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Profiles in Terpage is back for 2017. Last week, we focused on the offensive line; this week, we’re flipping sides of the ball and looking at the defensive line.
Andrew Isaacs, DL, No. 44
Height: 6’2
Weight: 240 lbs.
Year: Senior
Hometown: Manchester, Connecticut
High school: Manchester
How he got to College Park
Isaacs was originally committed to Boston College as the No. 3 player from Connecticut. The three-star tight end then flipped his commitment and is headed into his fifth season with the Terps after an ACL injury cost him most of 2014 and the entire 2015 season.
Injuries and bad luck caused Isaacs’ offensive career to end with just one catch, in 2014, and he was relegated to a special teams role post-injury.
Career highlight
Though Isaacs was recruited as a tight end, he also played some defensive end in high school. He hasn't played on the defensive side of the ball since, but he’ll attempt to flip sides of the field and pick up where he left off.
His defensive highlights start around 4:22, and the section begins with a strip sack by Isaacs, which he recovers and runs back for a touchdown.
2017 prospectus
Since Isaacs has not played defense at the college level, it is hard to project where he fits on the Terps' crowded line. Perhaps coach DJ Durkin saw something while using Isaacs on special teams, but in any case it is going to make the competition for snaps even tighter.
The defensive line needed all the help it could get last year, so Isaacs could compete for some rotational snaps in his last go-around with Maryland—that is, if his tackling technique has stayed sharp.
Dream season
Isaacs looks like a natural on the defensive line and makes the most of his snaps. He's able to carve out a role as a rotational lineman, and by the end of the season, Durkin feels comfortable calling on him to come in to help get a crucial stop.
Up next
This blue-chipper played in Florida before coming back to D.C. for his senior year.
Murderlandboy, say_al and Scaletta are still tied for the lied with two guesses apiece, while Terpluvian, ziowa9, jarem, Sabadahut, and terponalake each have one.