Terps Have Three Stars in East/West Shrine Game
The Maryland Terrapins have something to celebrate! The Terps have three stars in the East/West Shrine Game. The game is to be played tomorrow at 4 pm and it can be seen on NFL Network.
The three UMD players are: wide receiver Deon Long, defensive tackle Darius Kilgo and linebacker Cole Farrand. Each are seniors and they have contributed a great deal to Maryland’s football program.
Here are some stats and analysis of these guys:
Darius Kilgo at 6’3, 319 started his career on the Terps’ defensive line in 2011 and has been a staple of their defensive line for the last four years. He had his best season in Maryland’s inaugural Big Ten move, tallying 29 solo tackles and two sacks on the year with 12 assisted tackles as well. In his career, he has registered 123 total tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. Not bad numbers for a defensive tackle of his size.
According to cbssports.com, Kilgo is projected to be drafted in the seventh round or be an undrafted free agent. I feel like that’s a little bit of a slight as far as conference membership is concerned. Maryland is in the Big Ten and the conference is said to not get respect because college football is SEC-dominated. Darius Kilgo deserves to go higher in the draft because he has prototypical size at 6’3, 319 lbs and will have the ability to plug holes in the running game.
He may have to work on getting faster off the line of scrimmage and work his hands as far as avoiding defenders; but with the right team and defensive line coach, he will able to learn, grow and thrive in the NFL. Projections are just projections, but all a player needs is one team to take a chance on him and help him become all that he wants and can be. With the draft coming up on April 30-May 2, Kilgo has a few months to prepare and show teams what he is made of. But no matter what round he goes in, he’s going to be a great player.
Senior wide receiver Deon Long was for much of the season the Robin to Stefon Diggs as Batman. But he still was able to produce for the Terps and has an East/West Shrine roster spot as a reward for his great play. This season he had 51 catches, 575 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 11.3 yards per catch this season, and in his career with Maryland he had 83 catches, 1064 yards and three touchdowns.
Long transferred from New Mexico University and became a Terp in 2013. The site cbssports.com projects him as a seventh-rounder or undrafted free agent as well. As I alluded to in a previous article, teams love size at the wide receiver position, and the Houston Texans, Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons would be good landing spots for him. Deon Long has 4.4 speed; and that combo of size and speed could help his draft stock if he performs really well at the combine. For now though, he has the East/West Shrine Game to worry about, so performing well tomorrow is essential.
Last but not least, senior linebacker Cole Farrand was a staple this season in the linebacking core. His best games came against the Indiana Hoosiers, Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan State Spartans where he gathered 19, 17, and 18 tackles respectively. For his career, he accumulated 111 tackles and seven passes defended. He, like the other two seniors, have great futures ahead of them.