RJ Maryland (born July 9, 2004) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

for the

SMU Mustangs The SMU Mustangs are the sport, athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. SMU was founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor Bears, Baylor, Rice Owls, ...

Early life

Maryland attended

Carroll Senior High School Carroll Senior High School (commonly known as Southlake Carroll) is a public secondary school in Southlake, Texas, serving students in grades 11 and 12. The school is part of the Carroll Independent School District, serving the majority of the c ...

Southlake, Texas Southlake is a city located predominantly in Tarrant County with minor areas extending into Denton County in the U.S. state of Texas. Southlake is a suburb of Dallas/Fort Worth. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 31,265. History ...

. He was rated as a three-star recruit and committed to play

for the

Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...

. However, Maryland later flipped his commitment to play for the

College career

As a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

in 2022, Maryland notched 28 receptions for 296 yards and two touchdowns. In 2023, he totaled 54 receptions for 518 yards and seven touchdowns, earning first-team all-

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

(AAC) honors. In the 2024 season opener, Maryland hauled in eight receptions for 162 yards and a touchdown in a win over

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, garnering ACC receiver of the week honors.

Personal life

Maryland is the son of former NFL defensive lineman

Russell Maryland Russell James Maryland (born March 22, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 10 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders, and Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He p ...

References

External links

SMU Mustangs bio
2004 births Living people Players of American football from Southlake, Texas American football tight ends Carroll Senior High School alumni SMU Mustangs football players {{Tightend-stub