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 was a surprise starter coming out of spring camp last year.
Josh Cary, Junior (RS), Offensive Guard, #68
via grfx.cstv.com
Stats:
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 300
Major: Criminal Justice
Twitter: None that we could find.
Collegiate Stats: 17 games (nine starts)
High School Stats (Senior Year): N/A
Recruiting Ratings: Two stars by Scout, ESPN
High School: Chenango Forks
Hometown: Chenango Forks, N.Y.
High School Highlights:
None that we could find.
How'd He Get to College Park?
The differences between Josh Cary and Pete White, his likely competition at right guard, are staggering. While they are within an inch of each other, White weighs 40 pounds more. White was a four-star recruit coming out of high school with scholarship offers all over the place, Cary was unranked by Rivals and we’re not even certain if he’s on scholarship to Maryland (although our instincts say yes). White looks like a teddy bear, while we’re fairly certain Cary can kill you by looking at you. Regardless, here they are, competing for the starting right guard spot. More on that later.
As you can probably tell by that last intro, we know very, very little about Cary. He’s not listed on any of Maryland’s commit classes over the past five years, which would suggest he’s not on scholarship, yet they make no mention of walk-on status on his UMTerps page and even laughably say he "considered" Alabama, among other schools. On his Scout page, Maryland’s not even listed as an interested school, and Albany is his only offer. We’re going to assume he’s a scholarship player, as he’s starting and no one has said otherwise.
During his time at Chenango Forks, the Blue Devils went 35-3 and won the 2004 state championship. Cary was named first all-state after his junior and senior years and was All-Metro all three years that he started. As far as we can tell, he was a member of the 2007 recruiting class and then reclassified to 2008, spending a year in prep school (although we have no idea where).
Cary redshirted in 2009, and played in five games as a reserve guard in his freshman year. After a great spring, he became the starter at right guard last year, beating out Pete White for the position. Cary ended up starting the first nine games of the year, coming off the bench for the last three as White (for two games) and Arnett (for the last one) took over. Those last three games officially re-ignited the position battle.
Nickname:
Josh "S"Cary. The dude looks frightening.
Career Highlight:
Starting nine games last year.
Career Lowlight:
Losing the job at the end of the year.
Dream Season:
Cary keeps the starting spot at right guard.
Nightmare Season:
Cary doesn't.
2012 Prospectus:
Josh Cary is listed as the starting right guard on the spring depth chart, with only Nate Clarke behind him. Well, Clarke has moved to nose tackle, meaning Cary will have a new back-up - that is, if he holds on to the position.
There will definitely be one (and likely two) new additions to Maryland's guard depth come fall - Pete White and hopefully Bennett Fulper. White is Cary's old nemesis in position battles, while Fulper is an experienced guy who can play a variety of positions and should be considered a lock to start if he makes the move.
Once again, that means the battle for playing time likely comes down to Cary and White. Last year, Cary won out originally, but White was the starter by the end of the year (until he got hurt).
Cary has the advantage of playing in spring practice, but White is a great talent that Maryland coaches may find hard to keep off the field. Either way, whoever loses that battle will almost undoubtedly be the first guard off the bench, and get plenty of playing time in their own right.
Up Next:
Our next player's hometown shares its name with a town in Louisiana where a famous New Orleans food and spice company was started.
bubbasparks gets his third.
Standings:
Maryland1206 - 8
kbuts151 - 6
Dirty_Terps - 5
bubbasparks -3
ClickClack62 -2
T Free - 1
Terpsfinish - 1
Mdak06 - 1
clevesanterp - 1
CSB Jack - 1
Terpsonfire - 1
Everybody else - 0