By Jonathan Tremblay and Patrick Boyle
Riders Cornerback Terrell Maze’s journey has been far from ordinary. From high school through college, two failed professional football leagues, a stint in Europe and now in the CFL, Terrell seriously wonders if he’ll be playing the game in China in a few years. One thing is for sure, he takes it all in, rolls with the punches and considers himself lucky to have a career doing what he loves.
Growing up in southern California, Terrell was one of five siblings raised by a single mother working at a Long Beach veteran’s hospital. “It made us a tight family. We had cousins all around us, an incredible support system,” says Maze. Basketball was Terrell’s first love in sports: “when I was young, you couldn’t tell me I wasn’t going to be a Los Angeles Laker. Then I figured out I wasn’t that tall.” That’s when he turned to football more seriously and saw a future in the sport. “Today, my family is still a huge source of support. They compete over who’s my biggest fan,” says Maze. “My mother even came out to see a game in Saskatchewan this year, she was cold (laughs).”
After high school, Terrell went to San Diego State and played four years with the Aztecs, while studying public administration and accounting. “I want to go back to school at some point,” says Maze. “I want to get my MBA and work with kids if I can.” Terrell has always loved giving back to his the community he’s a part of. He’s particularly passionate about working with underprivileged kids.
Despite solid performances at San Diego State, Terrell went undrafted in 2007 and after joining the Baltimore Ravens in the pre-season as a free agent, was waived. This led him to the Arena Football League (AFL), joining the Los Angeles Avengers. “The scores were huge, 70-80 on average, making it a big challenge defensively,” says Maze. “It was a lot of fun.” It unfortunately didn’t last as the AFL folded in 2009. Terrell then joined the short-lived United Football League (UFL), but his team folded shortly after he joined, leaving him with some free time: “My agent then asked me ‘You wanna go to Italy?’”
That is how Terrell spent some time 20 minutes away from Milan, the fashion capital of the world: “Football isn’t big over there so they bring guys like me to play and coach at the same time.” Terrell travelled, enjoyed Europe and eventually made his way back to California and the Sacramento Mountain Lions in the UFL for a time…before the UFL also folded. That’s when Terrell got word that a CFL team was looking at his game tapes and wanted him to come up north.
The Riders signed Terrell Maze in April of 2012: “My agent had warned me, that if I did what I was supposed to do on the field here, I would be a superstar. I said ‘what?’” Terrell says he’s never seen a team so surrounded by and engaged with its community. He loves playing in Saskatchewan and continues his work in group homes and with underprivileged youth.
Terrell has not only shown he’s a community man, he’s also a major contributor on defense for the Green and White. He says there’s some incredible talent on this team and having played in five leagues across two continents, Terrell Maze would know. “I’ve had one of the best and worst football careers.”
Watch Terrell and the rest of the Riders as they start playoff action and take on the B.C Lions at Mosaic Stadium on Nov. 10, 2013.
