José Carlos Maltos Díaz is a Mexican professional

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

for the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Startin ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). The Redblacks selected him second overall in the

2019 CFL–LFA Draft The 2019 CFL–LFA Draft took place on January 14, 2019. 27 players were chosen from an invited pool of 51 Mexican players: 34 from the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA) (a professional American football league) and 17 seniors from Mexic ...

. He was originally signed by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) in 2013, but was released following training camp. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for UANL.

Early life

Maltos was born in

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

, Mexico, on August 18, 1991. He grew up playing soccer, but began to play American football at the age of 16 in Monterrey.

College career

Maltos was a kicker for

Auténticos Tigres UANL The Auténticos Tigres UANL (English: ''UANL Authentic Tigers'') team represents the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL) in college football. The Auténticos Tigres compete in the Jacinto Licea Conference, ONEFA's top division. UANL has w ...

at the

Autonomous University of Nuevo León The Autonomous University of Nuevo León ( es, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, UANL) is a public university with seven campuses across the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León. Founded as University of Nuevo León on 25 September 1933, i ...

, where he studied

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

. He was chosen to play in the Aztec Bowl.

Professional career

After working out in front of NFL scouts at

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

, Maltos was signed by the

in May 2013. He was released by the team in early August. Maltos was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

on May 18, 2018. He played in two pre-season games before being released at the end of training camp. He simultaneously spent three seasons in the LFA with the

Fundidores Monterrey Fundidores de Monterrey (English: ''Monterrey Smelters''), officially Fundidores, are an American football team based in Monterrey, Mexico. The Fundidores compete in the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA), the top American football league ...

before being drafted 2nd overall in the

, returning to Canada to play for the

. He dressed in his first CFL game on June 15, 2019 against the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

as a backup placekicker and punter. He re-signed with the Redblacks on January 13, 2021.

National team career

Maltos represented the

Mexico national team The Mexico national football team () represents Mexico in international football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation (). It competes as a member of CONCACAF. Mexico has qualified to seventeen World Cups and has qualified conse ...

at the

2011 IFAF World Championship The 2011 IFAF World Championship was the fourth instance of the IFAF World Championship, an international American football tournament. It began on July 8, 2011 with the final games commencing on July 16. It was hosted by Austria, with games takin ...

held in Austria, where he kicked a 56-yard field goal in a win over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

to break the record for longest field goal in World Championship history. He was named the best kicker of the tournament. Maltos was later a part of the team that finished in third place at the

2015 IFAF World Championship The 2015 IFAF World Championship was the fifth instance of the IFAF World Championship, an international American football tournament. The United States hosted the tournament. Seven teams had confirmed their participation for the tournament in Ca ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maltos, Jose Carlos 1991 births Living people Mexican players of American football Mexican players of Canadian football American football placekickers New Orleans Saints players Canadian football placekickers Sportspeople from Monterrey Fundidores Monterrey players Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Canada BC Lions players Auténticos Tigres UANL players Ottawa Redblacks players