It's almost football season now, and none of my teams are projected to do better than my alma mater USC Trojans. One of the keystones of this team will be the defense, headed up by Rey Maualuga, a 6'3" 250 lbs monster of a linebacker known for huge hits. Here's text from a Los Angeles Times article about yesterdays' practice. If he's willing to do this to his own teammates, how hard is he going to hit the other guy? I love where Turner says the hit "sounded like thunder"...
"USC's "Competition Tuesday" practices typically feature contact that often goes beyond the high-intensity norm of most Trojans workouts. Starting receiver Patrick Turner and starting center Matt Spanos both suffered injuries that could affect their availability for Saturday's opener against Idaho.
Linebacker Rey Maualuga hit Turner on a pass play over the middle, leaving the 6-foot-5 junior sprawled on the ground. Team medical personnel attended to Turner and then took him for observation on the sideline before sending him for X-rays after practice.
"That was a vicious hit," Coach Pete Carroll said.
Turner said his left arm went numb after the collision and that he suspected he sustained a "stinger." He said he did not see but could hear the collision, and that it sounded like "thunder" in his helmet. Maualuga apologized to Turner but said the collision was almost predictable.
"Before practice, he was like, 'I'm going to [Randy] Moss you, Rey. I'm going to Moss you,' like catch a ball over me and like beat me downfield like in a footrace," Maualuga said.
"I'm like, 'Your helmet is going to come off, your helmet is going to come off.' Swear to God, those were the exact words coming in. For some reason, it was like, boom, he was there, I was there. It just happened."
Here's Rey putting the hurt on UCLA's quarterback last year. Watch carefully, he's #58:
Here's Rey putting the hurt on UCLA's quarterback last year. Watch carefully, he's #58:
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