Maurice Purify

Maurice Purify (born January 17, 1986) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a member of the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Nebraska.

Purify has also played for the Georgia Force and the Omaha Nighthawks.

Early years
Purify was born in Eureka, California and attended Eureka High School.

San Francisco City College
Purify originally attended San Francisco City College. As a freshman in 2004, he recorded 24 receptions for 444 yards and 11 touchdowns. In 2005 he recorded 68 receptions for 1,318 yards and 19 touchdowns as a sophomore and earned California Community College Football Coaches Association First-team All-America honors and Region I First-team All-California honors. He helped the team to a 10-2 season that ended with a 41-38 loss in the junior college state championship game, a game in which he earned offensive MVP honors.

Basketball career
While at SFCC, Purify also played on the school's basketball team. As a sophomore, he earned First-team junior college All-state honors as he helped lead the team to the semifinals of the 2006 California Community Colleges Commission on Athletics Men’s Basketball Championship. For his basketball achievements, Purify was named the Community Colleges Commission on Athletics/U.S. Bank Student-Athlete of the Month for March.

After his two years at SFCC, Purify earned a five-star rating from Scout.com, was a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and earned First-team JC-Gridwire All-America honors. He received offers from Arizona, Kentucky, Oregon State and Washington. He chose Nebraska.

Nebraska
As a junior, Purify played in all 14 games, including five starts. He recorded at least four receptions three times during the season, with a career-high six receptions at Oklahoma State. He recorded career-highs of 91 yards against Kansas and two touchdown receptions at Oklahoma State.

As a senior in 2007, caught 57 passes for 814 yards and nine touchdowns, including seven games with five or more receptions. His 57 catches were the second-most in NU history, trailing only teammate Marlon Lucky’s total in 2007. The 814 yards ranked third on the Nebraska single-season list and were the most by a Husker since Rodgers in 1972, while Purify’s nine touchdown catches were second on the single-season list as well.

While at Nebraska, Purify majored in criminal justice and volunteered his time as an American Education Week speaker and as part of Nebraska’s team hospital visits.

Career summary
Purify finished his career ranked sixth on the Nebraska career receptions list with 91 and fifth in receiving yards with 1,444. His 16 career touchdowns also placed him second on the Nebraska career charts, trailing only 1972 Heisman winner Johnny Rodgers. Purify played in 25 games with nine starts in his career.

Cincinnati Bengals
Purify went undrafted in the 2008 NFL Draft, however, he was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals on May 8. He played in all four preseason games, with three receptions for 25 yards. He was waived on August 30 and signed the next day to Bengals practice squad. He was then released on September 23 and re-signed October 22 to practice squad, where he spent the rest of the season.

In 2009, Purify played in all four preseason games recording four receptions for 46 yards. Then, he was signed from the practice squad on November 13 and made his NFL debut during week nine at Pittsburgh, where he played on offense and recorded one special teams tackle. On December 16, he was released and added to the practice squad. On January 11, he was re-signed to a reserve/future contract. Purify was released by the Bengals during final cuts.

Georgia Force
Purify signed with the Georgia Force of the Arena Football League on November 19, 2010. He finished the year with 129 catches for 1,650 yards and 46 receiving touchdowns and was named the AFL's Rookie of the Year, Breakout Player of the Year, and was named to the AFL All-Arena Second Team.

Omaha Nighthawks
Purify was signed by the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League on July 11, 2011. He was placed on the injured reserve list on August 30.

2012
Purify signed with the Arizona Rattlers for the 2012 Arena Football League season. Purify and teammate Nick Davila lead the Rattlers to a ArenaBowl XXV victory over the Philadelphia Soul. Purify was named First Team All-Arena as a wide receiver.

2013
Purify re-signed with the Rattlers for the 2013 season.