By Trevor Joelson

Maurice Urrutia is just like the average University of Louisville freshman. In his downtime he hangs out at Unitas Tower, he works a part-time job to pay the bills and he studies like crazy hoping to pass all of his classes.

Then again the average freshman doesn’t stand 6-foot-4 at 190 lbs and hit like a freight train, have a room filled with trophies and awards from high school football grandeur, have a superstar brother who projects as a future first round draft pick in the NFL and they most definitely don’t have a realistic chance of playing professional football like Maurice Urrutia does.

This upcoming semester Urrutia will finally begin fulfilling his dream of playing football for the University of Louisville after that dream was put on hold by a freak off-the-field incident.

Last November, Urrutia, who greyshirted his first year because of a nagging hip injury, was at a local Louisville club when a fight broke out outside of the club. When Urrutia got involved in the altercation he was shot twice, once in the arm and once in the back.

He still has wounds that act as a constant reminder of that night. The shooting really put his life into perspective and set him on the right track. “It humbled me. It calmed me down a little bit more,” he said.

Now that Urrutia is fully healed, more than anything he is ready to play some football. When you ask him about playing he gets a smile on his face and lights up like a young child on Christmas morning.

“I’m just ready to show everyone what I am made of,” he said.

The Louisville football program will be just as excited to get Urrutia on the field. In high school he starred at both wide receiver and safety. He was Fern Creek’s leading tackler, their two-year defensive captain collecting double digit interceptions and top wide receiver with over 800 yards. Although he has aspirations of playing both ways, the complexity of Louisville’s playbook will limit him to playing safety for the Cardinals.

Urrutia’s favorite athlete is Ray Lewis because of his tenacity and big hitting ability. Just like Lewis he is ready to put the off field incidents behind him and be a dominant presence on the football field.

Maurice is currently a full time student at U of L, taking thirteen credit hours. If he passes all of his classes this semester, as he expects to, he will be on a full football scholarship next semester and start training with the football team. He currently has been lifting three times a week to make sure that he keeps in shape and is going to start running in November.

He received offers from the University of Virginia, University of Kentucky and University of Marshall. He passed on all three schools in favor of staying close to home and reuniting on the gridiron with his brother, Mario Urrutia, who he played with in little league and high school. Maurice and Mario live in a house together now. Mario has been a strong role model for Maurice who said that he learned almost everything he knows from Mario.

Last year Mario, a then redshirt freshman, took the Big East by storm. He had 797 receiving yards, averaging an absurd 21.5 yards per catch. He also found the end zone seven times including twice at home against Oregon State.

He was named second team All Big East and a Sporting News All-American. This season he had one of the more memorable moments in Louisville football history as he stiff armed his way to the end zone in the Miami game. At 6-foot-6 with blazing speed, he is one of the most feared receivers in the country. On top of all that, he made the Big East Academic Honor Roll.

Louisville football is slowly becoming a family affair. The Brohm, Petrino and Sharp families have all already had significant impact on the status of the program. Dexter Heyman, the brother of starting defensive end Earl Heyman, is a top 100 junior recruit in the country according to http://www.Rivals.com, and just received a scholarship offer from U of L.

The Urrutias might just be next in line as one of the great Louisville football families.

And as Louisville is slowly transformed from a school known for its offenseive outbursts to a team with a formidable defense, Urrutia’s presence will only continue that growth.

Maurice Urrutia is impressed with the direction of the Louisville football program. He is extremely proud of his brother’s success and expects big things from him the rest of the season. He is also impressed by the improvement on the defensive side of the ball.

“The defense has gotten better, but with me they can be dominant,” he said.