[edit] High school years Maroney attended Normandy Senior High School in St. Louis, Missouri, where he garnered four varsity letters in football, three in track, two in basketball, and one in baseball. In basketball, he was twice named team MVP; in track, he placed third at the state meet in the 200-meter dash as a senior. Maroney holds Normandy High School's single season rushing record, with 1,903 yards in 2002. [edit] College career At the University of Minnesota, he split duties with current Dallas Cowboys running back Marion Barber III in 2003 and 2004 and then with Gary Russell in 2005. As such, he started only 14 of 36 games, but still became the first Golden Gopher and the third in Big Ten Conference history to rush for 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons. He gained a total of 3,933 yards with the Golden Gophers and was a two time All-Big Ten First Team selection (2004-2005). He was also selected a All-American by Pro Football Weekly and Rivals.com in 2005. [edit] NFL career Maroney declared for the 2006 NFL Draft after the completion of his junior season and was selected in the first round with the 21st overall pick by the New England Patriots. He was the second running back selected behind Reggie Bush. While splitting time with fellow running back Corey Dillon in 2006, Maroney was part of what coach Bill Belichick called the best running back corps he had ever coached. After Corey Dillon was released, Maroney became the starting running back for the Patriots. In Week 4, Maroney earned 125 yards and 2 TDs (of 11 and 25 yards) on 15 carries, a performance that earned him both FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week and Diet Pepsi Rookie NFL Player of the Week honors. In Week 7, he was voted AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after a 74-yard kickoff return, while in Week 8 he had a 77-yard kickoff return (the two longest non-TD returns of the season outside of Antonio Cromartie's 91-yard kickoff return against the Oakland Raiders). Moreover, those two returns gave Maroney the longest kickoff return average among all NFL players.[citation needed] In Week 11, Maroney had 82 yards rushing, and four receptions for 34 yards, including a 19-yard reception that became his first receiving touchdown. In total, Maroney earned 1,722 all-purpose yards in his rookie season. Although Maroney rushed for 835 yards in the Patriot's undefeated regular season, he became a huge factor in the post-season, compiling 244 rushing yards and two touchdowns in only two games before playing in Super Bowl XLII.