Maty Mauk, who was 17-5 as a starter for the Missouri Tigers, gets set to throw a pass during his Pro Day on Monday at Eastern Kentucky in Richmond. Mauk's hope and dream is to keep throwing passes for a team in the NFL.

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Loeffler's Link

April 20, 2017

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. --- Maty Mauk ... remember him?

The guy who has his own chapter in Missouri's book of It was the best of times, it was the worst of times?

Well, in case you were wondering, he's doing just fine, thanks. And he's still chasing the dream --- a dream he's had since he was 6 years-old, if not longer.

"I remember like it was yesterday," Mauk said, "sitting in first grade in Miss Franklin's class and she asks --- 'What do you want to be when you're older?' Everybody is putting down what they want to be and I put: 'Play in the NFL.'

"It's always been my dream."

And still is. Don't laugh --- this isn't like selling ice to an Eskimo or a bag of sand to an Iraqi, this could happen.

Have you watched an NFL game in recent years? We're not talking about games involving Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady. There are a lot of really lousy quarterbacks out there and Mauk --- if nothing else --- has proven he can be a lot better than lousy.

"Teams need quarterbacks right now, so I think it's the perfect opportunity," Mauk said. "I just want a chance with somebody, because I really feel like I can open some eyes and let them see what I'm capable of doing."

Mauk sat down for a one-on-one conversation Tuesday at his current place of employment in Jefferson City, with Reid Millard and Millard Family Chapels. The two have been friends for many years, ties that go back to Millard's roots in Ohio where Mauk also grew up.

This looks to be a short stop in the road for Mauk, 23, who's living in Columbia.  If his dream of landing a job in pro football doesn't pan out, he's hoping to open a Multi-Sport Academy in Central Missouri, which would be the first of its kind in the Midwest.

That, however, can wait.

"If somebody takes a chance on me, that's what I want," he said. "But if not, I'm going to understand that. I'm not going to sit there and dwell on it and let that hurt me and affect me in a negative way. I'll move on to the next stage in my life --- but I'll be waiting on a call if they need me."

The sturdy 6-foot, 205-pound Mauk has been working with former NFL quarterback Jay Fiedler, who's helped Mauk "clean up some footwork and a few other things."

Mauk held his own Pro Day at Eastern Kentucky on Monday, and the video is being sent out to scouts in both the NFL and CFL. He said there are already "eight or nine teams" in the NFL who have expressed interest and want copies.

This weekend, he's going to Florida for a CFL mini-camp.

"That will kind of get me back on my feet, throwing to some top-notch athletes," Mauk said.

IF YOU MEET MAUK THESE DAYS, there are two things you'll take away from the visit.

* First, he looks better than ever, physically. Not just in person, but you can see it on the field --- we watched his Pro Day video as we talked.

"You can see the ball coming out of my hand better than it ever has," Mauk said. "I'm throwing the ball downfield, 60 or 70 yards on a line. I just feel good, and I'm still probably not a 100 percent, it's probably 85 or 90 percent. I don't have the full range of motion I want, yet.

"But I'm ready to play."

Being healthy hasn't always been the case, starting with his playing days with the Tigers.

"I was taking one shot (of painkillers) a game, probably two, just so I could get through games," he said.

Both shoulders were in bad shape, especially his left shoulder. Last year --- and during his final year of college football at Eastern Kentucky, where he also suffered a concussion --- he finally had season-ending reconstructive surgery on his left shoulder after only two games.

Even though he was playing in pain at Mizzou, Mauk was 17-5 as a starter and helped the Tigers win back-to-back SEC East championships.

You'd take that now, wouldn't you?

"There were ups, there were downs," Mauk said. "But when I look back on it, there's one thing they can't take away --- I was a winner. When the game was on the line, that's where the stats come in. If you look at my fourth quarter stats, they're at the top --- I knew how to close games out."

* Second, Mauk --- who's earned his degree in general studies from MU --- seems better than ever, mentally. And that's just as important, if not more so, than the shape of his physical skills.

"I just want people to know where I'm at, where I've been and how far I've come to get to where I'm at --- really get to know me, not just what people put out there," he said. "Because if you really know me, I'm all about people and kids and wanting to give back. Let me show you how far I've come and what I can do on and off the field."

Mauk was swept up in the mess and collapse of the football program in the Fall of 2015, which included his own suspension, a hunger strike by a student, a strike by the team, and resignations of the school's president, chancellor and head football coach.

"It was just a bad time," Mauk said. "There was a lot going on at the university, coaching changes, protests, all that stuff, and I'm right there in the middle. For me, I kind of knew it was coming to an end before it did. We started off hot (3-0), then stuff happened and the season went down the drain (finished 5-7).

"But I'm a believer that everything happens for a reason. There was a lot going on in my life (including his father's battle with cancer) --- that was really hard on me, fighting through that and wanting to win for him.

"It was just something I had to overcome."

He's lived and he's learned --- and he's realized he was surrounded by the wrong people at the right time to take him down the wrong road.

"The main thing is --- and I'd tell this to any athlete going into college --- you've got to surround yourself with people who want you to be successful, and not just use you for getting what they want," Mauk said.

"Instead of: 'Hey, let's go out to this bar, let's go to this party, let's do all that.' In my mind, if they're going ask you to do that but not ask you to go to church on Sunday, I'm not going to surround myself with those people."

He knew some of his choices weren't the best.

"I think it's something everybody knows, but it happens so fast," Mauk continued. "You get yourself into situations and it's like, 'Wow, how do I get out of this?' Then, I'm going to leave and people start saying stuff you don't want to hear ... you don't want to make them upset with you, but being there with them is going to hurt me, hurt my reputation, and not put me where I want to be.

"Luckily, I was blessed to meet the girl I'm going to marry (they're getting married in June) and I started spending most of my time with her, going to her parents' house or my parents' house on weekends. I'd rather have one person who wants me to be successful and wants to see me happy, versus people you hang out with who are going to lead you in the wrong direction."

MAUK'S NOT THE SAME PERSON who endured those dark days at Mizzou. If he were, playing at the next level would be a far-fetched idea, at best.

Not anymore. The NFL Draft is coming up next week and while Mauk is a long-shot to be selected, he's a good bet to get his chance as a free agent.

That's all he wants.

"Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks, I'll find out what I'll be doing for the next few years," Mauk said. "There are a lot of teams that need quarterbacks and I feel I'm up there with the best. I've grown up in a football family, I have a high football IQ, I know how to read defenses, I know what they're doing and how they disguise stuff ... I know everything they can do and where I'm going to go with the ball.

"I know there are questions about stuff off the field, but that's something I'm ready to prove --- I'm open to talking about it and letting them know I'm not in the same place I was. I've never been as strong, and physically and mentally ready as I am right now. Nothing's going to phase me now, people can say and do what they want --- I've separated myself from everybody else.

"It's just a matter of a team giving me a chance."

Here's hoping he gets it.

Former MU QB Mauk still chasing
his dream of playing in the NFL