saying he thinks he can be like Manziel. He already has had success in the league; he already knows what it takes to win games on the road.
The last thing he needs is the one area where Manziel, despite his off-field antics, was flawless: leadership. What better way to make that happen than embracing a southern tradition: beards and mullets.
Yep, the Missouri players have decided to bond together and grow beards and mullets this season. Who knows how long it will last? For that matter, who cares?
The point is camaraderie and chemistry and those unique intangibles that make good teams great. And good players great.
“I have big expectations for this team and myself,” Mauck said. “You can’t be afraid to embrace that.”
Baggage and all.