The New England Patriots‘ most notable acquisition this week won’t play a down for the team in 2023. Instead, she will make history as the first female scout in the 64 years of the franchise.
Maya Ana Callender, who recently served as Princeton’s director of football operations, has been added to the Patriots’ scouting department, per ESPN. A 2016 graduate of Utica College, Callender’s first NFL experience came during a 2021 fellowship with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Callender’s role at Princeton increased following her Eagles fellowship. Along with her typical roles that included the team’s traveling accommodations and meeting schedules, Callender took on a larger role in scouting.
“She was able to carve out time almost every day to practice the craft of evaluating,” Princeton coach Bob Surace told ESPN. “She would look at NFL games, evaluate players and learn scout-speak — the language of talking about somebody’s reach, length, production, how they use their hands. … She would have a pad out at our practices, taking notes.
“She became our pro/NFL liaison, so every time a scout came in — which was probably 50 times last year, every team came in at least once — she set them up. She talked…
