Mauck Is the Secret Behind LSU

Matt Mauck has gone from baseball to football, backup to team leader, all with little fanfare.

The LSU quarterback gets little attention compared to the stars he’s played against. But going into tonight’s Sugar Bowl, he’s become known for beating them.

Mauck put together one of the best seasons ever for a Tiger quarterback. He passed for a school-record 28 touchdowns and 2,701 yards in leading LSU to a school-record 12 victories, the No. 2 ranking and a berth in the BCS title game against No. 3 Oklahoma.

Mauck led the Southeastern Conference in pass efficiency, completing 216 of 336 pass attempts, with just 12 interceptions. LSU is 17-2 with Mauck as the starting quarterback.

“He’s a big part of the reason we’re 12-1 right now,” said offensive lineman Rodney Reed. “Matt wins games for us.”

Mauck was recruited by Coach Nick Saban when Saban was at Michigan State. He decided he’d rather play baseball, however, and signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs. After three seasons -- two at third base and one at catcher -- Mauck again thought about college football.

Saban, who was at LSU by that time, still wanted Mauck.

When Mauck arrived, LSU had three quarterbacks who would play in the NFL: Josh Booty, Craig Nall and Rohan Davey. Mauck was at the bottom of the lineup as a redshirt freshman in 2000.

“It was hard at first,” Mauck said of both his return to college at an age most students were graduating, and of his place on the football team.

In 2001, Mauck came off the bench to replace an injured Davey and rally LSU from a 10-point deficit to a 31-20 victory over Tennessee for the SEC championship.

Mauck won the starting job the next season, but was sidelined when he tore ligaments in his foot midway through the year.

“It was extremely painful,” Mauck said. “I think the hardest thing was just being off your feet for that long. It’s really tough being on crutches. It’s really hard, not knowing. You hear a lot of people weren’t able to come back and play again, so it was real tough.”

The hours Mauck spends watching film, studying and practicing, has made him into a top quarterback, according to offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth.

“He’s always had the talent and the work ethic, and now he’s a little more comfortable on the field because he’s got so much knowledge,” Whitworth said. “Once he realized how much he knew about this game, little things he can read on the field, I think it helped him out with his confidence.”