Marquis Maze
Encyclopedia
Tyran Marquis Maze is an American football
wide receiver
and return specialist currently playing for the Alabama Crimson Tide
. He has played for the Crimson Tide from 2008 to 2011 and had over 1,000 receiving yards in the 2009 and 2010 seasons. In 2011, he became the lead receiver, punt returner, and kickoff returner for Alabama.
in 1989 and attended Tarrant High School in nearby Tarrant, Alabama
. He played high school football at multiple positions, including tailback, quarterback, wide receiver, defensive back and punt and kickoff returner. During the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Maze had almost 3,000 all-purpose yards and more than 30 touchdowns.
Maze was recruited by many of the country's top football programs, including the University of Alabama, University of Michigan, and University of Tennessee. After initially committing to Michigan, Maze signed a letter of intent with Alabama in February 2007.
. Maze became a key player on the 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
that won the national championship. He played in all 14 games, 11 as a starter. Although Julio Jones and Mark Ingram
won most of the headlines, Maze had 557 receiving yards and an average of 16.9 yards per catch. He had an 80-yard touchdown catch against Arkansas in September 2009. He finished with 31 catches for 523 yards for two touchdowns. In the 2009 SEC Championship Game
, Maze had five catches for a career high 96 receiving yards.
, Maze threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Michael Williams. In the 2011 Capital One Bowl
, Maze caught a 37-yard touchdown pass and led the team's receivers with 77 receiving yards. Maze also served as Alabama's principal punt returner during the 2010 season.
graduating, Maze was expected to become Alabama's No. 1 receiver in the 2011 season. Based on his performance in the preseason, Maze won a starting spot not only at wide receiver but also on special teams as the team's primary punt returner and kickoff returner. In July 2011, he was included on the watch list for the 2011 Fred Biletnikoff Award
, presented each year to America's top college football receiver.
In the 2011 season opener against Kent State, Maze established himself as Alabama's primary receiver. He contributed 253 all purposes yards, including 114 receiving yards on eight catches, 96 return yards on eight punts, and 39 yards on a kickoff return. His eight punt returns tied an Alabama school record set in 1946 by College Football Hall of Fame
inductee Harry Gilmer
. After the game, Alabama head coach Nick Saban
said, "Marquis Maze did a fantastic job today, not only with eight catches, but also doing a really good job in the kicking game and return game."
After the first three games of the 2011 season, Maze led all players in the NCAA FBS with 195 punt return yards.
In the fourth game of the 2011 season, Maze returned four punts for 125 yards, including an 83-yard return for a touchdown in the third quarter. After the game, the Birmingham News called Maze "the amazing Marquis Maze" and a "special player" and wrote: "The undersized and underappreciated Maze bobbed and weaved his way 83 yards for a third-quarter touchdown on a punt return that broke Arkansas ankles and hearts. His last cutback wasn't even necessary. It was unreal, unfair and unstoppable." The return earned Alabama Play of the Week honors from al.com. Writing in The Huntsville Times
, Mark McCarter observed: "Maze didn't look like he was running on his own. He looked like an avatar, and a 16-year-old's thumbs were maneuvering him with a PlayStation control panel."
Playing against Tennessee on October 22, 2011, Maze caught five passes for 106 yards. Through the first eight games of the season, Maze had 482 receiving yards. As of October 23, 2011, Maze also had 320 punt return yards, second most in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
and return specialist currently playing for the Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama Crimson Tide football
|TeamName = Alabama football |Image = Alabama Crimson Tide Logo.svg |ImageSize = 110 |Helmet = Alabama Football.png |ImageSize2 = 150 |CurrentSeason = 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide football team...
. He has played for the Crimson Tide from 2008 to 2011 and had over 1,000 receiving yards in the 2009 and 2010 seasons. In 2011, he became the lead receiver, punt returner, and kickoff returner for Alabama.
Early years
Maze was born in Birmingham, AlabamaBirmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
in 1989 and attended Tarrant High School in nearby Tarrant, Alabama
Tarrant, Alabama
Tarrant is a city in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States southeast of Fultondale. At the 2000 census the population was 7,022.-Geography:Tarrant is located at .According to the U.S...
. He played high school football at multiple positions, including tailback, quarterback, wide receiver, defensive back and punt and kickoff returner. During the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Maze had almost 3,000 all-purpose yards and more than 30 touchdowns.
Maze was recruited by many of the country's top football programs, including the University of Alabama, University of Michigan, and University of Tennessee. After initially committing to Michigan, Maze signed a letter of intent with Alabama in February 2007.
2008 season
After redshirting in 2007, Marquis played in all 14 games in 2008 and for the season had 11 receptions for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns.2009 season
During Alabama's spring practice in April 2009, Maze earned co-MVP honors and established himself as the fastest player on the Alabama team and the No. 2 receiver behind Julio JonesJulio Jones
Quintorris Lopez "Julio" Jones is an American football wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Falcons with the sixth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide...
. Maze became a key player on the 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
The 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 77th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference and its 18th within the SEC Western Division...
that won the national championship. He played in all 14 games, 11 as a starter. Although Julio Jones and Mark Ingram
Mark Ingram, Jr.
Mark Ingram, Jr. is a running back for the New Orleans Saints. Ingram is the son of former NFL wide receiver Mark Ingram, Sr....
won most of the headlines, Maze had 557 receiving yards and an average of 16.9 yards per catch. He had an 80-yard touchdown catch against Arkansas in September 2009. He finished with 31 catches for 523 yards for two touchdowns. In the 2009 SEC Championship Game
2009 SEC Championship Game
The 2009 SEC Championship Game was played on December 5, 2009, in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, to determine the 2009 football champion of the Southeastern Conference . The game featured the Florida Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Crimson Tide was the designated "home team"; this...
, Maze had five catches for a career high 96 receiving yards.
2010 season
For the 2010 season, Maze appeared in all 13 games for Alabama, seven as a starter. He had 38 receptions for 557 yards and three touchdowns. In the game against Florida2010 Florida Gators football team
The 2010 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2010 college football season...
, Maze threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Michael Williams. In the 2011 Capital One Bowl
2011 Capital One Bowl
The 2011 Capital One Bowl was the sixty-fifth edition of the college football bowl game, and was played at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The game was played on January 1, 2011 and matched the Alabama Crimson Tide from the Southeastern Conference with the Michigan State Spartans from the Big...
, Maze caught a 37-yard touchdown pass and led the team's receivers with 77 receiving yards. Maze also served as Alabama's principal punt returner during the 2010 season.
2011 season
In March 2011, Maze announced that he would not participate in the NFL draft and would instead return to Alabama for his senior year. Marquis Maze gave little thought to leaving Alabama for the NFL With Julio JonesJulio Jones
Quintorris Lopez "Julio" Jones is an American football wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Falcons with the sixth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide...
graduating, Maze was expected to become Alabama's No. 1 receiver in the 2011 season. Based on his performance in the preseason, Maze won a starting spot not only at wide receiver but also on special teams as the team's primary punt returner and kickoff returner. In July 2011, he was included on the watch list for the 2011 Fred Biletnikoff Award
Fred Biletnikoff Award
The Fred Biletnikoff Award has been presented since 1994 to America's top college football receiver by the TQC Foundation, Inc. , an independent not-for-profit organization which created the award in 1994 and has sponsored it since...
, presented each year to America's top college football receiver.
In the 2011 season opener against Kent State, Maze established himself as Alabama's primary receiver. He contributed 253 all purposes yards, including 114 receiving yards on eight catches, 96 return yards on eight punts, and 39 yards on a kickoff return. His eight punt returns tied an Alabama school record set in 1946 by College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
inductee Harry Gilmer
Harry Gilmer
Harry Vincent Gilmer, Jr. is a former American football halfback and quarterback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and Detroit Lions. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1993.-Early life:...
. After the game, Alabama head coach Nick Saban
Nick Saban
Nicholas Lou "Nick" Saban is the head coach of the University of Alabama's Crimson Tide football team. Saban has previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins and three other NCAA universities: LSU, Michigan State and Toledo...
said, "Marquis Maze did a fantastic job today, not only with eight catches, but also doing a really good job in the kicking game and return game."
After the first three games of the 2011 season, Maze led all players in the NCAA FBS with 195 punt return yards.
In the fourth game of the 2011 season, Maze returned four punts for 125 yards, including an 83-yard return for a touchdown in the third quarter. After the game, the Birmingham News called Maze "the amazing Marquis Maze" and a "special player" and wrote: "The undersized and underappreciated Maze bobbed and weaved his way 83 yards for a third-quarter touchdown on a punt return that broke Arkansas ankles and hearts. His last cutback wasn't even necessary. It was unreal, unfair and unstoppable." The return earned Alabama Play of the Week honors from al.com. Writing in The Huntsville Times
The Huntsville Times
The Huntsville Times is the daily morning newspaper published in Huntsville, Alabama, and also serves the surrounding areas of north Alabama's Tennessee Valley region. The Times formerly operated as an afternoon paper, but moved to mornings after The Huntsville News ceased publication...
, Mark McCarter observed: "Maze didn't look like he was running on his own. He looked like an avatar, and a 16-year-old's thumbs were maneuvering him with a PlayStation control panel."
Playing against Tennessee on October 22, 2011, Maze caught five passes for 106 yards. Through the first eight games of the season, Maze had 482 receiving yards. As of October 23, 2011, Maze also had 320 punt return yards, second most in the Football Bowl Subdivision.