Russell Maryland

Russell James Maryland was born March 22, 1969 in Chicago, Illinois. He started his football career here at Whitney Young High School. He was not highly recruited and the only major college program to offer him a football scholarship in 1986 was the University of Miami.
Because of both a consistent work ethic and exemplary coaching under coach Jimmy Johnson’s defensive staff, Russell was named third team All-American as a Junior in 1989. As a senior in 1990, he registered 96 tackles and 10½ quarterback sacks for the Hurricanes. He was named All-American, College Football Lineman of the Year by the UPI and became the first Hurricane player ever to receive the Outland Trophy for the best interior lineman in college. Russell finished his college career with 279 tackles, 25 tackles for losses and 20.5 quarterback sacks. During his tenure with the Hurricanes he helped his team win two National Championships in 1987 and 1989, four consecutive bowl wins, a perfect home record, and a 44-4 overall record.
He was the first overall pick in the 1991 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. Maryland started as a rookie defensive tackle and from the beginning showed the relentless motor and effort that he would be known for. He was especially stout against the run and proved to be one of the missing pieces to the Cowboys’ 1990’s dynasty. In 1993 he was named to the Pro Bowl and he was an integral part in the Cowboys winning Super Bowls XXVII (27), XXVIII (28), and XXX (30).
As a highly sought-after free agent in the off-season in 1996, he signed with the Oakland Raiders and contributed his services to them until the end of the 1999 season. So durable was Maryland that he started all but one of his total games with the Raiders (63 of 64).
In 2000, he was signed as a free agent by the Green Bay Packers where he played his final NFL year starting in all 16 of the Packers regular-season contests.
During his 10-year career he started 140-of-154 games, participated in 12 playoff games, had 545 total tackles, 28.5 sacks, and forced ten fumbles.
Russell has received many other sports awards and accolades including:
  • Oakland Raiders NFL Man of the Year in 1997
  • Green Bay Packers Unsung Hero Award in 2000
  • Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame in 2001
  • University of Miami Hall of Fame in 2001
  • College Football Hall of Fame in 2011
  • University of Miami Ring of Honor in 2014
  • NCAA Silver Award in 2016
  • Orange Bowl Hall of Fame in 2017

Since retiring from the NFL Russell, makes his home in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and enjoys spending quality time with his wife Rose and kids, Kyra, Iris, and Russell Jr.

Topics:

  • How I Got to Number 1
  • Life and Times of a Retired NFL Warrior

Travels From:

–

Fee Range:

–

Russell Maryland Video

Testimonial

PPH Speakers Network helped us secure the perfect speaker for our leadership summit. Their sports story captivated our audience and inspired immediate action.
– John Smith, Event Planner
PPH Speakers Network helped us secure the perfect speaker for our leadership summit. Their sports story captivated our audience and inspired immediate action.
– John Smith, Event Planner
PPH Speakers Network helped us secure the perfect speaker for our leadership summit. Their sports story captivated our audience and inspired immediate action.
– John Smith, Event Planner
Scroll to Top