Profiles in Terpage: Lee Shrader and Michael Tart

Our Profiles In Terpage series continues, wherein we profile every single player on Maryland's roster.  Today, we feature two special teamers.  Special teamers have a...well, special, spot in my heart, since I graduated in 2005 and it felt like at the time all we had going for us was punters (Podlesh) and kickers (Novak).  I eagerly await the rebirth of Punter U!

Lee Shrader, Freshman, Punter

Michael Tart, Senior (RS), Punter, #29

Stats:

Height: 6'3", 6'3"

Weight: 195, 195

Twitter: @LeeeMeAlone, @miketart704

Collegiate Stats: None for Shrader, obviously (unless he has a time machine, in which case he should be spending more time in the physics labs.)  Tart has an average of 34 yards on 3 punts and 2/3 on PATs, and has been the team's starting holder for three years running

High School Stats (Senior Year): Avg. 43 yards on 46 punts, N/A

247sports composite Ratings: 5 stars per Kohl's, #1 kicker in NC per prokicker.com

High School: Warwick High School, Mallard Creek

Hometown: Newport News, VA: Charlotte, NC

High School Highlights:

How'd He Get to College Park?

Shrader: Lee Shrader comes to Maryland following three straight years as the best punter in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia.  After at one point being ranked as highly as the second best punter in the nation, his stock dropped his senior year as his team lost their coaching staff and went 0-10.  However, Shrader still had a great personal season.  He received scholarship offers from dozens of DII teams, but he decided to hold out for an offer from a DI school.  With the prospect of being a preferred walk-on until he could win a starting job, he narrowed his choices down to three schools: Maryland, Penn State, and Rutgers.  Why did he pick Maryland?  Well, I'll let Lee answer that (per Kohlsnews.com):

First, they need me the most. Other schools will have 2 or 3 punters compete for playing time and a scholarship.  But the situation at Maryland is ideal.  They badly need a punter and I am the only one they are bringing in.  I definitely trust him to take care of me.  Second, Coach Powell is an experienced Special Teams Coordinator with 3 seasons at Maryland, 4 seasons at Clemson and another 13 years of college coaching.  He had a top ranked special teams unit last season, and he recruited the best long snapper in the nation [Nate Adams] who it will be great to work with.  Third, because of Maryland’s unique relationship with Under Armour, its athletes always get the newest and best clothing and equipment. Fourth, Maryland has a beautiful campus that is close to Washington D.C. with a variety of entertainment.  Maryland also has the best internship program in the country with great opportunities in business, law enforcement, government and politics.

Tart: Tart did a great job at Mallard Creek, and was one of the better kicker/punters on the combine circuit. He averaged over 40 net yards per punt as a junior in high school, and was also a good kicker for the Mavericks. He was named to the MECA 7 all-conference team after his junior year, and came to Maryland as a walk-on after being recruited by North Carolina and Duke.

Tart has had a quiet career thus far at Maryland.  Three years ago, Tart entered the spring as the presumptive favorite to start at punter, but Randy Edsall and Lyndon Johnson (special teams coordinator at the time) instead chose to have Nick Ferrara kick and punt. He played in the last game of the season, making two of three extra point attempts and punting three times for 102 yards. Last year, Tart did not play at all, instead sitting out in favor of Brad Craddock and Nate Renfro (as well as Brendan Magistro).

Nickname:

The 'Tidewater Twister'!  and 'Kick' Tart!

Career Highlight:

Shrader: Signing with Maryland, of course!  Also bringing in a 3.44 GPA and 1600 SAT score (is that still good?)

Tart: Every time an XP or FG is made without the holder being noticed.  Like a well oiled machine.

Dream Season:

For both Shrader and Tart it's the same thing; win the starting job over Renfro.

2014 Prospectus:

Shrader: Lee Shrader seems to be the heir apparent to RS Junior Nathan Renfro.  It would make sense for Shrader to use a redshirt this season and then compete for a starting job next season.

Tart: The starting jobs appear to be Renfro's and Craddock's to lose.  Unless Tart really impresses in summer training or, Diggs forbid, one of the starters goes down to injury, Tart is headed into his senior season as the #1 backup punter and the team's starting holder.

Up Next:

Our next two players include a guy whose father rowed crew at the Naval Academy and another whose father played football at Kutztown University.  They may also both be competing for spots on special teams.

Standings:

It's still early, but timmyw3 gets on the board (and the site!) all in one fell swoop:

RedTurtle: 1

timmyw3: 1