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Maryland football will be getting Denzel Conyers back for his fifth year of eligibility in 2017, the safety announced Friday on Twitter.
Conyers tore his ACL in the Terps’ victory over UCF in September, ending his senior season. He’d finally nailed down a starting spot in his third year with the program after spending his first collegiate season at Butte Community College in California.
Conyers didn’t play in his first season at Maryland due to academic issues, but played in eight games as a junior in 2015, making 15 tackles, breaking up three passes and forcing one fumble. He took over the starting safety spot in 2016 and made 13 tackles in three games before suffering his injury.
Conyers had to petition the NCAA for this additional year of eligibility via a medical hardship waiver, and made the internet aware of his cause in December in a series of tweets. Here are his tweets and retweets from Friday:
S/O to my brother @D1Manning on getting his medical hardship waiver! #BlessUp
— Azubuike Ukandu (@youcandoit_95) March 24, 2017
@Yesimback24 thank you fam
— Denzel Conyers (@D1Manning) March 24, 2017
Thankful and truly appreciating this blessing god has granted me through the NCAA. Thank you for this opportunity. #G2G #1MoreYear #YOC pic.twitter.com/QypoCOyTUn
— Denzel Conyers (@D1Manning) March 24, 2017
A team spokesman was not able to confirm the news.
His presence bolsters what was already a deep defensive backfield for the Terps. Maryland doesn’t publicly make distinctions between its two safety positions, but Conyers played at more of a strong safety spot in 2016, lining up closer to the line than Darnell Savage Jr., who usually occupied a traditional free safety’s role. Both will receive competition from early enrollee Markquese Bell, who DJ Durkin said “looked like an NFL safety” at his National Signing Day press conference.