Rey MaualugaLast Updated:
April 5th, 2009
Managed By: Brett Walker 
Important LinksStats
OverviewRey already has 4 years of starting for one of the best defenses in the country. He was 1st team All Pac-10 in 2006 and 1st team in 2007. He has an absolute mean streak and brings passion and leadership onto the field.
StrengthsRey is one of the hardest hitting linebackers you'll find. He not only is a sure tackler but will hit you hard, and put fear into the opposing team's players. At 250 he has the size to take on any offensive threat including big athletic tight ends and the new bigger breed of runningback. He is so incredibly strong that at times it almost seems impossible to stop him when he pass rushes. In the Rose Bowl, a runningback was sent to block him and he ripped right through the runningback and into the quarterback in one swift motion. He is an absolute playmaker and fires up his team with his electricity and passion for the game.
WeaknessesFor all the talent he possesses, he only had 79 tackles in 2007. Has a tendency to over persue and not keep gap/lane control. Needs to wrap up better. May struggle covering the backs and athletic TEs coming out at the next level. Overall, needs to play with more discipline. On a bad defense, as he will mostly likely be on in the NFL, he will need to learn that he needs to be the first on the play as the MLB. Doesn't have the experience of doing it all like Patrick Willis had coming out of Ole Miss two years agp.
ProjectionHe immediately brings passion and respectability to whatever defense he is drafted to be on. I feel that at worse he will be Al Wilson, and at best the next Junior Seau. Had a mediocre Combine and his stock may be dropping slightly.
PRO DAY NOTE: Ran a 4.70 40. |
Member Ratings
User: 49ersfan4life2
Date/Time: 02/8/2009 - 2:51PM CST Predicted Round: Round 1 Ive watched this kid play every since he was in High School when he played for eureka high in Eureka Ca he was a force then,he continues to be a force now. This kid is fun to watch he is explosive and has knack for making big hits. Rey has everything you want in a middle linebacker he has all the physical tools you look for but needs to go back to fundamentals.The sky is the limit for him. User: BUFFALO BILL Date/Time: 02/1/2009 - 10:44AM CST Predicted Round: Round 1 one word sums it up playmaker, raiders and jags should look hard. User: coltsfan830 Date/Time: 01/22/2009 - 6:05PM CST Predicted Round: Round 1 This is one of those guys who you say: Yeah he's gonna be special User: B_rent87 Date/Time: 01/13/2009 - 3:02AM CST Predicted Round: Round 1 Rey is gonna be on Espn for a lot of big hits User: NinerFan85 Date/Time: 01/6/2009 - 1:13PM CST Predicted Round: Round 1 No Comments Submitted User: Rotak Date/Time: 11/6/2008 - 6:51AM CST Predicted Round: Round 1 Rey-Rey will be special. He's a physical specimen, we know this. He delivers hits like nobody currently in the NFL at the linebacker spot. We know this too. He's not perfect, however. He does miss a few tackles going for the bone-crushing hit, but generally wraps up. His biggest problem in this area is that even when he only have the angle to make a diving, shoestring tackle, he still tries to make the big hit. He's flawed in coverage and is overaggressive (if you watch closely, he runs high, which increases top speed but decreases change-of-direction) against the run. In the right system, these won't be big deals. He'd work extremely well in a 34 defense as an inside linebacker, and brings rare leadership and fire to a team. Deserves a top-10 pick. User: gsus8091 Date/Time: 01/16/2008 - 2:18AM CST Predicted Round: Round 1 Rey Maualuga would have been a top 15 pick and might have been picked up at number 7 from the New England Patriots in the 2008 Draft, but he has decided to stay in school for the "I want to win a National Championship" reason. With that said he is in no doubt the favorite to not only be the best MLB in the 2009 Draft but to be the best overall LB and a top 3 defensive player in the 2009 NFL Draft. Rey Maualuga's pro's are absolutely stunning. He has incrediable strength and incrediable size to go along with amazing speed for his 6'2/5 255lbs. body. Rey Maualuga's speed and explosion is far supperior than any other linebacking prospect in the 2008 Draft and the 2009 Draft. Rey's athletic ability also sets him apart from any other prospect and he has the prototype size/speed ratio that NFL scouts just drool over. Rey reminds me of another USC grad that was picked high and had the same type of athleticism and violent playing style. Rey is a Junior Seau clone. He plays the game with a violent passion, with the intent to dominant and to intimadate his opponents. He has the speed and acceleration to make up for bad angles and mis-reads. Rey Maualuga can be summed up in one word......throwback. Maualuga is a throwback to the old style of linebackers. He plays hard and hits even harder. Rey will be a fantastic pro. As for Maualuga's cons, they are fairly easy to see and just as easy to fix. Rey has only one flaw and it's experience, he relies on his athleticism a little too much which causes him to free lance a bit which sometimes puts him out of position. There are plays that you can clearly see that he took a bad angle which in turn causes him to have to make the tackle 5 or 6 yards further than he had too if he'd takent the proper angle. In the league, the good players will expose him if he does this and it will turn small gaines into big gashes. Rey Maualuga absolutely must go to a team that has a veteran LB that can take him under his wing and school him on the NFL game. He must also go to a team that has an impeccable coaching staff that can work with Rey to bring out his full potential. The Pats were in prime position in the 2008 Draft to mold Rey Maualuga into the next Seau and turn him into their future of the middle of their defense. He will still go top 10 in the 2009 Draft, but the team that selects him will have to work with him and make sure they teach him the basics of the position, because he's already ahead of the class when it comes to the things you can't teach, talent. Rey Maualuga is easily the best LB in the country and is without a doubt the one of the top defensive prospect's for the 2009 NFL Draft. Now it's just a matter of sitting back a watching him develope into even a greater player during his senior year at SC. User: thasavage1 Date/Time: 09/3/2007 - 3:51PM CDT Predicted Round: Round 1 Just think a bigger faster Lofa totupa User: Sprinkler Date/Time: 08/25/2007 - 4:31AM CDT Predicted Round: Round 1 No Comments Submitted User: TrojanJP Date/Time: 08/2/2007 - 2:41PM CDT Predicted Round: Round 1 Rey Maualuga is what Troy Polamalu would be had he been blessed with size. Perhaps no Linebacker in the nation has the physical gifts that Rey has, and because of that Rey is highly touted. Despite that, Rey does struggle sometimes on the field, with over pursuing plays, and being out of position. If he can master the mental side of the game, the first round is a lock for Rey. User: joenix Date/Time: 06/3/2007 - 3:43PM CDT Predicted Round: Round 1 No Comments Submitted User: durkin008 Date/Time: 05/24/2007 - 6:34PM CDT Predicted Round: Round 1 No Comments Submitted User: rey_mau58 Date/Time: 05/1/2007 - 10:14PM CDT Predicted Round: Round 1 this cat is aiiiiiiight...everything is gonna be allllllll goooooood...huh moriah??? :) HI REY!!! User: Tommy Trojan Date/Time: 04/30/2007 - 10:37PM CDT Predicted Round: Round 1 top 5 pick, coming into his junior year right now but after winning the 2007-2008 NC and coming in as the top LB in the nation his stock will be too high no to leave, this guy is a beast, 6-2 255lbs, runs a low 4.5, this guy is the hardest hitter i have ever seen, as soon as i saw this kid on special teams as a freshman i knew he would be special, threw a guy 5yds on and the ball another 15yds on a special teams tackle, from that point on i couldnt wait to see him on the field as a starter, and he hasn't disappointed, top 5 pick, write it down! Rate This Player |
USC's Profile for Rey Maualuga