I don't hate it, I don't love it. They didn't go Pettigrew or Oher which is a HUGGGGGE plus. They must have not like Orakpo. He had 12 sacks last year as sophomore. He is only 20.
Listed second on the depth chart behind Maurice Evans at left defensive end, Maybin was thrust into the starting lineup the third game of his junior season. Coaches were looking to spark a unit hit by graduation, suspensions and injuries and felt that the youngster would be given an audition to see if he could ignite the pass rush.
And spark the defense he did.
Maybin became the 93rd Penn State player to earn All-American first-team honors, the 76th athlete from the Joe Paterno era to receive that honor. The legendary coach has seen at least one of his players earn All-American accolades in 38 of his 43 seasons as head coach.
Maybin finished the 2008 season leading the Big Ten Conference and ranking seventh in the nation with 12 quarterback sacks. That total tied for fifth-best on the school single-season list. His 20 stops behind the line of scrimmage rank as the sixth-highest season total by a Nittany Lion. The left end also registered at least one tackle for loss in all 13 games in which he played.
Many Penn State fans thought they were seeing the rise of their team's next great defensive presence. But the 230-pounder felt that after just one season as a starter and two campaigns with the varsity, that he was ready to test his wares in the NFL.
Becoming a force to be reckoned with is not something new for Maybin. At Mount Hebron High School, he earned 2005 Baltimore Sun All-Metro team, second-team big school All-State and first-team All-Howard County accolades. As a junior, he produced 79 tackles with nine sacks, followed by ten sacks and 80 tackles in his final season.
I'm not thrilled with it... but the guy did have more sacks in one year last year than any of our D-ends had in games and practice combined. I guess I like it.
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