Standing behind the bench, Russell Maryland gaped as Vinny Testaverde escaped a sack, dodged five tackles, juked here, faked there and then exploded 10 yards for a first down. Remembering that 1986 game against Oklahoma, Maryland, who was not yet playing for the University of Miami, marked this play as the most influential part of his career.

Now, 26 years later, Maryland is adding his own impressive move to his résumé: the College Football Hall of Fame.

Maryland, 16 other players and five coaches will be enshrined Saturday in South Bend, Ind. Although the honor is an individual award, Maryland said his successes are wholly due to teammates such as Testaverde.

"They were the ones that trained me on how to become a great collegiate football player," Maryland, now 43, said in an interview with USA TODAY SPORTS. "I may be the one getting the honor, but it's really about the whole university."

The defensive lineman began playing at "The U" as a redshirt freshman in 1987 and recorded 279 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, and 20½ sacks in his career. During those four years, the Hurricanes won two national titles, four bowl games, had a perfect home record and a 44-4 overall record.

But for Maryland, who went on to play 10 seasons in the NFL, his football career almost ended after high school.

He grew up in Chicago and attended Whitney M. Young High, where he played offense and defense for the Dolphins. Maryland was offered a scholarship to Indiana State but said his father made him turn it down.

"I was a guy who was pretty much left unrecruited because I was just one of thousands of Chicago kids who played football," Maryland said.

His father was unhappy with Maryland's bid to Indiana State, so he compiled a video and mailed it to Miami. "One thing led to another and they offered me the last scholarship in 1986. That's where my dad wanted me to go, so that's where I went."

In his senior season, Maryland was defensive MVP of the Cotton Bowl and became the first Hurricane to win the Outland Trophy. He was the first pick of the 1991 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys. He also played for the Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers.

"Since then I've largely been living under the radar," Maryland said, adding that he is now a self-proclaimed "Mr. Mom" to his three children: Kyra, 15; Iris, 12; and Russell Jr., 8. "The greatest thing about playing in the NFL is now I have this extra time to do things with the kids. Dad knows all the cheers just as well as the girls do."

Every morning before the bus comes, he and Junior throw a football around in their Texas yard. And even though Maryland has replaced playing with teaching, he hasn't forgotten about the Hurricanes.

"Anything I can do to help the University of Miami program, I'm there," he said. "There are a lot of great kids that go through that program. We've built a tradition of hard work, excellence, sacrifice and just a great work ethic out there on the football field and that's what I try to convey to them."

The reputation of his Hurricanes was blemished last August, though, when Yahoo! Sports published reports of players accepting illegal benefits from Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro from 2002-10. At least 72 athletes from the football and basketball programs are alleged to have accepted cash, prostitutes, jewelry, bounties for on-field play and, in one case, an abortion, according to Yahoo.

The NCAA investigation is ongoing.

"It's unfortunate that happened," Maryland said. "We let our guards down and let those who didn't have our best interest at heart infiltrate. It fills me with sadness and anger."

But it'll only be a minor setback, he said.

"We've had some battles in the past, but the University of Miami always seems to bounce back and I don't see this being any different." Maryland said. "You will weather some storms as a family unit, but when you build a solid foundation and you have some good people in your corner, you will bounce back. The University of Miami will bounce back."


(usatoday.com)

MIAMI — Russell Maryland remembers being an overweight kid in Chicago, wondering if some college team was going to take a chance and give him a scholarship.

To this day, he remains thankful Miami saw something in him.

Maryland, one of two Hurricanes to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, was honored by Miami on Saturday night for his looming induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. At Miami, he was an All-American, Outland Trophy winner and a two-time national champion who finished with 279 tackles, 25 tackles for loss and 20½ sacks.

“It means everything to me,” said Maryland, the No. 1 pick in 1991, four years after Vinny Testaverde was Miami’s first to receive that honor. “I put in a lot of hard work here at The U and anytime anybody remembers you for anything, it’s pretty special. So to come back and be recognized in this fashion in front of the whole stadium and in essence in front of the whole country as a guy who comes back home and is honored for what he did in the past, that’s an awesome thing to me, very special.”

Maryland brought his wife and three children to the game, where he was being recognized in an on-field ceremony and some other events. Many of his friends, family and some former teammates were in the stadium as well, part of the crowd watching the Hurricanes take on No. 17 Ohio State.

Like most former Hurricanes, he says the current scandal hanging over the program has been “depressing.”

Miami’s athletic department, including its compliance office, is being investigated and sanctions are expected in large part because former booster and convicted Ponzi scheme architect Nevin Shapiro claims he gave extra benefits to 72 Hurricanes players and recruits over an eight-year span. Maryland told a story Saturday of how vigilant Miami’s compliance office has been with him in the past, saying he could not hand players water and towels when he was a guest on the sideline for games.

Shapiro is serving a 20-year prison sentence for masterminding the Ponzi scheme, in which federal prosecutors said he bilked investors out of $930 million.

“I know these kids are good,” Maryland said. “They’re good kids. I know the program is a program of integrity overall. You may have had some kids that made mistakes, but who of us hasn’t made mistakes? Who of us hasn’t been influence by dubious people at times? That’s really the frustrating part about it for me. I just look at it as a situation where a person, one person, came in and can really tear down all the good things that we have within this university. An infection, so to speak. It really hurts my heart.”

Saturday’s game was Miami’s first home contest since the scandal broke. All boosters, and in most cases even former players, are no longer allowed on the Miami sideline, a new policy created as part of the university’s response to the investigation.

“I’ll be there in spirit,” Maryland said. “Maybe not next to them, but I’m still there.”

Maryland said he believes the university will be able to handle whatever fallout comes from the investigation, and added he has confidence in new coach Al Golden and his plan to bring the Hurricanes back to a championship-contending level.

“From all accounts, from what I’ve been hearing from afar (and) from being down here the last couple days, I really feel very strongly that it’s going to be a positive future for the guys,” Maryland said.

Maryland has been retired from the NFL for about a decade. He lives in the Dallas area, mainly doing charitable work and motivational speaking.

Click here to order Russell Maryland’s proCane Rookie Card.


(washingtonpost.com)