Rutgers recruiting: Former Sparta (N.J.) star, Chad Mavety, now the second-ranked JUCO offensive lineman in the country; to visit Rutgers
Todderick Hunt, NJ.com
February 26, 2013
Class of 2014 JUCO star, Chad Mavety
Photo provided by Mavety
Size, strength and athletic ability were never concerns when it came to 6-6, 310-pound Nassau (N.Y.) Community College offensive lineman, Chad Mavety. Unfortunately, grade concerns were for the former Sparta (N.J.) lineman coming out of high school, limiting his intercollegiate level opportunities. With "zero" FBS offers and qualification issues, at the time, Mavety was left with only one option: to attend junior college.
"I came to Nassau Community College because I didn't qualify out of high school," said Mavety. "I had a lot of schools looking at me in high school like West Virginia, Rutgers and Buffalo. Those were honestly my top three. They all wanted to offer me but I didn't have the grades."
Fast forward one year and Mavety is seemingly on top of the world after hauling in offers from some of the most prestigious football programs across the country.
"Just recently, I was ranked the number two JUCO lineman in the country (according to 247Sports.com), and things have been blowing up. I was just offered by Alabama a few minutes ago. I've got Tennessee, Michigan State, Miami (Fla.), Ohio State. I've got about 15-16 offers."
Now that Mavety is in the process of hammering out his academic issues, Rutgers is slowly entering back into the picture.
"Coach (Jim) Worth, he pretty much just asked for my transcripts and told me to come down for spring practice so I can check it out," Mavety said. "That was a couple weeks ago.
"I think I'm going to make the visit. It's right around the corner from me, only about 45 minutes or what not. So I think it would be worth it."
Mavety was originally recruited by a Rutgers staff no longer in existence. At the time, Greg Schiano was at the helm of the program and Mavety's recruiting coach was former assistant, Bob Fraser. Consequently, Mavety had been lost in the shuffle until recently. However, if the Scarlet Knights were to increase their attention in Mavety, the talented offensive star would be willing to listen.
"Yea, I would be (open to considering them)," he said. "They are my hometown school and we had a good relationship when I was in high school. You can never go wrong with that."
Mavety played defensive line up until his senior year at Sparta, which may have also contributed to his lack of recruitment, initially. Although he contributed from the offensive side of the ball as a senior, he was still learning the position by the time he graduated. But now that he has achieved some familiarity with the position, colleges have quickly picked up on his immense potential after only one season at Nassau.
"It has a lot to do with me moving from defense to offense and me being a basketball player. I'm a very athletic offensive lineman. I'm not a fat, sloppy-type offensive lineman," he said.
Mavety will graduate from Nassau this December, after his second season of football at the school. He is looking to compete for a four-year university by the spring 2014. So far, he claims no favorites.
"I'm really looking for a place where I can step in, get on the field right away, be a leader and be that guy who players look up to. And the coaching staff that's going to be there, I have to be able to trust them."
