Throughout the youth of an athlete, the main goal is to keep playing their respective sport as long as they can. Although many people have their athletic career cut short early, while AP’s Ben Gerhardt and Deon Maddox were fortunate enough to take their careers in football up to the collegiate level.
Maddox was an all-american wide receiver and punt returner while at Syracuse and was able to start as wide receiver senior year. While Maddox was playing football at Syracuse he was playing alongside NFL caliber talent, Marvin Harrison and Donovan McNabb.
“There was a lot of competition at the wide receiver position, Syracuse had a string of wide receiver All-Americans prior to my senior year and many afterward so it was a real honor to be apart of that class of receivers,” said Maddox.
While Gerhardt played on the kick return for the university of Miami Ohio for four years and was placed in many positions all around the field.
“I was a team player when I played,” said Gerhardt. “Wherever the coach needed someone to play or help out, I was there to help with the task at hand.”
While playing at Syracuse, Maddox had 47 receptions for 674 yards and three touchdowns in 23 games play averaging at 14.3 yards per catch. He also returned 24 punts for an average of 10.5 yards per return and one touchdown his senior year. Gerhardt on the other hand had 5 returns for an average of 14.8 yards per return in his four years at Miami Ohio.
Both Gerhardt and Maddox have had many accolades in their careers especially facing off against their rivalry with teams like the University of Miami and Northwestern university helped spark their performances in these big games.
“My favorite moment had to have been a game against West Virginia where we knew it was nationally televised,” said Maddox, “They got the ball first and had a three and out and they punted the ball to me and I returned it to the house for a 74 yard touchdown. That would have to be it just because it was a big conference game that people all around the world were watching and it helped with my career as well giving me more highlights to help me get to the next level.”
“A moment I remember the best was in 1995 when we beat the Big ten champion Northwestern in Evanston,” said Gerhardt. “It was right after they beat Notre Dame and they later went on to win the big ten championship so that was a memorable moment knowing that we had beaten one of the best teams in the country.”
Post collegiate career, Gerhardt had decided not to play football anymore and instead be a student coach at university of Miami Ohio while Maddox attempted to go pro and signed to training camp by the Detroit Lions as a free agent in 1998. He was later cut before the regular season began.
“People never decide to stop playing, they get cut, and some of it is based on size some of it is based on speed but it happened to me unfortunately,” said Maddox. “If you look at the number of college athletes that come out and knowing that only six receivers make an NFL team and to know that I was one of the top 200 receivers in the country still makes me smile.”
After his career ended as a football player, Maddox had been the offensive coordinator at Middleton High School, confounded the Receivers Edge Skills program to teach young students the skills to play wide receiver, and then was hired as the wide receivers coach at Eastern Michigan University for two seasons.
Both former athletes have learned a great amount from their years of playing football, many of the teachings that the two AP’s have learned they still use in their current careers and from what they have learned in their past experiences.
“I have taken a lot from my career at Syracuse, one being that everything that we see and do makes us who we are. Some of the mannerisms of Donovan McNabb in the huddle really influenced me and coach Freddy Solomon and how he conducted himself really helps me in my everyday job with the teachers and the students here at Steinbrenner.”
“If there was one thing I learned it was being a team player and you cannot be all about yourself. You have to be a team player at all times no matter what the circumstances are,” said Gerhardt.
BY: Dillon Schmidt / Staff Writer
