Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/104338
FANNING THE FLAMES Mauti won firstteam All-Big Ten honors after finishing with 95 tackles, three forced fumbles and three interceptions for the Lions as a senior. John Beale the tank, literally, every drop. It's fulfilling because you know we did everything we could and left no stone unturned, but at the same time, it was difficult to try to recalibrate your focus onto the next chapter, which was training and rehabbing for me. So that took me a couple of weeks [to adjust], for sure. "It really was hard to focus on what I was doing because everything reminded me of the last five years. Especially with it being over, it was just time for us to move on and it was time to go onto the next chapter. Really, once I left and got home and started training again, I really started feeling good about a new challenge. I've got a new goal and that's what I'm going after now." After his injury, it seemed unlikely that Mauti would even attempt a career in football. His initial prognoses appeared dire, and Mauti said he found himself at a crossroads. Should he pursue an option that would physically allow him to continue playing – a dream he'd had since he got started in football as a kid – or simply move on? The more he thought about it, the more determined Mauti became to keep playing the game. "It's really invaluable what it's done for me. People have always said, 'If life gives you lemons, make lemonade,' and those kind of things. I just joke around – I've got a lemonade shop on the corner. I've been sitting here cranking out lemonade for four years," he said. "You can go about adversity two different ways. You can either look it in the eye and put your fists up, or you can turn your back. There's just no way I could turn my back. That's just the kind of person I am. What it's done for me is invaluable. It's just basically shaped me and everything I do." Blessed with a singular focus that led him this far, Mauti said he's determined to keep going no matter how much adversity he's dealt. "There's a lot of different things, but really, ultimately, it's who you want to be. You make that decision based on what you want your story to be and what you want your legacy to be," he said. "It just happens to be that I was put in this situation and this is what I want it to be. "I'm in control of my own destiny, my own life, and this is what I want it to be. This is the route that I'm taking. At each obstacle, you have a choice. You can go one way or the other. I just keep making those kinds of choices and that's the way you're going to be."