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 the tallest player on Maryland's football roster.
Jake Wheeler, Sophomore (RS), Offensive Tackle, #61
via grfx.cstv.com
Stats:
Height: 6'7"
Weight: 300
Major: Letters and sciences
Twitter: @jcwheelz
Collegiate Stats: N/A
High School Stats (Senior Year): N/A
Recruiting Ratings: Two stars by Rivals, Scout
High School: American Heritage
Hometown: Hollywood, Fla.
High School Highlights:
Couldn't find anything football-related.
How'd He Get to College Park?
Jake Wheeler was teammates with at least four future D-1 basketball players at American Heritage, including University of Florida stud Kenny Boynton. In fact, Wheeler’s got a nifty little b-ball highlight tape above, and was recruited for both basketball and football coming out of high school. Wheeler had offers from Florida Atlantic and Columbia, among others, to play basketball, but decided he had more potential on the football field, and signed with the Terps – the only school to offer him a football scholly, as far as we know. Scout reports that he did receive interest from Alabama and Miami, however.
Wheeler is the third-oldest of ten Wheelerites, including older brother Jared – an offensive guard at Miami. Like so many others from Florida, Wheeler was recruited to the Terps by Don Brown, who was able to create a pipeline of sorts from your favorite football peninsula to College Park before bolting to Storrs.
At American Heritage, Wheeler started at both left tackle and defensive end, while spending some time at tight end and outside linebacker. His athleticism led some to believe he would play tight end at Maryland, but in his big frame the Terps’ coaches saw promise on the offensive line. Wheeler played in the 2009 Florida North-South All-Star game.
After redshirting in 2010, Wheeler played in all twelve games last season as a back-up offensive tackle and occasional special teams contributor.
Nickname:
Jake "Big Wheels" Wheeler
Career Highlight:
Playing in twelve games last season.
Career Lowlight:
Being placed behind a redshirt freshman on the spring depth chart.
Dream Season:
Winning the job at right tackle.
Nightmare Season:
Stuck behind Mike Madaras and Ryan Doyle, Wheeler doesn't get much playing time.
2012 Prospectus:
Jake Wheeler is behind Ryan Doyle on Maryland's depth chart at right tackle, but as we've talked about earlier that could be subject to change. Justin Gilbert will come back from injury, and Mike Madaras is going to come in pressing for playing time.
It looks like the most likely scenario is Madaras starting at right tackle, with Wheeler as his back-up and Doyle at third string, but any combination of those three can realistically happen. Wheeler is the most experienced, as the only one with any collegiate playing time, Madaras is the most talented, and hell, Doyle is the one who currently holds the job.
Jake Wheeler will play this season. With the amount of players that Maryland lost in tackle after last year, tackles with collegiate experience are looking hard to come by. But the truth is, he can end up anywhere from first to third on the depth chart. A lot of it depends on how ready Mike Madaras is, and how good Ryan Doyle is.
Up Next:
Our next player's dad was the head coach at a community college that has produced two NFL players, including a five-time Pro Bowl linebacker and a four-time Pro Bowl cornerback who played for the Ravens at the end of his career.
Dirty_Terps got yesterday's as well.
Standings:
Maryland1206 - 7
kbuts151 - 6
ClickClack62 -2
Dirty_Terps - 2
Terpsfinish - 1
Mdak06 - 1
bubbasparks - 1
clevesanterp - 1
CSB Jack - 1
Terpsonfire - 1
Everybody else - 0