Browns rookie linebacker Kaluka Maiava no stranger to tackling tough assignments
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Sunday May 03, 2009
BEREA -- There was a moment during Eric Mangini's interview with USC linebacker Kaluka Maiava when he knew Maiava had the toughness it would take to succeed in the NFL, especially at his size.
It was when Maiava, a 5-11, 229-pound native of Hawaii, explained that one of his pastimes is hunting wild boar in the mountains of Maui -- without a gun.
"[Mangini] asked me 'what kind of gun do you use?' and I said, 'no, that's cheating,'" Maiava said at rookie camp Saturday. "Anybody can shoot something. It takes the fun out of it. We grab a couple of dogs and a 9-inch knife and go out and stick 'em a couple of times."
Maiava, the Browns' fourth-round pick, was introduced to boar hunting by his brothers and friends when he was 15, and soon learned that the youngest hunter must carry the boar home on his back.
"I got lucky," he said. "Mine was only about 150 pounds."
Then what?
"You eat it," he said. "You eat everything you kill."
What does it taste like?
"Tastes like chicken," he said. "It's amazing."
Maiava's hunting exploits confirmed everything Mangini had seen of Maiava on film at USC: tenacity, bravery, hustle.
"He's a tough, tough guy," said Mangini.
Of course, chasing down a raging wild boar with sharp tusks is great practice for skewering a running back or kick returner.
"It's the rush to chase something and tackle him -- you know, just like football," said Maiava, an inside 'backer. "Say you're on kickoff and you're chasing down the kick returner. It's the same thing."
It was that attitude that twice earned Maiava USC's co-special teams player of the year award and a starting linebacker job in 2008. Despite playing alongside stars Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews and Clay Matthews III, Maiava finished third on the team in 2008 with 66 tackles, had two sacks, forced a fumble and broke up two passes.
He capped the season by earning defensive MVP honors in the Rose Bowl victory over Penn State, in which he had four solo tackles and two key pass breakups.
"It was a shock to me," he said. "I was actually on my way to the locker room when they stopped me and told me I won the award, so it came as a surprise. It's just a blessing."
Similarly, Maiava was on his way to go surfing on draft day when he got the call from Mangini that the Browns made him the 104th overall pick.
"I had to check the number," he said. "I looked at my phone to make sure it wasn't one of my boys [from Hawaii] calling me," he said. "It was an Ohio number, I answered it and it was coach Mangini."
Before that moment, Maiava had no idea he'd be drafted at all.
"At the beginning of my senior year, I was expecting to go free agent, so this is all a great blessing and I'm happy to be here," he said. "I could finally breathe and hug my parents. Then I went to the beach."
Maiava said the coaching he received at Southern Cal helped him overcome his lack of size for a linebacker.
"[Linebackers coach] Ken Norton Jr. really helped me understand what offenses are trying to do to me," said Maiava. "Knowing what you're doing helps you play a lot faster, which puts you in right spots. It makes you play bigger than you really are. I'm only 5-11, but knowing where I've got to be, knowing how things fit, helped me a lot, and to be around the ball a lot more."
Besides, he had to keep up with the all-star cast.
"It's just the competitive nature," he said of the other linebackers. "They're getting all the pub and you see how they play and you've just got to play up to their par -- try to be as fast as them and as aggressive as them, make more tackles. It wasn't like I was out to get them, but we helped each other."
Some teams viewed Maiava as a safety at this level, but Mangini said he'll keep him at linebacker.
"He was an outstanding fourth-down player at USC and I thought he played extremely well in their defense," said Mangini. "They had a ton of seniors and I was impressed with him -- his intelligence, his recall of the system, the way he played, his temperament.
Despite being listed as an outside linebacker at USC, "most of the time I was stacked over the center, so it's not a big change for me. I'm very comfortable in that position. I'll do whatever they need me to do."
Maybe even give up wild boar hunting for a year.
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I'm thinking a roster cut-down candidate - but maybe there's some local insight...
I'm thinking a roster cut-down candidate - but maybe there's some local insight...
