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Michael D. Mauti (born January 19, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, and was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL draft. He also played for the New Orleans Saints.

Early life

Mauti was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He played high school football at Mandeville High School for Coach Guy LeCompte in Mandeville, Louisiana. He amassed 121 tackles, four quarterback sacks, two forced fumbles, and two interceptions returned for touchdowns his senior season. He was ranked as the No. 3 inside linebacker prospect in the nation and was among ESPN.com's Top 150 recruits, and was also a top 20 linebacker by Rivals.com. Mauti was invited to play in the 2008 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

In track & field, Mauti competed as a sprinter. At the 2007 Allstate Sugar Bowl T& Classic, he ran the 200 meters in 23.24 seconds and ran the fourth leg on the 4 × 100m squad, ending with a time of 45.96 seconds. He recorded a personal-best time of 6.93 seconds in the 55 meters at the LSU High School Qualifier and helped lead his 4 × 200m team to a twelfth-place finish with a time of 1:36.13 minutes.

College career

Mauti graduated from high school early and enrolled at Pennsylvania State University in January 2008, where he would play for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team from 2008 to 2012. His extra time with the team paid dividends, with Mauti contributing on defense and special teams right away. He was one of three true freshmen on the team to play in every game, and finished the 2008 season with 26 tackles and a forced fumble. He would make an appearance in the Nittany Lions' 2009 Rose Bowl loss, and received the team's Jim O'Hora Award, presented to the defense's most improved player during spring practice. Mauti tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during summer practice, forcing him to take a medical redshirt for the 2009 season.

Mauti was highly productive in 2010, despite battling through nagging injuries. He finished the season with 67 tackles, two sacks, and a pass breakup. He was named Big Ten Conference Co-Defensive Player-of-the-Week on November 6, recording 11 tackles against Northwestern. Mauti left the game versus Ohio State in the second quarter with a shoulder injury, and was limited for the rest of the season until playing 59 snaps versus Florida in the 2011 Outback Bowl.

Heading into the 2011 season, Mauti was poised for a breakout year. He was named to Athlon Sports' pre-season All-American team and Phil Steele's pre-season All-Big Ten teams, as well as the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Butkus Award watch lists. But Mauti again tore an anterior cruciate ligament—this time in his left knee—in Penn State's fourth game of the season against Eastern Michigan and was lost for the rest of the year.

Mauti came back for the 2012 season and during the first four games, Mauti recorded a total of forty tackles. During Week 5 against Illinois, Mauti recorded two interceptions including one which he returned 99 yards, but was stopped at the one yard line with one second to play in the half.

Despite missing the last game of the season, due to a third torn ACL, Mauti was named first-team All-Big Ten, first-team All-American, and won the Butkus-Fitzgerald Award for best Big Ten linebacker.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

Mauti was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round, 213th overall of the 2013 NFL draft. The Vikings also selected fellow Penn State linebacker Gerald Hodges in the fourth round, reuniting the teammates in the NFL. He played for the Vikings for two years, primarily on special teams, before being cut at the end of training camp in 2015.

New Orleans Saints

The Saints claimed Mauti off waivers after Minnesota released him. On October 15, 2015, in a Thursday Night Football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Mauti blocked a Matt Bosher punt and returned it for a touchdown. The block was widely compared to a famous punt block made by Saints safety Steve Gleason in a 2006 game against Atlanta, in the Saints' first home game after a year in exile in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. This was especially so because Gleason was present and received an award at the 2015 game, while Mauti himself had attended the 2006 game in person.

Mauti had been dealing with the effects of ulcerative colitis and required surgery that would require him to miss the rest of the 2016 season. He was placed on the non-football injury list on November 15, 2016.

On July 24, 2017, Mauti re-signed with the Saints on a one-year deal. He was released on September 2, 2017. He was re-signed on October 17, 2017.

On April 5, 2018, Mauti re-signed with the Saints on a one-year contract. He was released on May 16, 2018.

Personal life

Mauti is the son of Rich Mauti, who played wide receiver at Penn State in 1975 and 1976, and in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints (1977–1983) and Washington Redskins (1984). His brother Patrick was a wide receiver for the Nittany Lions from 2005 to 2009.

Mauti earned his degree in crime, law and justice from Penn State in December 2011.

References

1. ^ "Profile: #42 Michael Mauti". Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. Archived from the original on May 20, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. "Mauti and Moye Named to Athlon Sports Pre-season All-Big Ten First Team". Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. July 25, 2011. Archived from the original on May 20, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
5. "Mauti and Moye Lead 14 Nittany Lions Named to Phil Steele's Pre-season All-Big Ten Teams". Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. June 23, 2011. Archived from the original on May 20, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
6. "Mauti Named to Nagurski Trophy Watch List". Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. July 12, 2011. Archived from the original on May 20, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
7. "Mauti Named to Butkus Award Watch List". Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. July 18, 2011. Archived from the original on May 20, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
8. Norton, Dan (April 11, 2012). "Michael Mauti patient in recovery". The Daily Collegian.
9. "Big Ten Award Winners" (PDF). Big Ten Football. Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
10. "AT&T ESPN All-America Team". College Football Nation Blog – ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. December 8, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
11. "Mauti, O'Brien win national honors". BlueWhiteIllustrated.com. Stats, LLC. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
12. "Linebacker Gerald Hodges takes home Defensive Player of the Week honors". Bleacher Report. October 8, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
13. "Michael Mauti Stats, News and Video - LB". NFL.com.
14. "2013 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
15. Wilkening, Mike (April 27, 2013). "Vikings select Penn State LBs Gerald Hodges and Michael Mauti". profootballtalk.com. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
16. Krammer, Andrew (October 16, 2015). "Vikings all in on ex-teammate Michael Mauti's big block for Saints". KSTP (AM). Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
17. Lewis, Ted (September 7, 2015). "Linebacker back in New Orleans after being cut by Vikings". The Advocate. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
18. "Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints - October 15th, 2015". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
19. Schilken, Chuck (October 16, 2015). "Saints' Steve Gleason and Michael Mauti were there for each other's blocked punts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
20. Katzenstein, Josh (November 15, 2016). "Saints' Michael Mauti to have surgery for ulcerative colitis, expects to play in 2017". NOLA.com.
21. Katzenstein, Josh (November 15, 2016). "Saints place linebacker Michael Mauti on non-football injury list". NOLA.com.
22. Katzenstein, Josh (July 24, 2017). "Michael Mauti re-signs with Saints on one-year deal after offseason surgeries". NOLA.com.
23. "New Orleans Saints make 37 roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017.
24. Erickson, Joel (October 17, 2017). "Saints bring back former special teams captain Michael Mauti". TheAdvocate.com.
25. Williams, Charean (April 5, 2018). "Saints re-sign Michael Mauti". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com.
26. Gantt, Darin (May 16, 2018). "Saints release linebacker Michael Mauti". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com.
27. Derry, Jim (September 22, 2011). "Former Mandeville standout Michael Mauti continues tradition at Penn State". The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
28. McGuire, Kevin (December 18, 2011). "Penn State Football: 7 Players the Nittany Lions Will Miss the Most". Bleacher Report.

External links

• Career statistics from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference
• Penn State bio

• 1990 births
• Living people
• People from Mandeville, Louisiana
• Sportspeople from St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
• Players of American football from Louisiana
• American football linebackers
• Penn State Nittany Lions football players
• Minnesota Vikings players
• New Orleans Saints players
• People with ulcerative colitis