Lorenzo Malik Mauldin IV (born October 1, 1992) is a professional gridiron football

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

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). Starting ...

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). He was drafted by the New York Jets in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college football at

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

Early years

Mauldin was born in Sacramento, California on October 1, 1992. He spent most of his childhood with 16 different

foster parents Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...

as both of his parents were in jail. Mauldin attended

Maynard H. Jackson High School Maynard H. Jackson High School (MJHS, or Jackson High) is a high school of 1,551 students, with the capacity for 1,500. Jackson High is located in southeast Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of G ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, where he played football and basketball and competed in track. In

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

, Mauldin was named to Class AA All-State Team. In

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

, Mauldin competed in events ranging from the high jump to the discus throw. At the 2010 Whitefield Meet, he took fourth in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

(114 ft 4 in) and second in the shot put (44 ft 7 in). Regarded as a three-star prospect by ''

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'', Mauldin was rated as the 82nd-best player in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. He was rated as the 67th-best defensive end by ''

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'', and the 133rd-best defensive end by ''

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''. He chose Louisville over Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, South Alabama, Troy and South Carolina, where he originally committed.

College career

As a true freshman at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...

in 2011, Mauldin played in all 12 of the

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

games and recorded six tackles. As a sophomore in 2012, Mauldin started six of 11 games, recording 22 tackles and a team-leading 4.5 sacks. In August 2013, prior to his junior season, Mauldin was involved in a

hit and run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there may be a ...

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accident. He recovered and started all 13 games that season. He finished the year with 40 tackles and 9.5 sacks. Prior to his senior season in 2014, Mauldin was moved from defensive end to linebacker.

Professional career

New York Jets

Mauldin was selected by the New York Jets in the third round (82nd overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. He signed a four-year, $3 million contract on May 7, 2015. Mauldin played his first regular season game on September 13, 2015 against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

, where he forced a fumble off

Johnny Manziel Johnathan Paul Manziel ( ; born December 6, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the FCF Zappers of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He played two seasons with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) and was also a me ...

. However, after forcing the fumble, he suffered an apparent neck injury, was rendered unconscious for a few minutes, carted off the field, and taken to a local hospital. After undergoing tests, he was diagnosed with only a concussion and luckily, no serious neck injury. During his rookie season in 2015, Mauldin played 15 games making 10 tackles, 4 sacks, and a fumble recovery. On September 4, 2017, Mauldin was placed on injured reserve after dealing with a back injury throughout training camp. On September 1, 2018, Mauldin was released by the Jets.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Mauldin signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on April 15, 2019. He played in 11 regular season games where he recorded seven defensive tackles, seven special teams tackles, and three sacks. He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the ...

, and opted to sign a one-year contract extension on January 4, 2021. He played in six games where he had six defensive tackles, five special teams tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble.

Ottawa Redblacks

On February 8, 2022, it was announced that Mauldin had signed with the

. 2022 was a breakout year for Mauldin. He led the league with 17 sacks and won the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive player award. As a pending free agent Mauldin and the Redblacks agreed to a one-year contract extension on January 18, 2023.

Personal life

On June 11, 2017, it was revealed that Mauldin attacked another customer at a Manhattan nightclub two months prior to the announcement. The battle started when the customer spilled champagne on Mauldin, triggering his attack. The victim was punched twice, left with a black eye, and hospitalized. On June 21, 2017, Mauldin turned himself in to police, and was charged with misdemeanor assault.

References

External links

Ottawa Redblacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mauldin, Lorenzo 1992 births Living people Players of American football from Atlanta American football defensive ends American football linebackers Louisville Cardinals football players New York Jets players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Ottawa Redblacks players Canadian football linebackers American players of Canadian football Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award winners