Four months ago, Josh Mauga was giving back to his hometown community by participating in the inaugural Hometown Heroes event.
Spending the last two seasons in the NFL mostly on the injured reserve list due to two different injuries almost ended his career.
After not being re-signed with the Jets in the offseason, Mauga went to work in rehabbing and getting back to 100 percent. He worked with fellow Fallon grads Tyler Simper and Trevor de Braga and even participated in a spring break football camp for Northern Nevada youngsters in April.
But his big break came in July when Kansas City called and offered him a spot on the training camp roster. He impressed the coaching staff, which included his ex-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from New York, and made the 53-man roster.
The break continued right before the regular season when starting linebacker Joe Mays was placed on injured reserve, opening the door for Mauga to start in Week 1 of the NFL against Tennessee.
Six weeks later, Mauga currently leads the Chiefs in tackles with 36, a career high, and has started every game, including a return trip to the Bay Area where friends and family saw him compete against the 49ers.
With the Chiefs (2-3) coming off a bye and visiting San Diego on Sunday, defensive coordinator Bob Sutton has been impressed with Mauga and his ex-Nevada teammate James-Michael Johnson, who filled in for the injured Derrick Johnson.
“I think (Mauga and Johnson) have gone in and have done a really great job,” Sutton told the team website. “Linebackers coach Gary Gibbs has done a great job bringing them along and they are both guys we thought could have roles. Obviously, we didn’t think that role would be in the starting linebacker role when we began the season. But it doesn’t change our standards.”
With Mauga leading the charge on defense, Johnson has been just as good. Johnson is fourth on the team in tackles with 22 and he needs only 15 more of breaking his career best he set two years ago with Cleveland. Johnson and Mauga have also combined for 507 snaps this season.
“I think over the last couple weeks, our guys have made some improvement, especially inside,” Gibbs said. “I think (Johnson and Mauga) both have played better. Their production has improved a little bit. I think they’re more comfortable and gaining some confidence in their play.”
After their road league game in San Diego this weekend, the Chiefs return home to host the Rams and Jets, Mauga’s former team. Kansas City faces its next division opponent next month when Mauga and the Chiefs come back to the Bay Area and take on the Raiders. Other notable games include Seattle (Nov. 16), Denver (Nov. 30), at Arizona (Dec. 7), at Pittsburgh (Dec. 21) and San Diego (Dec. 28).