Bengals’ Maualuga shares own hard knocks story
Cincinnati Bengals09/13/2009 11:55 AM The Dayton Daily News reports when the Cincinnati Bengals selected USC linebacker Rey Maualuga in the second-round of the 2009 draft, football enthusiasts knew it was only a matter of time before he cracked the starting lineup. The coaching staff made it official on Monday, Sept. 7, naming the rookie as the team’s starting strongside linebacker. Maualuga beat out veteran Rashad Jeanty, who started 31 games over the last three seasons. Maualuga spent most of Tuesday meeting with coaches and watching extra film in preparation for his debut Sunday in the season opener against Denver. “I’m trying to be a vocal leader as well as leading by example,” Maualuga said in a recent interview. “I want to go out there, make plays and get the tempo going because that’s what I do best. I want to make it seem like I’m having a good time out there. You need two or three guys on the defensive side of the ball to step up and everyone can feed off that. I think I can do that.” According to the linebacker, training camp helped him progress and was everything he envisioned. Maualuga said when he saw the speed of the game in the first preseason game he knew there was no room for error. Read more