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 a player who missed all of last season with a broken jaw.
Quinton Jefferson, Freshman, Defensive End, #99
via grfx.cstv.com
Stats:
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 260
Major: Letters and Sciences
Twitter: @Q_JEFF
Collegiate Stats: N/A
High School Stats (Senior Year): 80+ tackles, 16 sacks
Recruiting Ratings: Three stars by Rivals (#25 in Pa.), Scout (#47 DE), 24/7 and ESPN (#40 DE)
High School: Woodland Hills
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa.
High School Highlights:
How'd He Get to College Park?
Quinton Jefferson was the first recruit brought to Maryland by Randy Edsall, and many (myself included) figured it was a result of Edsall’s Western Pa. connections and the hiring of Greg Gattuso. In fact, it was Lee Hull and Ryan Steinberg, two members of Ralph Friedgen’s staff, who were able to bring Jefferson in. Even with the status of their jobs in limbo, Hull and Steinberg continued to call Jefferson every day, giving him updates on the Maryland situation and recruiting him to College Park. Their efforts no doubt had big influence on two events – Jefferson came to Maryland, and they both kept their jobs.
Jefferson was one of the top prospects in the state of Pennsylvania in the 2011 class, and was on an absolutely stacked Woodland Hills defense. Two defensive backs (Lafayette and Jevonte Pitts) and two linebackers (Ejuan Price and Mike Caprara) went to Pitt, defensive tackle James Price is going to Akron, and then you’ve got Jefferson, who chose Maryland over Cincinnati, Iowa, West Virginia and Wisconsin, among others.
Jefferson grayshirted last year after suffering a broken jaw, and finally enrolled in College Park this spring. He has a full four years of eligibility remaining, and even still has his redshirt available.
Nickname:
"Q"
Career Highlight:
Playing in consecutive state title games.
Career Lowlight:
Breaking his jaw, causing him to grayshirt last season.
Dream Season:
Jefferson earns the starting defensive end spot opposite Joe Vellano.
Nightmare Season:
Jefferson redshirts.
2012 Prospectus:
Quinton Jefferson's season could really go to either of two extremes - becoming a full-time starter or not playing at all. Joe Vellano has one of the two starting spots at defensive end locked up, but really any of six other players could start at the other spot. Jefferson is one of those six guys, but he's the only one of the group that doesn't have collegiate playing experience.
Jefferson was one of the highest-touted recruits coming in to College Park last year, and it was a major disappointment to Terp fans when he had to miss the season. He's put on twenty pounds since then, and continues to add to his impressive frame, and he's nearing ideal size for a down lineman in this system.
Right now, Jefferson is fourth on the depth chart at one of the two defensive end positions, behind starter Joe Vellano and back-ups Isaiah Ross and Justin Anderson. With that kind of depth, redshirting Jefferson makes sense, at least logically - all of those guys are upper classmen. But he's got a boatload of talent, and it could be tough for the Maryland coaches to keep him off the field.
Up Next:
Our next player's high school coach was suspended for one year at his previous job for allegedly recruiting players.
mdak06 got Tuesday's right, putting him on the board.
Standings:
Maryland1206 - 3
Terpsfinish - 1
ClickClack62 - 1
Mdak06 - 1
Everybody else - 0