Mauti, other newcomers will be challenged at Penn State

Associated Press

STATE COLLEGE, Pa.

The front-runner to be Penn State’s next top linebacker had a pensive look as he watched his teammates go through a grueling workout.

Michael Mauti’s brown hair crept out from beneath the cap turned backward on his head, and his arms were crossed in front of his heavily muscled chest. A bystander remarked that Mauti looked a lot like one of Linebacker U’s most famous graduates, the stoic Paul Posluszny.

Quite a compliment for a sophomore who hasn’t played a down since the 2008 season because of a knee injury.

“I don’t really look it as pressure,” Mauti said recently about the high expectations for him. “A lot of people say the word ’potential.’ To me, that’s just a word that means you haven’t done anything yet.”

It’s time to reload at linebacker for Penn State. Last year’s standout starting trio of Sean Lee, Navorro Bowman and Josh Hull have all departed Happy Valley after being selected in the NFL draft.

Enter Mauti, Bani Gbadyu, Nathan Stupar and a host of other young players or career backups expected to play bigger roles in 2010. What coach Joe Paterno loses in experience at linebacker, he makes up for with promising depth.

“It’s going to be real good competition. We have a lot of great linebackers here so ... we just to go out there every day at camp and fight, just fight every day,” said sophomore Gerald Hodges, a former safety moved to linebacker his freshman season. He just might be in the running for a starting job, too.

Camp opens in less than three weeks, and for Mauti, that first day of pads can’t come soon enough. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during training camp last August, forcing him to redshirt in 2009.

Paterno had held Mauti in such high regard last year that Mauti was in the running to supplant Hull in the starting lineup until the injury. Mauti feels like he’s back to normal, and that he can go full speed with the rest of the defense in camp — though the medical staff is still moving cautiously with his activities, like preventing him from taking part in the player-organized charity weightlifting event two weeks ago.

So, just like for the spring football game, Mauti is left to watch from the sideline for now. Other than that restriction, Mauti said he’s preparing this offseason just like he would any other offseason.

Team trainers are familiar with this routine — Lee went through the same scrutiny a year ago in rebounding from his own ACL tear in his right knee

“I’m sure in camp when we do the long scrimmages, just like we did with Sean [Lee], they might sit me out for a couple plays,” Mauti said. “But as far as the games, I don’t foresee any restrictions.”

It’s unclear just where Mauti fits in. He’s played all three linebacking spots, is studying up on all three positions for the fall.

Senior Chris Colasanti, last year’s backup to Hull, appears to be the front-runner in the middle for now.

Gbadyu, another senior, offers speed on the outside, while hometown favorite Stupar — a State College native — has played well his first two seasons on special teams and as a defensive reserve.

Hodges came to Happy Valley last year from Paulsboro, N.J., with a reputation as a hard-hitting safety, so he might be suited to the coverage responsibilities afforded to Penn State ’backers.