Maryland Football Position Preview: Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Dec 27, 2013; Annapolis, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins wide receiver Levern Jacobs (8) runs for a touchdown against the Marshall Thundering Herd during the 2013 Military Bowl at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
Tumultuous would be a pretty accurate word to describe the offseason for the Maryland football program. The Terps will be entering the 2015-16 season minus a great deal of their key players from a season ago. One of the areas that took the biggest hit was the receiving corps.
Maryland had already lost their top two receivers from last year, Stefon Diggs (NFL Draft) and Deon Long (graduation). To make matters worse, Jacquille Veii and Marcus Leak both decided to transfer elsewhere, leaving the Terps without their top four receivers from 2014. Now, the recently suspended Juwann Winfree has also decided to leave the team. With that said, Maryland could be in a world of trouble in the upcoming season.
After losing all of that production from last season, where do Randy Edsall‘s Terps turn now. Not that they are short on talent, but that talent is still very much unproven.
A large part of the burden will fall on the shoulders of Levern and Taivon Jacobs. Levern Jacobs, the older of the two brothers, has battled both injuries and off-the-field issues, but he will be relied on heavily to produce for the Terps in 2015. He has appeared in 24 games for Maryland and has notched 54 receptions for 690 yards and three touchdowns. Jacobs has good athleticism and hands, but he needs to be able to prove that he’s coachable in his senior season.
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Taivon Jacobs may be even more talented than his older brother. He was rated as a four-star recruit by ESPN, coming out of high school in 2014. Jacobs appeared in the Terps’ season opener against James Madison last season, but he suffered a season-ending knee injury. He’ll look to bounce back in 2015 and have a breakout year. With his speed and route-running ability, that isn’t too hard to imagine.
There are a host of other players at the wide receiver position who the Terps will look to for contributions this year, including redshirt junior Amba Etta-Tawo and redshirt freshman Will Ulmer. As a sophomore, Etta-Tawo recorded 10 receptions for 222 yards and one touchdown. He has good size and is capable of being a deep-threat, so he’ll need to elevate his game in 2015.
Ulmer, a former Under Armour All-American, recently switched from quarterback to receiver. He’s one of the fastest players on the team and will look to use his speed to make plays for Maryland this season.
As far as tight ends are concerned, they are likely to have an increased role in the offense this year. The unit is headlined by juniors Andrew Isaacs and P.J. Gallo, as well as well as sophomore Derrick Hayward. College Park hasn’t exactly been a hotbed for pass-catching tight ends, but the offense desperately needs more production through the air, so that will have to change. The Terps also brought in 2014 North Carolina recruit Avery Edwards, who was rated as the 21st-best tight end in the class.
Maryland’s offense is certainly a work in progress this season. If the Terps want to even be competitive in 2015, the receiving corps must overachieve and exceed expectations. If not, it could be a very long year for quarterback Caleb Rowe.