Like it is

QB Mauk wins games, not preseason honors

Missouri quarterback Maty Mauk warms up before an NCAA college spring football game Saturday, April 18, 2015, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

When Missouri's Maty Mauk hustled into the big ballroom for his time with members of the print media, he had a bit of a swagger in his walk.

That's a good thing. Quarterbacks need a little extra confidence, so it was really no surprise that the only returning starting quarterback to win a division of the SEC and play in the championship game had a little extra pep in his step.

So did Mississippi State's Dak Prescott and Arkansas' Brandon Allen. It was far from arrogance, just something close to a strut that said they believe they belonged on center stage.

Those three -- Mauk, Prescott and Allen -- and LSU's Anthony Jennings are the only returning quarterbacks in the SEC who started most of the games for their team last season.

It was no surprise Prescott was voted preseason first-team All-SEC by members of the media. He passed for 3,449 yards, completing 244 of 396 passes with 27 touchdowns in leading Mississippi State to an 11-3 record.

It was mildly surprising Allen wasn't at least third-team all-conference or that Mauk was second-team, but the media went with Auburn's Jeremy Johnson, who started one game, for second-team and Tennessee's Josh Dobbs, who started the last five games, for third-team.

Jennings didn't play well enough last year to receive serious consideration. He threw 11 touchdown passes and had seven interceptions.

The argument for Allen, who played part of last season hurt, was his 20 touchdown passes and five interceptions, by far the best ratio of any of the returning starters from last season. He was only sacked 12 times.

The real snub might have been against Mauk, who came off the bench as a redshirt freshman in 2013 and was much more effective than starter James Franklin.

Mauk is one of 14 starters back for Missouri, which went 11-3 last season.

Since the Tigers joined the SEC three seasons ago, they have won the SEC East twice; and while that's not like winning the West, it is still something to respect.

Something the majority of the media attending the SEC media days didn't do.

It was understandable why Georgia was picked to win the division, but 36 voters picked Tennessee to win the East to 20 for Missouri, and that put the two-time defending East champion Tigers a solid third in the preseason vote.

Granted, Mauk didn't have a great game on the road against Tennessee last season, hitting 12 of 25 attempts. But he did have 230 yards and 2 touchdowns in the 29-21 victory, and the Vols have to travel to Columbia, Mo., on Nov. 21, a week before the Tigers travel to Fayetteville.

Mauk had a good season last year except for one stat. The former Parade All-American completed 221 of his 414 pass attempts. He ran 108 times for 373 yards. He passed for 25 touchdowns and ran for 2, but he threw 13 interceptions.

He was sacked 23 times.

Still, 11 victories should be a key statistic when choosing a player for all-conference. Mauk, who is 14-4 in games he has started at Missouri, is a winner.

During media days, he revealed he was dedicating this season to his father, Mike, who was diagnosed in June with colorectal cancer.

Mauk is the youngest of four children in a family that is very close.

That dedication could be helped with a schedule that, while not easy, is far from the toughest in the SEC. Although, the Tigers' second game is in Jonesboro and that could be a trap game. The Arkansas State Red Wolves have lots of starters back and should be fresh.

The outcome could depend on Mauk, who is expected to help the Tigers win games, not just be a game manager. If he takes care of business, and there's no reason to believe he won't, he'll get a lot of postseason honors.

Sports on 08/04/2015