José Carlos Maltos Díaz (born August 18, 1991) is a Mexican professional

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

for the

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 disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

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

2019 CFL–LFA Draft The 2019 CFL–LFA draft took place on January 14, 2019. Twenty-seven 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 ...

. 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 National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

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

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for UANL.

Early life

Maltos was born in

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

, 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 at the

Autonomous University of Nuevo León The Autonomous University of Nuevo León () is a public research university with seven campuses across the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León. Founded as University of Nuevo León on 25 September 1933, it is the third largest public university ...

, where he studied

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

. He was chosen to play in the Aztec Bowl. Maltos was later named to the ONEFA Liga Mayor Team of the Decade for the 2010s by ''Mundo del Ovoide''.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

After working out in front of NFL scouts at

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

, Maltos was signed by the

in May 2013. He was released by the team in early August.

Fundidores Monterrey

Maltos spent three seasons in the LFA with the

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

from 2017 to 2019.

BC Lions

Maltos was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

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 (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

on May 18, 2018. He played in two pre-season games before being released at the end of training camp.

Ottawa Redblacks

After the CFL mandated that teams carry Global players, Maltos was drafted 2nd overall in the

and returned to Canada to play for the

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

. 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 (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

, as a backup placekicker and punter. He dressed in ten games in 2019, but 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 ...

. He re-signed with the Redblacks on January 13, 2021. He spent the next two years mostly on the practice roster, dressing in one game in the 2022 season, and was not re-signed following the 2022 season.

Montreal Alouettes

On December 9, 2022, Maltos signed with the

. In

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, he played in his first game as a CFL team's primary placekicker on October 9, 2023, where he made two of four field goal attempts and all three convert attempts, in a game against the

. In the next game, on October 14, 2023, he was five-for-five on field goal attempts, including a long of 50 yards. He played in those two regular season games in 2023 where he finished seven-for-nine on field goal attempts and five-for-six on convert attempts. With incumbent placekicker, David Côté, healthy, Maltos returned to the practice roster where he remained while the Alouettes defeated the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

in the

110th Grey Cup The 110th Grey Cup was played to determine the Canadian Football League (CFL) champion for the 2023 CFL season, 2023 season. The game was played on November 19, 2023, at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, between the West ...

game. Maltos re-signed with the Alouettes on December 15, 2023. He again began the season on the practice roster, but was pressed into action on July 6, 2024, following an injury to Côté. He had his first perfect game as he connected on all three field goal attempts and his only convert attempt.

National team career

Maltos represented the Mexico national team 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 tak ...

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

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

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

External links

Montreal Alouettes bio
{{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 de Monterrey players Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Canada BC Lions players Auténticos Tigres UANL players Ottawa Redblacks players Montreal Alouettes players