Churning right along through the freshmen defensive backs.
Jacquille Veii, Freshman, Cornerback
Stats:
Height: 5-10
Weight: 180
Twitter: @VeiiNation
High School Stats: 744 rushing yards, 228 receiving yards, 14 touchdowns
Recruiting Rankings: Three stars by Rivals, ESPN, Scout, and 247
High School: Avalon
Hometown: Gaithersburg, Md.
High School Highlights
How'd He Get to College Park?
Veii's path to Maryland is a winding one, that includes some time spent in England in his childhood before discovering football upon moving stateside in 2004. Fast-forward a few years to his status as an elite D.C. area local recruit at tiny Avalon, a school that hadn't yet produced any major prospects. Veii was the first, garnering offers from Boston College, Iowa, and a few others early in the process. He soon camped at College Park in June, where he ran a 4.3 40 - a time he nor Maryland's coaches believed, until he did it a second time. That was all Randy Edsall needed to see to extend Veii an offer, and a few weeks later he accepted.
Then, in December, a discrepancy on his transcript led to the Terps briefly rescinding their offer, opening the way for future Big Ten foes Nebraska and Iowa to swoop in. The transcript was sorted and Maryland re-offered in short order, but Veii had already opened the process and wanted to see it out, taking visits to the two competitors. But when he came to decide on Signing Day, it was a Maryland hat he picked up, reaffirming his commitment and solidifying one of the best, most active Signing Days in Maryland football history.
Career Highlight:
Being among the first Avalon athletes to receive an FCS football scholarship
Dream Season:
Veii works his way into the return game and gets snaps on defense as a reserve corner.
2013 Prospectus:
Veii, like Dennah before him, is probably looking mostly like a redshirt option at this point; the Terps have five experienced options at cornerback, plus Will Likely is probably ahead of him in the pecking order as far as freshmen go simply by virtue of being around for spring. But Veii has explosive athleticism, something Likely lacks, and can also contribute in the return game, as he's a danger with the ball in his hands.
Still, odds are good that he ends up redshirting, unless the Terps are hit with another injury crisis. That's not the worst thing in the world for him, either; he'll need time to adjust to playing against bigger, stronger competition after going up against relatively small schools in high school, plus work to adjust to being a full-time cornerback. Cornerback is wide open in 2014, and a year of hard work would make him very competitive in a year's time.
Up Next:
Our next player was a high school quarterback at a local powerhouse, which might've come in handy had he been around last year.
apgibson24 adds his name to the fray.
Standings:
Redturtle - 2
curterp - 2
proudterp - 1
terpsfinish - 1
KHemer - 1
ClickClack62 - 1
Maryland1206 - 1
apgibson24 - 1