Shaquille "Shaq" Murray-Lawrence (born October 30, 1993) is a professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

and

kickoff returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

who is 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 ...

. He is also a member of the Canadian National Bobsled Team as a brakeman. He was a member of Team Canada at the

Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...

. He attended the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

(UNLV). Murray-Lawrence has also been a member of 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 ...

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

, and

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

Early career

Murray-Lawrence played

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 ...

for the Sir Wilfrid Laurier Blue Devils, where he earned team MVP from 2008–2010. He played at

Lon Morris College Lon Morris College (LMC) was a private junior college located in Jacksonville, Texas, United States, and was the only school affiliated with the United Methodist Church that was owned by an individual conference and not the denomination ...

in 2011 before the school closed due to financial difficulties in 2012. 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 the Tyler Apaches in 2012, recording 211 yards and three

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s on 21 carries. Prior to the 2013 season, Murray-Lawrence transferred to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to play for the

UNLV Rebels The UNLV Rebels are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The Rebels compete in the NCAA Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision for college football) as a member of the Mountain West Confer ...

. Despite being a backup during his first year with the Rebels, Murray-Lawrence rushed for 418 yards on 47 attempts and played in 12 games. He rushed for 552 yards and nine touchdowns in his senior year, despite playing only nine games. Murray-Lawrence took part in UNLV's 2015

Pro Day The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

Professional career

BC Lions

Murray-Lawrence impressed scouts at the 2015

CFL Combine The CFL Combine (formerly known as the Evaluation Camp or E-Camp) is a three-day program in which athletes from Canadian universities and Canadians in the NCAA are scouted by general managers, coaches and scouts of the Canadian Football League (C ...

by breaking the event's record for a 40-yard dash with a time of 4.41 seconds, although this record was broken later in the same event by

Tevaughn Campbell Tevaughn Shaquele Campbell (born June 14, 1993) is a Canadian professional football cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played CIS football for the Regina Rams. He played four seasons in the Canadia ...

with a time of 4.35 seconds. Murray-Lawrence was taken in the third round of the 2015 CFL Draft by the BC Lions with the 23rd overall pick. After making the active roster, he debuted in the Lions' first game against 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 ...

on July 4, 2015, where he ran four kick returns for 72 yards. Additionally, he ran for an 89-yard touchdown on a kickoff return that was nullified by a holding penalty. In three seasons with the Lions Murray-Lawrence played only sparingly; rushing the ball 47 times for 148 yards, catching 13 passes out of the backfield for 73 yards, and returning 60 kickoffs (42 of which occurred in 2015).

Montreal Alouettes

Murray-Lawrence became a

on February 13, 2018 and signed with the

on February 19, 2018. He was released on May 20, 2018.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On October 4, 2018, Murray-Lawrence signed with the

. He did not make an appearance for the club and became a free agent in February 2019.

Montreal Alouettes (II)

On August 22, 2019 Murray-Lawrence re-signed with the Montreal Alouettes as a member of their practice roster. He was released on January 20, 2021.

Other sports

Murray-Lawrence was recruited by

Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton (BCS) is the official federation for bobsleigh and skeleton in Canada. It serves as the Canadian representative for the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation and is part of the Canadian Olympic Committee. BCS i ...

to compete on Canada's Olympic

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

team in 2017 but his injuries, which sidelined him from play in the CFL in 2017 and 2018, also prevented him from attending his first training camp until 2019; as of 2020, Murray-Lawrence was training alongside fellow CFL players

Jacob Dearborn Jacob Dearborn (born June 15, 1994) is a professional Canadian football defensive back who is currently a free agent. He most recently played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is also an Olympic bobsledder ...

and

Kayden Johnson Kayden is a given name in the United States and Canada, most commonly used for males. Its popularity is also increased by the popularity of similar-sounding names such as Aidan, Braden, Hayden, and Jaden. Origin Etymology English The name is als ...

. Murray-Lawrence attended the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...

as an alternate in four-man.

References

External links

Saskatchewan Roughriders bio

Canadian Football League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray-Lawrence, Shaquille 1993 births Living people BC Lions players UNLV Rebels football players Tyler Apaches football players American football running backs American football return specialists Canadian football running backs Canadian football return specialists Montreal Alouettes players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Saskatchewan Roughriders players Sportspeople from Scarborough, Toronto