Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Good morning Tiger fans, as you’ve probably already heard, James Franklin is likely out for the rest of the regular season after going down in the win against Georgia with a separated shoulder. The Tigers will be relying on redshirt freshman Maty Mauk to lead them to an SEC East title. Maty Mauk redshirted last season, and then won the backup role in spring camp this year over Corbin Berkstresser. Tiger fans everywhere are admittedly very nervous for Mauk going against the stout Florida defense, but Maty is no slouch.
Mauk holds several NATIONAL high school passing records, in passing yards, passing touchdowns, completions, and total offensive yards. Somehow, Mauk was only ranked the 16th best QB in his recruiting class. Mauk has a laser arm and a lightning quick release, things that injured QB James Franklin did not have. Whereas Mauk, at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, does have the ability to escape the pocket if necessary, he doesn’t have the big play ability with his legs that Franklin did.
Will Mauk be able to come in with a week of preparation and take down a solid defensive team in Florida? And then a week after that take down an excellent South Carolina team with star defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney? Nobody knows, but you would have to think, with the skill set that Maty Mauk has, and the receiving corps around him, that he should be able to make some big plays once he gets comfortable.
Maty Mauk National High School Passing Records:
Passing Yards-18,929
Passing TD’s-219
Completions-1,336
Total Offensive Yards-22,036
In my opinion, Maty Mauk and Missouri take down Florida next week, and then most likely with College Gameday in town, Missouri falls to Clowney and the Gamecocks. Mizzou will then win their next three against Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ole Miss, but lose the final game of the regular season to Johnny Manziel and the Texas A&M Aggies.