Edmonton Elks sign Japanese/Global LB Les Maruo

The Edmonton Elks have announced the signing of Japanese/Global linebacker Les Maruo.

The 28 year old native of Yokkaichi, Japan was selected fourth overall in the 2021 CFL Global Draft by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers where spent the last three seasons. He dressed for 38 games with the team, recording 24 defensive tackles, 20 special teams tackles, and two sacks.

Before arriving in the CFL, Mauro played two seasons with the Asahi Soft Drink Challengers in the Japanese X-League.

Maruo moved with his family from Japan to Wichita, Kansas when he was nine years old and began playing football at Goddard High School in Wichita. As a senior on the football team, he recorded 79 tackles in nine games. He then played two seasons at Hutchinson Community College (2014-15) finishing with 107 tackles (38 solo, 69 assists), 12.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, and one fumble recovery in 22 games for the Blue Dragons. He transferred to the University of Texas-San Antonio (2017-18) where he was a standout recoding 98 tackles (54 solo, 44 assists), six tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, one interception, two pass breakups, and two fumble recoveries in 23 games for the Roadrunners.