Mauro still patient

If Locust Valley, New York athlete Marc Mauro seems a bit frustrated about the recruiting process at times it's easy to understand why.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound prospect has been clocked at under 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash on two occasions, so no one doubts whether he has the athleticism to make it in the BCS ranks.

However, the only school that has extended an offer is Hofstra. That's not due to any lack of production. Rather, it's mostly due to an injury that kept him out of action for part of his junior campaign.

In his third game last fall, Mauro tried to cut on a wet field and fractured his ankle, ending his campaign and greatly setting back the progress he had made in impressing college coaches.

At the Connecticut Five-Star Showdown, Mauro was named to the Hot 11 for his performance in the one-on-ones and his 40-yard dash time of 4.37 seconds. While he isn't where he would like to be in recruiting terms, Mauro is showing a lot of patience and is taking everything in stride.

"Well, you know Hofstra has offered me," Mauro said. "I was supposed to head over to UConn and Maryland but I couldn't make those camps. I might be able to go back to UConn in July and I might visit Maryland sometime. They basically just wanted me to come over and backpedal for them, since they're looking at me as a safety.

"Other than that I'm just going to try to make it over to UVa and Northwestern. I'll go to UVa for a visit and Northwestern for a camp on July 30."

Mauro didn't make those earlier camps because of a pulled quad muscle. Because he missed so much action as a junior schools will want to see game film from Mauro's senior season.

Though he's hoping for more offers and, frankly, offers from FBS schools, Mauro is impressed with the one school that has offered him.

"I've been really impressed with Hofstra. Their head coach has me really high on their list. I think he only visited about four high schools and I was one of the ones they visited. They're probably happy I pulled my quad because they don't want me ending up at Maryland or UConn," he laughed.

Mauro noted that Buffalo is looking at him as a wide receiver. He also wants to take a trip to North Carolina.