Maryland football moves Austin Fontaine from defensive to offensive line, for now

With redshirt sophomore offensive tackle TJ Bradley suffering a knee injury during the first week of spring practice, one of Maryland’s top recruits from the 2018 class has switched sides of the ball to fill his place.

After practice Tuesday, head coach Mike Locksley said the Terps have moved redshirt freshman Austin Fontaine from defensive line to offensive line to help provide some more depth at a thin position.

“We brought him in and talked to him after Saturday’s practice, and he was gung-ho about moving over and giving it a try,” Locksley said. “If it works well we’ll keep him there and develop him as an offensive lineman but if it doesn’t look like he’s going to help us or will benefit from the other side of the ball we’ll move him back over.”

Fontaine played against Illinois and Michigan State last year, taking advantage of the new rule that allowed true freshmen to play up to four games and still have an extra year of eligibility. Locksley said he initially recruited Fontaine as an offensive lineman, as he played guard at DeMatha as well as defensive tackle.

“He’s one of the guys who has the athletic abliity, the ability to bend and that has played the position,” Locksley said.

While Locksley said Maryland has been able to go two and three deep at some positions on the defensive line, that hasn’t been the same case on the other side of the ball. The Terps lost three starters from last year’s offensive line, and 2019 commits Marcus Finger, Parris Heath and Mason Lunsford won’t arrive until the summer. According to Locksley, this means Maryland has struggled to put together a two-deep depth chart on the offensive line.

When asked about Bradley, Locksley said he’ll have surgery soon but won’t know how long he’ll be out until after the surgery.

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