Family matters most to one of nation’s top linebackers
Nevada football can thank Josh Mauga’s family for having one of the best linebackers in the conference.
When Mauga donned the green and white for Churchill County High School in Fallon three years ago, he had options to play for programs like Arizona State and Fresno State. After winning state titles in wrestling and track his senior year, football wasn’t the only sport he could have played in college.
In the end, it came down to staying close to his family and a 63-mile, 1-hour trip for his family to watch him made it that much easier to choose the Wolf Pack. Growing up in the vicinity and watching Nevada since the mid-1990s also made him feel at home about the program and school.
“I have no regrets of my decision and I’m glad I came here and did not go anywhere else,” said Mauga, a junior and one of the team’s captains. “I can’t go wrong with winning the (Fremont) Cannon back, keeping it and then going to a bowl game two years in a row. It also feels good to only be an hour away from my family and hometown.”
Mauga has a small fan club sitting in Mackay Stadium every home game with his mother and father, five sisters, two brothers and some of the other Fallon faithful making the trip on an almost weekly basis.
“My family support has been great,” Mauga said. “They are here at every home game cheering me on and waiting for me after the game. Win or lose, they are always there to congratulate me and put a smile on my face. My family means the world to me and there’s no greater feeling than seeing their faces at my games.”
A smile is all most people, even his family, can get out the soft-spoken Mauga.
Co-defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach Barry Sacks recalled Mauga’s first week of practice in 2005 and his silence, and noticed his junior linebacker is starting to say more.
“He’s gotten to be more vocal,” Sacks said about his 6-foot-2, 245-pound defender. “His first year as a freshman, he didn’t speak much. He’s more vocal and says two or more words than none. At least he’s saying some.”
What matters most, though, is how Mauga carries himself out onto the field.
Brought into the Wolf Pack in 2005 as a true freshman, Mauga played more than expected at outside linebacker after J.J. Milan suffered an injury. He eventually earned honorable-mention Freshman All-American honors from the “Sporting News.”
After helping Nevada upset then-No. 16 Fresno State and win its first bowl game of the decade that season, Mauga’s career grew stronger in his second season. He was second on the team with 56 tackles after switching to inside linebacker.
Sacks said Mauga’s progress has exceeded coaches’ expectations. Mauga already has 58 tackles this season, averaging 11.6 a game, which is among the top 10 in the country.
“He’s further,” Sacks said. “He’s a hard-working football player. He’s the whole package.”
Mauga’s former high school coach, Ray Holladay, has noticed tremendous improvement from when he dominated both sides of the ball for the Greenwave. Holladay and a couple of other Fallon coaches bought season tickets for this year.
“From the day he walked on campus, he’s done what’s right and what’s expected,” Holladay said. “He goes to class and works out in weight room. Josh is going to do nothing but get better. I don’t think he can get any bigger.”
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