3-star 2021 OT Jason Amsler eyeing Maryland football after recent offer

Maryland offensive line coach John Reagan started to develop a relationship with three-star 2021 offensive tackle Jason Amsler in late July.

After talking five to six times over the course of two weeks, the Franklin High School (Tenn.) product received an official written offer on August 1 and has continued to take the Terps serious, along with his host of other high-academic offers.

“My first offer was Vanderbilt back in late January,” Amsler told Testudo Times. “I’ve always been looking at high-academic schools in my recruitment.”

Franklin head football coach Donnie Webb helped kick-off and push Amsler’s recruitment, advertising him to coaches as a versatile lineman who boasts a 35 ACT score and a 4.6 weighted GPA.

Reagan first heard of Amsler through Webb sending film and began to peek more at the 6’6 product who recently slimmed down from 303 pounds to 270 in order to feel healthier and put weight onto a better foundation.

“I’m very long and have flexible hips. I’ve been working on my weight training and got my 40-time down from 6.1 to about 5.3,” Amsler said.

Amsler has played both guard and tackle In high school. While Maryland is primarily recruiting him as a tackle, Amsler says his versatility would allow him to move inside if needed and maybe ever play center if he worked on his snapping.

After receiving his Maryland offer, Amsler was intrigued and decided to take matter into his own hands despite the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down official visits and in-person contact between coaches and recruits.

“Before I make any decisions, I want to get out to campuses and just get a feel for where I’ll be,” Amsler said. “We didn’t have anything this weekend so we decided to take a self-guided tour of the campus. We couldn’t see any of the facilities, but got to go in an off-campus dorm. It was cool.”

While Amsler doesn’t have a specific major in mind, his interests range from computer science to business, and Maryland’s angle of proximity to large markets has also been a major pull.

“After we toured on Saturday, we went down to D.C. and took some pictures. I think the proximity is cool, because I’m a city guy, so I would like being near D.C. and Baltimore where there’s opportunities for internships and post-graduation,” Amsler said.

Even though he took this visit and is eyeing the Terps, Amsler said his recruitment is open and he would look to take official visits once the restrictions are lifted.

While recruiting picks up, Amsler is starting to focus in on his final season of high school football, as Franklin prepares to open the season on August 21.

“My whole thing is I want to play,” Amsler said. “At my school, we do social distancing and wear our masks. When doing contact drills, either the offense of defense has to have a mask on.”

Amsler said that he will also look at how the coronavirus pandemic could shift his recruitment if conferences cancel the season, so he is not in a rush to make a decision.