A recurring series where we will profile every player on Maryland's roster, counting down to kick-off against William & Mary on September 1. Thanks to OBNUG for the idea.
Today we profile an incoming freshman who was a local two-way star.
Shawn Petty, Freshman, Linebacker
via media.scout.com
Stats:
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 228
Major: Undecided
Twitter: @PlayMakinPetty5
Collegiate Stats: N/A
High School Stats (Senior Year): 50 tackles, four sacks, three forced fumbles, two interceptions, 1,300 yards passing, 550 yards rushing, 25 total touchdowns
Recruiting Ratings: Two stars by Rivals, Scout (#150 OLB), 24/7 (#37 in Md., #157 ATH), ESPN (#42 in Md., #171 ATH)
High School: Eleanor Roosevelt
Hometown: Greenbelt, Md.
High School Highlights:
How'd He Get to College Park?
Shawn Petty comes from a football family - his father, Rayford is the former head coach at Howard and the current defensive coordinator. At Roosevelt, Petty played basketball and football, as a three-year starter at quarterback and a two-year starter at linebacker. His senior year, the Raiders went 10-1 and advanced to the semifinals, and he was named consensus all-state, first team All-Met, and first team all-county as a linebacker.
In July of last year, Petty attended a one-day camp in College Park, and with the knowledge that Maryland already had two quarterback commits in the class in Perry Hills and Caleb Rowe, he worked out at linebacker. He earned his first scholarship offer, and committed to his hometown school.
Nickname:
I got nothing.
Career Highlight:
Getting offered by the hometown school.
Career Lowlight:
Breaking his collarbone during his junior year of high school.
Dream Season:
N/A, he's almost assuredly redshirting.
Nightmare Season:
See above.
2012 Prospectus:
Shawn Petty is seen as a project for Maryland, and is possibly the least likely of all of Maryland's incoming freshmen to play this season. While he started at linebacker for two years at Roosevelt, he was more known as a quarterback, and it's going to take a little time for him to get adjusted to linebacker at the collegiate level.
Down the line, Petty will make for an intriguing linebacker prospect. He's got good size and strength, but like we said, there will be an adjustment period. He'll play on the scout team this season, and hopefully in a few years he can be a role player off the bench at linebacker.
Petty is projected to play outside linebacker, and looking at who Maryland currently has at the two positions, WILL is the more likely spot. Darin Drakeford is the current starter, but he's graduating after this year. Behind him is injury-prone Marcus Whitfield, converted defensive end Clarence Murphy and likely one of the other incoming freshmen linebackers, probably Abner Logan or Avery Thompson. It's unlikely Logan will ever beat any of them out for a starting job, but he can be a contributor off the bench down the road.
Up Next:
Our next player went to a relatively new local high school.