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 Maryland's highest-hyped recruit in recent memory.
Stefon Diggs, Freshman, Wide Receiver, #1
Stats:
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 185
Major: Undecided
Twitter: @Marseanbaybee
Collegiate Stats: N/A
High School Stats (Senior Year): 36 catches for 808 yards and eight touchdowns, 15 rushes for 229 yards and three touchdowns, 31.5 tackles (5.5 for a loss), four interceptions, three forced fumbles, ten passes defended
Recruiting Ratings: Five stars by Rivals (#8 overall, #1 in Md., #2 WR), Scout (#2 WR), 24/7 (#10 overall, #1 in Md., #2 WR), four stars by ESPN (#13 overall, #1 in Md., #3 ATH)
High School: Good Counsel
Hometown: Gaithersburg, Md.
High School Highlights:
How'd He Get to College Park?
Stefon Diggs was universally considered one of the top recruits in the country last year, trailing only Dorial Green-Beckham on the major recruiting rankings for wide receivers (behind ESPN, who had him as a four-star athlete, somehow). With an offer sheet that doesn't fit on most computer screens, the prevailing thought was he would continue the trend of most top-level recruits from Maryland and go out of the state.
Then, things changed. Maryland already had a commitment from fellow Good Counsel star Mike Madaras, but then the Terps hired Mike Locksley. Soon after, Zach Dancel announced he was transferring to College Park, and Wes Brown committed. All of the sudden, Maryland fans had some hopes that Diggs would become a Terp.
And then it happened. We had to wait until after Signing Day, but he announced it at Looney's, a bar in College Park. I don't know about you all, but it still won't fully hit me until we see him in a Maryland uniform on Saturdays.
While at Good Counsel, Diggs helped the Falcons wrest the WCAC title from perennial winners DeMatha - Good Counsel won it during each of Diggs' last three seasons. While he will be playing wide receiver at Maryland, he was arguably an even more impressive cornerback in high school, winning All-Met Defensive Player of the Year honors last season.
Nickname:
Stefon "The Chosen One" Diggs
Career Highlight:
Three-straight WCAC titles.
Career Lowlight:
N/A.
Dream Season:
Can I say Sammy Watkins? Sure? Sammy Watkins.
Nightmare Season:
Diggs struggles to adjust to the pace of the college game.
2012 Prospectus:
We've joked around a lot about Stefon Diggs and his limitless potential, but let's try and stay realistic when we talk about what to expect from him this season.
Diggs is currently fourth on the depth chart at Wide Receiver-A, behind walk-on James Bowman, fellow true freshman Levern Jacobs, and starter Kerry Boykins. It certainly looks like that position is the slot receiver one, because that's where Boykins has played in the past and because the other two positions are X (usually split end) and Z (usually flanker). However, slot is usually Y, and this one is A, so I don't know.
If it is slot, however, it's unlikely Diggs stays there, and it's kind of surprising he's there to begin with. Diggs is a feature receiver, through and through, and as soon as he's ready for playing time you should expect him to move to either X or Y.
That will be this year, because he's certainly not redshirting. There's the obvious reason of his otherworldly talent and Maryland's desperate need for a playmaker, but there's a much more simple one - it would be a waste. No one believes Stefon Diggs will stick around for five years. It's unlikely he even stays for four. It wouldn't make sense for one of those years to be spent as a redshirted player.
Up Next:
Our next player's high school coach played in the XFL for the once-and-forever champions, the LA Xtreme.
fballplyr92 gets on the board.
Standings:
Maryland1206 - 9
Terpsonfire - 8
kbuts151 - 6
Dirty_Terps - 5
bubbasparks - 4
ClickClack62 - 3
Terpsfinish - 2
T Free - 1
Mdak06 - 1
clevesanterp - 1
CSB Jack - 1
curterp - 1
fballplyr92 - 1
Everybody else - 0