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Teammates say Michael Mauti will grow from latest setback SUPPORT GROUP NATE BAUER | N B A U E R@B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M The pockets of tears under Ted Roof's eyes simply wouldn't go away. Talking to reporters in the Beaver Stadium media room following the Nittany Lions' 45-22 win against Indi- ana Saturday afternoon, Roof strug- gled to keep his composure while answering questions about his fallen linebacker, fifth-year senior Michael Mauti. Mauti had been carted off the Beaver Stadium grass in the first quarter with what appeared to be a serious injury to his left knee. "He is a fighter," Roof said. "I respect guys who may get knocked down but get back up, keep fighting, and that's what he's done, and gotten stronger. "I know to whatever the extent of the injury is, I'm sure he's going to [keep fighting] again, because that's who he is. That's not something that comes and goes. That's who Mike Mauti is. That's one of the reasons why we love him so much." At the time of this writing, the full extent of Mauti's injury had not yet been determined by team doctors. Though teammates and coaches were steadfast in saying that they didn't know the extent of the injury, leaving open the slim possibility of hope, the somber mood betrayed that notion. "He's a senior with myself, and I wouldn't want to be in that same sit- uation as him. But he's a very strong character man, and if anybody can go through what he's going through right now, it would be him," senior center Matt Stankiewitch said. "I believe he's the type of person that will grow from this and persevere from it. This will just be a mild speed bump in his life, because that's just the type of person he is." Asked immediately after the game about the injury, Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien took the opportu- nity to praise the efforts of his senior leader while also appearing to be on the verge of tears. "All I can say is, in your career, I've Jonh Beale LEAN ON ME Mauti hugs equipment manager Brad "Spider" Caldwell after his knee injury. been fortunate to be around some special players. You're thinking about some of the players that you've had the fortune to coach. I've coached the greatest. I've coached a hall-of-fame quarterback, hall-of-fame receivers, great players and he's one of the most special players I've been around," O'Brien said. "He embodies, in my opinion, what Penn State's all about." Having suffered two tears to his an- terior cruciate ligament previously in his career at Penn State – in his sec- ond and fourth seasons –Mauti meets the criteria for a medical hardship sixth year of eligibility. Whether that presents itself as a vi- able option for Mauti moving forward remains to be seen, but according to Stankiewitch, he has full faith that his teammate will tackle it head-on. "It's hard to believe that Mike Mauti could even grow more," Stankiewitch said, "but I think Mike Mauti is even going to grow more out of this. I think he's going to become even more of a leader than what he already is." N O V E M B E R 1 7 , 2 0 1 2 7 GAME GRADES QUARTERBACKSMatt McGloin threw for a career-high 395 yards and completed four touchdown passes. Tough to find fault with those numbers. GRADE A RUNNING BACKS Zach Zwinak rushed for 135 yards on 29 carries, but his ball- security issues continued against In- diana. GRADEB RECEIVERS Allen Robinson had a career day with 10 catches for 197 yards and three touchdowns. Brandon Moseby- Felder had a few beauties, too. And their strong efforts couldn't have come at a better time for the Nittany Lions, who were forced to keep their foot on the gas pedal. GRADE A OFFENSIVE LINEMcGloin was sacked three times against Indiana, whose pass rush is better than you think. But Penn State totaled 546 yards, so these guys must have been doing something right. GRADEB DEFENSIVE LINE Indiana quarterback Cameron Coffman got rid of the ball so quickly that Penn State's defensive ends couldn't get a lot of pressure on him. But Deion Barnes came through in the fourth quarter. GRADEB LINEBACKERSMichael Mauti's knee injury cast a pall over the proceedings, but Mike Hull did an admirable job filling in. Gerald Hodges had a huge game, with 12 tackles and a key intercep- tion. GRADEB DEFENSIVE BACKS Indiana threw 59 passes on Saturday. Take a moment to let that number sink in. The Hoosiers' high-speed no-huddle offense – they frequently snapped the ball the in- stant it was spotted – proved chal- lenging for Penn State's defensive backs. GRADEB SPECIAL TEAMS The Lions got caught flat- footed on a third-quarter onside kick, but otherwise there weren't a lot of noteworthy developments, good or bad. GRADEB COACHES Once again, the staff kept everyone focused after a disappoint- ing loss the week before. GRADE A CROWD Noon kickoff. Uninspiring oppo- nent. No bowl game to play for. Stu- dents home for Thanksgiving break. Add it up, and you get a listed atten- dance of 90,358. GRADEC B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

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