Position Battles To Watch #5: Mauti v. Stupar

Topic: Who SHOULD and who WILL win this position battle?

5. Mauti v. Stupar for the Fritz outside linebacker position?

Pete's Take--Goodness I hope it's Sophomore Michael Mauti. I just love his athleticism and what he showed as a true freshman last year. Again, this is no knock on Nate Stupar who is a special teams beast. My concern with him would be as a linebacker he isn't attacking full steam ahead like on special teams. We don't know if he can do that. Mauti went into the game against Michigan last year and helped turn it around. That's right, with all that talent we had on defense, a true freshman went in the game and didn't play scared, he rose to the occasion. Mauti, Lee, and Bowman. WOW!!!

Greg's Response--You could not be more right, Pete. Mauti is just another in the line of great linebackers to come through Linebacker U. Just like Poz, Connor, and Lee all played significant roles and Freshmen and Sophomores, Mauti will be the starting Fritz linebacker by the Iowa game. But I still have concerns--call me crazy--that this conservative staff will find a way to make Mauti earn the job during game time against Akron, Syracuse, and Temple. This means that it's not Stupar that would start day one, play one, but someone like Bani Gbadyu or Josh Hull (who god-bless-his-heart thinks he's going to start next year even, with Lee moving inside to Hull position). But it's got to be Mauti by Iowa, or sooner.

Pete's Final Word—I have no concerns that Hull with be the starter. He will be Lee’s backup and he should be fine with that. He doesn’t have the speed to be in the middle, so I have no idea how they could try him on the outside. Mauti will be too good and he will need to get some time early to get ready for the Big Ten season. My dark horse will be Mike Yancich. He will probably take over for Bowman when he leaves after this season and I think he will show brilliant flashes in the early parts of the year. If nothing else it will hopefully make the transition smoother for next season, when it will be his time to shine.