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 move on to the secondary.
Clarence Claiborne, Senior, #41 and Anthony Perry, Junior, #6 - Defensive Backs
via grfx.cstv.com via grfx.cstv.com
Stats:
Height: 6'0"/5'9"
Weight: 210/170
Major: Kinesiology/listed
Twitter: @CClaiborne41/couldn't find it
Collegiate Stats: Four games, three tackles (two assisted)/N/A
High School Stats: 35 receptions for 520 yards and seven touchdowns/N/A
Recruiting Ratings: N/A/N/A
High School: Kennedy/Marriotts Ridge
Hometown: Rockville, Md./Woodstock, Md.
High School Highlights:
Couldn't find one specifically for Claiborne and definitely couldn't find one for Perry, but here's a highlight tape of the 2007 Kennedy squad, which featured Claiborne and fellow Terp Jeff Hernandez (and we're pretty sure Kwabena Ofori as well). Melvin Harris was also on that team, and he was the best player in the county that year. Also, excessive (read: any) use of Evanescence!
How'd He Get to College Park?
Claiborne went to Bowie State with Hernandez, and transferred to Maryland after two seasons there. At Kennedy he was a tight end and linebacker, earning All-Gazette Second Team honors. When he first came to College Park, he was expected to play linebacker, but has since moved to the secondary.
We have found absolutely zero information on Anthony Perry, and at this point I'm pretty sure he never existed until this year. All we know is he's a cornerback, went to Marriotts Ridge high school, and transferred to Maryland after two years at Fairmont State. If you know of his whereabouts (or more importantly, his background), contact the proper authorities (us, in the comments).
Update (!): Reader eluh writes in:
i went to high school with tony, pretty sure he played wide receiver/defensive back during his time at Marriotts Ridge and wore #21, also goes by “Tony”. I know he used to commute but don’t know about now. He didn’t play at Fairmont and has been working towards walking on at UMD..bulked up a lot after high school.
Nickname:
Clarence "Royce" Claiborne and "No Hard" Anthony Perry. We get a two-for-one on Wire references.
Career Highlight:
Claiborne playing in four games last year and recording two tackles against Notre Dame.
Career Lowlight:
Nobody knowing who the hell Anthony Perry is.
Dream Season:
They're both third on the depth chart at their respective positions, so any extended playing time at all would be a surprise.
Nightmare Season:
Garbage time in the opener against William & Mary, and that's about it.
2012 Prospectus:
Before last season, I wrote that Maryland's secondary was a great opportunity for some walk-ons to break through. Claiborne reaped the reward of that opportunity, playing in a third of the Terps' games. That doesn't look to be the case this year, though, as both defensive back walk-ons have a good amount of solid players in front of them. For Claiborne at safety, it's Matt Robinson, Eric Franklin, A.J. Hendy and Undray Clark, and for Perry at corner, it's Dexter McDougle, Jeremiah Johnson, Avery Graham, Makinton Dorleant and Isaac Goins.
That list doesn't even include any incoming freshman (besides Goins), where there are four defensive backs coming in - including two three-star corners in Alvin Hill and Sean Davis.
For Claiborne and Perry, their best chance of playing time is going to be in Maryland's opening game against William & Mary, or breaking through on the special teams unit. Beyond that, minutes are looking pretty hard to come by.
Up Next:
Our next player shares a last name with another member of his recruiting class.