No Mauk, no more at Cincinnati

By Darrell Laurant  |   Wednesday, August 13, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Cincinnati Bearcats
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The Ben Mauk era is officially over at the University of Cincinnati. Bring on the Dustin Grutza era -- or, maybe, the Demetrius Jones era.

At any rate, Mauk -- who threw for 3,121 yards and 31 touchdowns as a Bearcat last season -- won't be playing college football anymore. After several appeals, his request for a sixth year of eligibility was finally turned down by the NCAA last week.

Mauk started at Wake Forest, was redshirted as a freshman, lost another year when he broke his right arm and separated his shoulder in the season opener against Syracuse in 2006, then transferred to Cincinnati under the NCAA's post-grad rule.

"I kind of felt bad," said Grutza, who started for UC in 2006 before Mauk appeared on the scene. "Ben's a good friend of mine, and we've been through a lot of stuff together."

Nevertheless, it can only be a good thing for Grutza that he can return to the field without the possible comeback of Mauk hanging over him. Even at that, though, he faces a stern challenge from Notre Dame transfer Jones.

Mauk was not drafted in April, probably more because of his injury history (he still reported pain in his throwing arm last season, despite the gaudy stats) than his NCAA appeal, but might try out for an NFL team. He may also come back to Cincinnati as a graduate assistant.

Then, he and Dustin Grutza can become even better friends.
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