Mike Maietti ready to open some eyes in the Big Ten

One of the last additions to Rutgers' recruiting class of 2016 had quite a wait before he landed a Big Ten offer. Don Bosco Prep senior offensive lineman Mike Maietti was offered the day before signing day and promptly joined the Scarlet Knight football program.

“I am going to be playing on the biggest stage in this state,” Maietti said. “I feel like a lot of people take pride in New Jersey and I am just excited to be able to represent them.”

Throughout Maietti’s recruitment, he heard much of the same things from a number of coaches and supposed critics.

“A lot of people were saying you are short to play here or you are too short to do this,” said the 6-foot-2, 265-pound Maietti. “A lot of double a (FCS) schools were offering me. But once I signed with Rutgers, I had a big chip on my shoulder. I want to show everyone what the short guy can do. Coach A.J. [Blazek] at Rutgers was telling me about his story on my official visit and how he was a shorter guy. I see a lot of similarities between me and him.”

It was not like Maietti did not put together a good resume, which included a three-year stint as the starting center at Don Bosco.

Much like Rutgers, a future at Bosco did not always seem to be in the cards for Maietti.

“I didn’t really know too much about Bosco coming from West Orange. I thought I was going to go to St. Peter’s,” Maietti said. “But things changed and I wound up at Bosco. That was the year after they won the national championship.”

Prior to high school, Maietti had played tight end and spent just one year at offensive tackle. He then started to benefit from playing against some of the top competition in the entire Northeast.

“I played varsity my freshman year. I was just getting used to how fast the game was in the big North,” Maietti said. “It is a world of difference. People do not call it the best conference in America for no reason.”

Maietti quickly adjusted and started to emerge as a reliable player during the summer leading into his sophomore season.

“We started in July and I beat out a couple of upperclassmen for a starting spot at center,” he said. “I had never played center before. It started to click and I was getting the hang of this thing. When I was starting as a sophomore, I started to have a feeling I was going to play college football somewhere.”

Along the way, Maietti credited some of the coaching he received at Bosco.

“My offensive line coach [Chuck] Granatell played a huge role in me just growing. I know I am not the huge kid, but I will punch you in the mouth. That is something he taught me. I still keep in contact with him even though he does not coach at Bosco anymore. I thank him a lot. I would not be half the player or person I am without him right now.”

Coming into Rutgers, Maietti may not be as colossal as some other freshman linemen in the Big Ten. However, he appears to be what Rutgers is looking for in a lineman.

“They don’t want the big fatties that need to lean on someone,” Maietti said of Rutgers. “They want athletes and that is what we do at Bosco. We never have the 315-pound kids, we always put athletes out there. And athletes win football games, they put a body on a body. Rutgers wants its linemen to be mobile.”

Now that all the letters of intent have been signed for the class of 2016, none of the previous offers or recruiting rankings mean a single thing. Maietti will now begin his college career just the same as any other offensive lineman across the country.

“I thought I was a little under-recruited. I think a lot of people thought that," Maietti said. "But I ended up where I was supposed to be. It is a blessing that I am going to play football in my home state and I am excited to be a part of this [Chris] Ash era at Rutgers.”