Joseph Petrino commits to Maryland football: Terps land their kicker

Maryland football’s Class of 2018 grew larger Friday morning when kicker Joseph Petrino announced his commitment to the Terps during a ceremony at his high school.

Petrino is the No. 34 kicker in the Class of 2018, carrying a 4.5-star ranking, per Kohl’s Kicking, an organization that focuses specifically on training and ranking specialists. At the most recent specialist camp in December, Petrino averaged just under 63 yards on his kickoffs with 3.63 seconds of hangtime. That would put his average kickoff between the 2- and 3-yard lines.

A frequent college camp attendee this summer—including Maryland’s, where he picked up his offer—Petrino has showed out, winning South Carolina’s and finishing in the top two at Florida’s.

After Jonathan Doerer flipped from Maryland to Notre Dame just a few days before National Signing Day in the last cycle, taking a kicker in this class became an even larger need for the Terps. With Adam Greene and Danny Sutton slated to graduate after this coming season, Mike Shinsky and 2017 walk-on Paul Inzerillo would be the only two kickers left on the roster heading into 2018. Petrino’s commitment ensures that the Terps have kickers in three consecutive classes and are covered through at least the 2021 season.

Because Petrino isn’t one of the few kickers 247Sports has ranked, his commitment doesn’t move Maryland’s class up or down in the rankings. After a couple other schools received commitments since Noah Boykin committed to the Terps, Maryland is holding strong at No. 18 in 247Sports’ team rankings.