Recruiting: Maty Mauk Evaluation

Especially in a spread offense, the most important player to a football team is their quarterback. He always has the ball in his hands, and needs to be able to make things happen. Here’s my take on the Tigers’ next quarterback recruit, both his strengths and weaknesses.

Mauk is a very talented, albeit unpolished prospect.

He seems to be an extremely tough kid, both mentally and physically. In the offense he runs, he has the ball in his hands basically 100% of the time, as his high school, Kenton High in Ohio, generally runs the shotgun-5 receiver look, meaning he is the primary runner as well as thrower. He takes hits well, and even when he makes a mistake, he has the mental capacity to shrug it off and keep making plays.

On first glance, his interception total looks alarmingly high, as he does have 13 this year. But take a look at his overall stat line this year: 355-516 (6.88 completion %) 4,992 yards 63 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, with one game left to play. His production is what sets him apart from other prospects. Mauk holds the national record for career passing yards and touchdowns.

His running ability is outstanding, also. This year, on 219 carries, he has rushed for 1,718 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Despite all his positives, Mauk still has a lot of room to grow. He needs to get more consistent footwork in the pocket, and he often makes throws off of his back foot, which can lead to some accuracy issues down the line. He also has a small hitch in his delivery that could be exposed at the SEC level of play, and also holds the football too low (a la Tim Tebow). The biggest issue I have found while watching his tape is that he often leaves the pocket way too early, even when the pass protection is solid.

An underrated aspect of his game, though, is his intangibles. He seems to be a very smart and hard-working quarterback who flat-out wins games. He’s taken his team to the state championship game, which will be played on Saturday. His high school GPA is a very respectable 3.50.

“He has typically always been the fastest and most athletic player in addition to being very smart and competitive,” said Chip Otten, coach of Kenton’s rival high school, “He has the whole package.”

Mauk was recently named Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Ohio. Other notable winners of that award? Maurice Clarett and Ben Mauk (Maty’s brother).