Three More Gone: Moore, Wilson, and Till All Granted Release from Maryland

Looks my 5.5 on the over/under was drastically too low. Still don't think it'll reach double-digits, but I now have some doubt on that matter.

Anyway, the newest victims, by way of a university press release: fullback Rahsaan Moore, running back Jeremiah Wilson, and safety Titus Till. Good news is that Edsall actually commented on these ones. And yes, I realize it's weird when that's good news.

Anyway, I'm not devastated by these, and you could argue that all three are PT-based. Moore lost his job to true freshman Tyler Cierski, who has the potential to be a fantastic lead blocker. Wilson is far behind Justus Pickett and will likely never be a starter at Maryland. And Till, a former four-star, lost his gig after playing terribly against Virginia, including personal foul penalties and missed coverages galore. A.J. Hendy took his spot and did well. When Matt Robinson comes back, Till would be at least third on the depth chart, assuming Kenny Tate doesn't pop back to safety.

In that sense, there's no reason to get antsy about these, like there was with D.J. Adams, R.J. Dill, and David Mackall, all of which had starter-level talent. Especially in the case of a guy like Till, a former four-star who probably thought he'd be starting by his sophomore year, it's not surprising to see him head elsewhere.

Thing is, though, tons of players don't become starters. It's not uncommon, especially for guys like Moore and Wilson who were fringe two-star/three-star types. Guys whose next-best offer was New Mexico aren't usually "start or transfer" types. The problem is that they've apparently decided that, if they're not starting, it's not worth sticking around College Park for. If they were enjoying the program otherwise, I don't think they'd have any problem being a back-up.

And the more that leave, the more it hurts. Without Wilson, for example, Maryland has only two scholarship running backs as it stands right now, with two commitments who could play running back or could play elsewhere. (Two-star Joe Riddle could be at safety; two/three-star Kenneth Goins could be at linebacker.) If Justus Pickett gets hurt, the only cover at the position will be Brandon Ross, a freshman who redshirted this season.

Similarly, the Terrapins now have no cover at fullback, and minimal cover at safety. (If Tate remains at linebacker, the only safeties on the roster will be Hendy, Robinson, and Eric Franklin.) Throw in a missing right tackle and a missing defensive end, and you're looking at quite a bit of attrition already. If things get much worse, Maryland will be in another depth crisis next year. And this time, I don't think Randy can blame it on Ralph.