TOP-SHELF TALENT
September 15, 2011 10:46 AM | General
The other day I grabbed my yellow fluorescent sharpie highlighter and I started pouring through Maryland’s game notes for the West Virginia game.
I made my way through Quick Hitters, Piling Up The Yards, Terps Unveil New Uniforms (a very popular topic on Twitter, by the way), Streaks And Trends …, Maryland By The Numbers, so on and so forth, until I came to something that really got my attention: Terps In The NFL.
Did you realize that Maryland has 28 former players on NFL rosters as of Sept. 8? That matches Cal for the 10th-most of any school in the country and second among Atlantic Coast Conference football programs. In the ACC, only the Nevin Shapiro-fueled Miami Hurricanes have produced more pro talent than Maryland.
Look closely at Maryland’s list and it’s not just journeyman guys either, but players such as Vernon Davis, Domonique Foxworth, E.J. Henderson, Darrius Heyward-Bey, D’Qwell Jackson, Shawne Merriman, Adam Podlesh, Torrey Smith, Randy Starks and Madieu Williams.
I bring this up for all of our star watchers out there who pay attention to these things. Here are Maryland’s Rivals.com recruiting rankings since 2002:
2002, #35
2003, Not in Top 50
2004, #17
2005, #16
2006, #29
2007, #35
2008, #38
2009, #26
2010, #36
2011, #43
I see a lot of 20s, 30s and 40s in there, which means the Terps are either doing a great job of developing talent, exceeding expectations, or the people who do these ratings ought to stick to their day jobs.
Actually, West Virginia coaches have known for years the type of players Maryland has been recruiting because they unsuccessfully tried to get many of those same guys to come to Morgantown.
“It’s a great program and they are in a great recruiting area,” said veteran DB coach Dave Lockwood. “It’s been that way back before I got here and when I was here. They’ve got a good coaching staff who can recruit and they are always going to have good looking athletes.”
Randy Edsall is very familiar with the area having grown up in Eastern Pa and spending a lot of time recruiting this part of the country when he was at Connecticut. When the Maryland job came open last winter he jumped at the opportunity to go from a program coming off its first BCS bowl appearance to one that hasn’t been to a BCS bowl game in 10 years.
At the time it seemed odd until you look more closely at where Maryland is situated right in the middle of some of the best high school football players in the country. Edsall very quickly realized that he can hop in his car and see every good player he needs to see and then be home in time for supper instead of spending all of his time in airports. That’s a pretty nice luxury.
West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen is beginning to familiarize himself with the Maryland program, and he is impressed with what he’s seen so far.
“They look good,” he said. “You should watch them on tape. They’ve got good looking kids.”
The pro scouts certainly think so, too.
I made my way through Quick Hitters, Piling Up The Yards, Terps Unveil New Uniforms (a very popular topic on Twitter, by the way), Streaks And Trends …, Maryland By The Numbers, so on and so forth, until I came to something that really got my attention: Terps In The NFL.
Did you realize that Maryland has 28 former players on NFL rosters as of Sept. 8? That matches Cal for the 10th-most of any school in the country and second among Atlantic Coast Conference football programs. In the ACC, only the Nevin Shapiro-fueled Miami Hurricanes have produced more pro talent than Maryland.
Look closely at Maryland’s list and it’s not just journeyman guys either, but players such as Vernon Davis, Domonique Foxworth, E.J. Henderson, Darrius Heyward-Bey, D’Qwell Jackson, Shawne Merriman, Adam Podlesh, Torrey Smith, Randy Starks and Madieu Williams.
I bring this up for all of our star watchers out there who pay attention to these things. Here are Maryland’s Rivals.com recruiting rankings since 2002:
2002, #35
2003, Not in Top 50
2004, #17
2005, #16
2006, #29
2007, #35
2008, #38
2009, #26
2010, #36
2011, #43
I see a lot of 20s, 30s and 40s in there, which means the Terps are either doing a great job of developing talent, exceeding expectations, or the people who do these ratings ought to stick to their day jobs.
Actually, West Virginia coaches have known for years the type of players Maryland has been recruiting because they unsuccessfully tried to get many of those same guys to come to Morgantown.
“It’s a great program and they are in a great recruiting area,” said veteran DB coach Dave Lockwood. “It’s been that way back before I got here and when I was here. They’ve got a good coaching staff who can recruit and they are always going to have good looking athletes.”
Randy Edsall is very familiar with the area having grown up in Eastern Pa and spending a lot of time recruiting this part of the country when he was at Connecticut. When the Maryland job came open last winter he jumped at the opportunity to go from a program coming off its first BCS bowl appearance to one that hasn’t been to a BCS bowl game in 10 years.
At the time it seemed odd until you look more closely at where Maryland is situated right in the middle of some of the best high school football players in the country. Edsall very quickly realized that he can hop in his car and see every good player he needs to see and then be home in time for supper instead of spending all of his time in airports. That’s a pretty nice luxury.
West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen is beginning to familiarize himself with the Maryland program, and he is impressed with what he’s seen so far.
“They look good,” he said. “You should watch them on tape. They’ve got good looking kids.”
The pro scouts certainly think so, too.
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