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 young offensive tackle who could see playing time this year.
Andrew Zeller, Freshman (RS), Offensive Tackle, #66
via grfx.cstv.com
Stats:
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 295
Major: Letters and sciences
Twitter: @Andrew_Zeller
Collegiate Stats: N/A
High School Stats (Senior Year): 67 tackles, 14 for a loss, seven sacks
Recruiting Ratings: Three stars by Rivals (#24 in Pa.), Scout (#53 OG), ESPN (#120 OT), two stars by 24/7
High School: Red Lion
Hometown: Red Lion, Pa.
High School Highlights:
How'd He Get to College Park?
Andrew Zeller committed to Maryland in July of 2010, choosing the Terps over Oregon (!), Rutgers and Duke. He was a star lineman and track and field athlete at Red Lion Area Senior, and was recruited to the Terps by Tom Brattan, offensive line coach superstar.
Zeller grew up in Carroll County, Md., moving to Pennsylvania in middle school, but stayed a Terp fan. He played on Red Lion Area’s JV team as a sophomore, but grew about 3-4 inches and gained around 80 pounds, ending up as one of the top linemen in the state of Pennsylvania, earning second team Class AAAA honors in 2010.
A lot of schools recruited him as a defensive tackle, and it’s easy to see why. He found a lot of success at that position and is a very big kid. With that 6’6″ frame, however, the Terps saw an offensive tackle. Last year, he redshirted, and enters this season with a chance of seeing playing time on the line.
Nickname:
Andrew "Big Z" Zeller
Career Highlight:
That's just awesome.
Career Lowlight:
Moving from Maryland to Red Lion, Pa.
Dream Season:
Zeller sees time as a reserve tackle, putting his name in the hat for a starting job next year.
Nightmare Season:
Garbage time against William & Mary.
2012 Prospectus:
On the current depth chart, Andrew Zeller is the only back-up at left tackle, behind starter Nick Klemm. Maryland's offensive tackle situation is kind of an unknown, bleak deal, but the most likely scenario is Justin Gilbert starting at the position when he comes back from injury.
That would put Zeller as the third left tackle on the depth chart, not exactly a sought-after position in terms of playing time potential. It's definitely possible he's sees playing time - injuries happen, especially on the Maryland offensive line, and he's a scholarship player with a good frame and a whole ton of strength - but I would imagine barring something drastic happening, Maryland fans are going to have to wait another year to see a lot of Big Z.
Up Next:
Our next player was a star basketball player in high school, and played on a team that included five other D-1 prospects (he received basketball offers as well).
Dirty_Terps is on the board.
Standings:
Maryland1206 - 7
kbuts151 - 6
ClickClack62 -2
Terpsfinish - 1
Mdak06 - 1
bubbasparks - 1
clevesanterp - 1
CSB Jack - 1
Terpsonfire - 1
Dirty_Terps - 1
Everybody else - 0