Profiles in Terpage: Derrick Hayward

Derrick Hayward, Freshman (RS), Tight End, #48

Stats:

Height: 6'5"

Weight: 235

Twitter: @DHayward_88

Collegiate Stats: N/A

High School Stats (Senior Year): 50 tackles, three sacks and two fumble recoveries

247sports composite Ratings: Three stars, 63rd-best outside linebacker, 21st-best player in Maryland

Who Maryland beat: Boston College, Rutgers, Navy

High School: Wicomico

Hometown: Salisbury, Md.

High School Highlights:

How'd He Get to College Park?

Hayward was an early commitment for Maryland, pledging to the Terps as the third member of the 2013 class. He says he's the first player from the Eastern Shore to play football at Maryland, and while that's impossible to check, he's certainly one of the only ones at the Division 1 level anywhere.

Hayward played defensive end, linebacker and tight end in high school, and was recruited to Maryland by John Dunn. Maryland was the first school to offer him a scholarship - followed by Boston College, Rutgers and Navy, but Michigan State and Georgia Tech both showed interest.

After his senior season, Hayward was named to the Maryland Small-School All-State Team and played on the Washington side in the 2012 Crab Bowl.

Hayward was converted to the tight end position early on in his first year with the Terps, and was named scout team offensive player of the week once while redshirting.

Nickname:

"Haymaker"

Career Highlight:

Scout team player of the week before the West Virginia game.

Dream Season:

Hayward wins the starting job and catches at least three touchdowns.

2014 Prospectus:

Hayward is in a three-way battle for the starting tight end spot with P.J. Gallo and Andrew Isaacs, and is definitely the surprising name out of the three. Gallo was Dave Stinebaugh's backup last season and saw some playing time at the position. Isaacs is a former blue-chip recruit who played as a true freshman last season. In comes Hayward, a converted linebacker, to try and take that spot. He certainly has the frame for the position, and could be an intriguing red-zone target, even if he doesn't win the job. If he does, he'll be one of the biggest stories to follow throughout the year.

Up Next:

Our next player's last name could refer to a group of people.

Standings:

iknoriteee grabs another.

timmyw3: 11

RedTurtle: 7

jnforsyth34: 6

Scaletta: 6

Daniel Hamilton: 5

testudbro: 3

KHemer: 3

Ezra2141: 2

say_al: 2

ClickClack62: 2

aubartolomei: 2

Tropikal: 2

iknoriteee: 2

Terps_roc: 1

umcp96: 1

Maryland1206: 1

goingtobentleys: 1

MEDTerp: 1

HarfordTerp37: 1

juanblaze: 1

RavenTerp1217: 1

802Terp: 1

curterp: 1