Cincinnati Bengals 2009 Media Guide.indb - Bengals Home
Cincinnati Bengals 2009 Media Guide.indb - Bengals Home
Cincinnati Bengals 2009 Media Guide.indb - Bengals Home
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STADIUM , NFL & MEDIA RECORDS HISTORY 2008 REVIEW COLLEGE FREE AGENTS <strong>2009</strong> DRAFT CHOICES VETERANS ROSTERS STAFF<br />
(Andre Smith, cont'd)<br />
HIGH SCHOOL: Was the consensus top-rated offensive<br />
lineman in the nation as a senior at Huffman HS<br />
in Birmingham, Ala. … First-team All-America choice<br />
by USA Today …Two-time all-state selection … As a<br />
REY MAUALUGA<br />
58<br />
Linebacker Offensive Tackle<br />
Draft Round: 2nd<br />
Overall Selection: 38th<br />
College: Southern California<br />
Widely rated as one of the major steals in the <strong>2009</strong><br />
draft, Maualuga is a second-round choice with high<br />
promise for first-round results … Carries a reputation as<br />
one of the hardest hitters the college game has seen, and<br />
he covers the fi eld with great quickness … Three-year<br />
USC starter who helped lead Trojans to a 46-6 record<br />
over his four seasons … Consensus All-American as<br />
a senior last season, he was leading tackler on a unit<br />
that led the nation in scoring defense (9.0 per game)<br />
and fi nished second in fewest yards allowed (221.8)<br />
… Won 2008 Bednarik Award as nation’s top defensive<br />
player and was named National Defensive Player of the<br />
Year by CBSSports.com.<br />
COACH MARVIN LEWIS SAYS: “You could see<br />
by the smiles on draft day that we were very excited<br />
to have picked Rey. He has made a lot of plays at the<br />
highest level and has a great nose for the ball. He’s an<br />
excellent blitzer, has played in space, and he can run<br />
with the skilled positions.”<br />
COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: CAREER—Played 50<br />
games with 34 starts over four seasons (2005-08) at<br />
USC … Named a freshman All-American in ’05, and was<br />
first-team All-Pac 10 in his fi nal three seasons, topped by<br />
consensus All-America honors as a senior… Posted 273<br />
career tackles, with nine sacks and 22.5 tackles-for-loss.<br />
2008—Played and started 12 games at MLB, missing<br />
Game 4 vs. Oregon due to knee sprain … Led team in tackles<br />
(79), matching his total of the previous year … Named<br />
Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts against<br />
Ohio State and UCLA, and his Ohio State performance<br />
included 48-yard INT return for a TD. 2007—Earned<br />
All-America honorable mention as Trojans went 11-2,<br />
leading team with 79 tackles … Logged 10.5 tackles-forloss<br />
and six sacks … Named game’s Defensive MVP in<br />
Rose Bowl win over Illinois, contributing three sacks and a<br />
19-yard INT. 2006—Played 13 games with 10 starts as a<br />
sophomore, posting 78 tackles to rank second on team …<br />
senior in 2005, became the only OL ever to win the state<br />
of Alabama’s “Mr. Football” award, voted by Alabama<br />
Sports Writers Association.<br />
PERSONAL: <strong>Home</strong>town is Birmingham, Ala. …<br />
General studies major at Alabama.<br />
Height: 6-2<br />
Weight: 255<br />
Born: 1-20-87<br />
Consensus All-Pac 10 first-team choice … Semifinalist<br />
for Butkus Award (nation’s top LB). 2005—Played as<br />
a reserve MLB behind Oscar Lua, but was a Freshman<br />
All-America first-team selection by Football Writers<br />
Association … Won USC’s John McKay Award, given to<br />
the Trojan showing the most competitive spirit … Helped<br />
lead Trojans to 12-0 record before loss to Texas in national<br />
championship game … Forced two fumbles that set up<br />
touchdowns in win over archrival UCLA.<br />
WHEN HE HITS ‘EM … : Asked to describe a great<br />
hit, Maualuga says: “It’s hitting a guy and having him get<br />
up slowly, looking at who hit him. For a guy you hit and he<br />
gets right back up, that’s not a hit. That’s just a regular arm<br />
tackle. When a guy gets up slowly, looks at you and says,<br />
‘I don’t want to get hit like that again,’ that’s a hit.”<br />
TWO VIEWS: <strong>Cincinnati</strong> Enquirer sports columnist<br />
Paul Daugherty has written: “Five minutes on YouTube,<br />
watching Maualuga play, you’re checking your own dental<br />
work.” Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Daily News wrote:<br />
“(Maualuga) can be a sledgehammer or a ballerina. Dazzle<br />
with power or agility. Play with fury and control.”<br />
HIGH SCHOOL: At Eureka (Calif.) HS, Maualuga<br />
was named a fi rst-team All-American as a senior by both<br />
Parade and USA Today … Senior season included 96<br />
tackles, two INT returns for TDs and one kickoff return<br />
for a TD … Helped Eureka to 20-2-1 record over his<br />
fi nal two seasons … Spent his 2001 freshman year at<br />
St. Bonaventure HS in Ventura, Calif.<br />
PERSONAL: Parents are native Samoans, and he<br />
grew up in a military family … Born in Oklahoma City,<br />
Okla., but moved with family as an infant to Honolulu,<br />
Hawaii, where he lived until age 12 … Later lived in<br />
Oxnard, Calif., and then Eureka, Calif. … Sociology<br />
major at USC … Name is pronounced “RAY mow(rhymes<br />
w/now)-uh-LOO-guh.”<br />
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