Matt Mauck

Matt Mauck (born February 12, 1979 in Evansville, Indiana) is an NFL quarterback, but is best known as the quarterback who led college football's LSU Tigers to the 2003 BCS National Championship.

Mauck was a star baseball, basketball and football player at Jasper High School in Jasper, Indiana. He originally committed to play quarterback for head coach Nick Saban at Michigan State out of high school in 1997. Ultimately, however, he chose to accept a Major League Baseball contract offer from the Chicago Cubs instead of playing college football. He would play on the minor league level in the Cubs organization for three years, before returning to college to play football.

Mauck accepted an offer to play football at LSU in 2000. LSU was coached at the time by Nick Saban, the same coach who recruited him to play football at Michigan State three years earlier. Saban had just accepted an offer to come to LSU, and was looking for depth at the quarterback position. Mauck was redshirted during the 2000 season, and saw limited action during 2001 regular season. His first significant action came during the 2001 SEC Championship Game, when he came off the bench to replace injured starting quarterback Rohan Davey. Mauck would run for two touchdowns, leading the underdog Tigers to a come-from-behind 31-20 victory over the heavily-favored #2 Tennessee Volunteers.

In 2002, Mauck entered the regular season as the starting quarterback, beating out Marcus Randall and Rick Clausen. He led the Tigers to a 5-1 start, but was lost for the season with a broken foot during the sixth game. The Tigers slumped after the injury, finishing the season with an 8-5 record.

He returned as the starting quarterback for his junior season in 2003, and would lead LSU to its best season in 45 years. He would set an LSU record, throwing 28 touchdowns during the season. LSU would finish the regular season with an 11-1 record, and would beat Georgia 34-13 in the 2003 SEC Championship Game. The victory helped the Tigers earn a berth in the 2003 BCS Championship Game, the 2004 Sugar Bowl vs. Oklahoma. Mauck did not have a great game in the Sugar Bowl, throwing two interceptions and no touchdowns. However, the Tigers would win the game 21-14, earning LSU the BCS National Championship.

Mauck decided to go pro after the 2003 season, and he was selected in the 2004 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. He made the roster, but did not appear in any games in 2004. In 2005, he signed with the Tennessee Titans. He appeared in two games during the season, including one start in the final regular season game of the year, a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Mauck enters the 2006 NFL offseason on the Tennessee Titans roster, where he is expected to compete for the backup quarterback position.