Jake Maier

Jake Maier (born April 9, 1997) is an American professional football quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at UC Davis in Davis, California.

Early life

Maier was born in Fullerton, California. He played football and baseball at St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs, California.

College career

In 2015, Maier redshirted with Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Maier played college football for the Long Beach Vikings in 2016 and was named the Southern California Football Association Central Division Offensive Player of the Year.

He then transferred to UC Davis for the next three seasons (2017 to 2019). He was named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year in 2018. Finished colligate career as the UC Davis career leader in attempts (1,495), completions (992) and yards (11,163), while his career TDs (88) ranked second only to J.T. O'Sullivan.

Statistics

Professional career

Calgary Stampeders

Dan Hawkins, Maier's head coach at UC Davis, mentioned to Maier that he could potentially flourish in the Canadian Football League. Following Maier's 2017 season at UC Davis, Hawkins reached out to Ryan Dinwiddie, who had played quarterback for Hawkins at Boise State University from 2001 to 2003, and had been on Hawkins' coaching staff with the Montreal Alouettes in 2013. Hawkins told Dinwiddie, who was coaching quarterbacks with the Calgary Stampeders at the time, “you’d better put this kid on your egotiationlist cause he’s legit. He’s got the ‘it’ factor. He has what I call the ‘rage to master.'” The Stampeders added Maier to their negotiation list in 2018.

On May 5, 2020, after completing his college career, Maier signed with the Calgary Stampeders. However, he did not play that year due to the cancellation of the 2020 CFL season.

Upon the conclusion of training camp for the 2021 season, Maier was placed on the injured list for week 1 and was then on the reserve roster for week 2. The Stampeders' incumbent starting quarterback, Bo Levi Mitchell, was injured in week 1 and played through the injury in week 2, but was ultimately placed on the 6-game injured list after the second game of the season. Following a competition in practice, Maier was named the team's starting quarterback over Michael O'Connor for the team's August 20, 2021 game against the Montreal Alouettes. Montreal's head coach, Khari Jones, was another former UC Davis quarterback. In the win over the Alouettes, he completed 16 of 29 pass attempts for two interceptions and completed his first touchdown pass on a four-yard throw to Kamar Jorden. In his second start, Maier set a Stampeder franchise record by completing 17 consecutive passes. On September 6, 2021, Maier's third start, he became the first quarterback in Canadian Football League history to throw for over 300 passing yards in each of his first three career starts. Maier had a 1–2 record as a starting quarterback that year. He also came off the bench in Calgary's final game of the regular season, against Winnipeg, and engineered a comeback victory in the fourth quarter. On December 31, 2021, Maier signed a contract extension with the Stampeders.

In 2022, Maier started the season as the backup to Bo Levi Mitchell. In Week 1, Calgary was playing against Montreal, who was still coached by Khari Jones. In this game, Maier replaced Mitchell, who was limping slightly as he headed to the sidelines in the fourth quarter. Maier was able to lead Calgary to a fourth quarter victory. Maier's next significant game action came in Week 11, when he replaced Mitchell in the second half and led the Stamps to victory over the Toronto Argonauts. Maier was named the starting quarterback the following week, and he continued to be the starter late into the season, helping the team clinch a playoff berth. On September 27, 2022, the Stampeders and Maier agreed to a two-year contract extension. Maier started his first playoff game, the West Semi-Final against the B.C. Lions, but he was replaced by Mitchell in the fourth quarter. Calgary lost 30–16.

In 2023, Mitchell was now with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, so Maier was Calgary's undisputed starting quarterback going into the season. Highlights of this season for Maier included starting all 18 regular season games, leading the CFL in pass attempts and completions, finishing third in passing yards, and throwing four touchdown passes in two separate games. The Stampeders finished with a disappointing 6–12 record, but were able to qualify for the playoffs. Maier started the West Semi-Final against B.C. for the second consecutive year, but Calgary would go on to lose 41–30.

In 2024, Maier started the first 11 games for the Stampeders, leading the team to a 4–7 record. Prior to the Labour Day Rematch against Edmonton, the Stampeders announced that Logan Bonner would start the game, with Maier being the No. 2 quarterback. Prior to this, Maier had started 40 consecutive games (38 regular season and 2 playoff). In the Labour Day Rematch, Bonner was 21 of 36 passing for 284 yards with five interceptions and no touchdowns, and Calgary lost 37–16. The following Tuesday, as Calgary was preparing to play against the Montreal Alouettes, Maier was back taking the majority of first-team snaps at practice. In the later part of the season, Matthew Shiltz started two games for Calgary. Maier ultimately started 15 games on the season, winning five and tying one. The Stampeders missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2004 season.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On December 23, 2024, it was announced that Maier had been traded to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in exchange for an eighth-round pick in the 2025 CFL draft. On January 9, 2025, the Roughriders announced that Maier had signed a one-year contract extension with the team.

CFL statistics

References

External links

Saskatchewan Roughriders bio

UC Davis bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maier, Jake
1997 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
Players of Canadian football from California
Calgary Stampeders players
Canadian football quarterbacks
Players of American football from Fullerton, California
Saskatchewan Roughriders players
UC Davis Aggies football players
Long Beach City Vikings football players
Sacred Heart Pioneers football players