Maurice Purify

Honors & Awards

• Second-Team All-Big 12 (Coaches, 2006)
• Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 (Coaches, 2007)
• Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 (AP, 2006)
• Nebraska Offensive Most Valuable Player (2007)
• Second on Nebraska Career Touchdown Reception List (16)
• Second on Nebraska Season Touchdown Reception List (9, 2007)
• Second on Nebraska Single-Season Reception List (57, 2007)
• Fifth on Nebraska Career Receiving Yardage List (1,444)
• Sixth on Nebraska Career Reception List (91)

2007 (Senior)
Wide receiver Maurice Purify left his mark in the Husker receiving record book after just two seasons at Nebraska. The 6-4, 220-pound Purify quickly demonstrated his ability to be a difference-maker in the Nebraska offense shortly after his arrival in 2006, and he continued to make big plays throughout his career.

Purify, who lettered in both 2006 and 2007 for the Huskers, finished his career ranked sixth on the NU 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.

Purify played in 11 games with four starts in 2007 and had one of the most prolific seasons ever by a Husker receiver. He 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.

The California native grabbed seven passes for 80 yards against No. 1 USC. He helped Nebraska produce a 400-plus passing day in a 41-40 victory over Ball State with six catches for 122 yards and the game-winning touchdown in the final two minutes. Purify caught a combined nine passes over the next three games then exploded down the stretch.

At Kansas, he caught seven passes for a career-high 158 yards, the fourth-best single-game total in school history. He also caught three touchdown passes to tie a school record, and had a season-long 60-yard reception. The following week against Kansas State, Purify made six catches for 108 yards to contribute to NU’s record-breaking passing day. He capped his career with a career-high 11 receptions for 136 yards at Colorado. For the second time in three games he tied the school single-game record with three touchdown catches, and his 11 receptions tied for third on the single-game list.

Purify became the first player in Nebraska history with three straight 100-yard receiving days, and his four games topping the century mark in 2007 was a season record. For his efforts, Purify was chosen by his teammates as Nebraska’s Offensive MVP and he was an honorable-mention All-Big 12 pick.

2006 (Junior)
Purify saw action in all 14 games, including starts in five of the final six games. He made at least four receptions three times during the year, with a career-best six receptions at Oklahoma State. Purify notched personal bests of 91 yards against Kansas and two scoring receptions at Oklahoma State.

Purify caught his first career touchdown on a 42-yard reception against Nicholls State. His game began to elevate at the start of Big 12 play, including four catches for 91 yards in the victory over Kansas. His second career touchdown came on a 27-yard catch at Iowa State with only three seconds remaining in the first half staking NU to a 21-7 lead.

He added four receptions for 73 yards in a 21-3 win at Kansas State, then put together a solid performance against No. 5 Texas. Purify took a short pass from Zac Taylor and turned it into a 63-yard touchdown on NU’s second possession, and later added a 21-yard reception that was a key play in helping the Huskers take a late fourth-quarter lead on the Longhorns. His outing against Oklahoma State featured career-high totals of six catches and two touchdowns with 65 yards receiving.

Purify accounted for two more scores the following week against Missouri to help the Huskers bounce back from a two-game losing streak. He opened the scoring with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Nunn on his first career pass attempt. In the second quarter, Purify added a touchdown catch of his own on a seven-yard jump ball from Zac Taylor where he outleaped a Tiger defender.

His nine-yard catch for the winning touchdown the following week against Texas A&M helped the Huskers clinch the Big 12 North Division title. The score marked his fifth touchdown in four games. He had three catches for 51 yards in the regular-season finale against Colorado, including a critical 31-yard catch on a third-down conversion in the second half. Purify capped the year with three catches against Oklahoma, and one against Auburn in the Cotton Bowl

Before Nebraska (San Francisco City College/Eureka HS)
Purify came to Nebraska as one of the nation’s most touted junior college wide receivers, and was one of seven Californians in the 2006 recruiting class. Originally from Eureka (Calif.) High School, Purify earned 2005 California Community College Football Coaches Association first-team All-America honors and Region I first-team All-California honors at wide receiver. He helped Coach George Rush’s City College squad to a 10-2 season that ended with a 41-38 loss in the junior college state championship contest, a game in which Purify earned offensive MVP honors.

As a freshman, Purify had 24 receptions for 444 yards and 11 touchdowns, followed by 68 catches for 1,318 yards and 19 touchdowns as a sophomore. 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 earned first-team junior college all-state honors in basketball as he helped lead the Rams 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. He chose Nebraska after also receiving offers from Arizona, Kentucky, Oregon State and Washington.

Personal
Maurice is the son of Mary Purify-Skillman. He was born on Jan. 17, 1986. He is an uncle of former Colorado tailback Bobby Purify. Maurice is majoring in criminal justice and has volunteered his time as an American Education Week speaker and as part of Nebraska’s team hospital visits.

Purify's Career Statistics

Year

G/S

No.

Yds.

Y/R

Y/G

Long

TDs

2006

14/5

34

630

18.5

45.0

63 vs. Texas

7

2007

11/4

57

814

14.3

74.0

60 vs. Kansas

9

Totals

25/9

91

1,444

15.9

57.8

63 vs. Texas

16

 

 

Rushing: 3-16-0 overall; 1-1-0 in 2006; 2-15-0 in 2007
Passing: 1-for-1; 28 yards, 1 TD in 2006

Single-Game Bests:
Receptions?11 vs. Colorado, 2007
Receiving Yards?158 vs. Kansas, 2007
Long Reception?63 vs. Texas, 2006 (TD)
Touchdowns?3 vs. Kansas, Colorado, 2007 (Tied School Record)
Touchdown Pass - 1 vs. Missouri, 2006