Michael Mauti, the 6-foot-2, 220 pound linebacker from Mandeville (La.) finished his junior season with 121 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, four sacks, two interceptions. He also caught two touchdowns at tight end.
"I'm always going towards the ball," Mauti said. "I move well sideline-to-sideline and have a nose for the ball. I never stop going and play hard through all four quarters. I play hard and hit big.
"I need to work on wrapping up on tackles and not missing any tackles," he said. "I'm also working on improving my open-field tackling and technique."
Mauti benches 340 pounds, squats 420, has a 385 pound power clean and a 33-inch vertical jump.
He favors Oklahoma, Florida and Penn State and those three lead solidly over Oregon and LSU. All of his favorites have offered, except the Tigers. He also has offers from Arkansas, Mississippi, Tulane and Louisiana Tech.
Mauti grew up liking Penn State since his dad, Rich Mauti, played running back and wide receiver there. His brother, Patrick Mauti, is a walk-on wide receiver for the Nittany Lions as well. "Just because my dad went there and my brother goes there doesn't mean I will," Mauti said. "I have to choose a team for me and my brother and dad know that. My dad said he'd love for me to go to Penn State, but says that he's just happy I have so many great choices to choose from.
"I like Penn State because they are known for producing great linebackers and I went to their camp last summer and really got along well with the coaches," he said. "They are just a great big-time school."
Another school that Mauti says he's followed is LSU. "Everybody around here loves LSU," he said. "They are only about an hour away and they said that they'd check me out this spring and see if they'll offer. They said they really want to see me in person with pads and everything."
Mauti will be attending the Penn State camp at the end of June and the Florida camp on June 3. The Sooners were the first school to offer him in February. "I was just there for a visit," he said. "I left Thursday (April 26) and came back yesterday (April 28). I really liked it. Their training program really caught my eye. It's really advanced and they really prepare their players for the next level. I also like the campus because everything is really close by and not all spread out.
"I haven't been to Florida yet, but they are coming off a national championship and I'm just excited that they've offered," he said. "I think that says a lot when the national champions offer you a scholarship."
He says he plans to make his commitment before the end of summer. "I don't want to be stressing out over it during my season," Mauti said. "I want to focus on my senior year, so I'll be making my decision in August after I get a chance to visit a few more schools."
One school that Mauti would like to visit but isn't sure he'll be able to is Oregon. "I don't know that much about them," he said. "Everyone talks about how amazing their facilities are and I'd really like to go up there and see what the people are like, but I don't think I'll have time this summer."
Mauti says he'll be committing this summer and one of his main factors in his decision will be playing time. "I want to come in and make an impact," Mauti said. "I want to be a major role player.
"I plan to major in sports medicine, so they need to offer that major as well."
He reports a 3.0 core GPA and a 22 ACT.