Maryland Football: Randy Edsall is a good fit at UConn

Randy Edsall just didn’t work out at Maryland.

With that being said, he’s a good fit for the Connecticut football program despite his recent shortcomings.

Edsall came to College Park as one of the more popular names on the coaching market back in 2011. He was coming off a BCS Fiesta Bowl appearance in which they were matched up against No. 7 Oklahoma.

UConn ended up losing the game 48-20.

Upon his arrival at Maryland, Edsall won his first game against Miami (Fla.) in a thrilling 32-24 decision. As promising as that was, the Terrapins only won one other game that season.

Maryland topped Towson 28-3 and lost every single ACC contest.

After an injury-riddled 2012 season, the Terps did finally reach bowl eligibility in 2013. Led by dual-threat quarterback C.J. Brown, Maryland faced Marshall in the Military Bowl, which resulted in a 31-20 loss.

In 2014, Edsall led Maryland to another 7-6 campaign and an appearance in the Foster Farms Bowl. The Terps fell victim to the high-powered Stanford offense in a 45-21 rout.

As Maryland fans are well aware, the 2015 campaign was one of extreme hardships. Edsall was relieved of his duties after six games.

When it was all said and done, Edsall finished with a 22-34 record during his time in College Park. While that’s not overly impressive for an ACC/Big Ten program, there’s plenty of positives when it comes to Edsall that make him a good fit in Storrs.

First of all, Edsall is a proven recruiter and did a tremendous job pushing the concept of “Maryland Pride” during his tenure.

Edsall and his staff sold the idea of DMV recruits playing their college football close to home. After all, Maryland’s backyard was one of the biggest talent hotbeds in the entire country.

Despite the Terps building the program back up, Edsall was still able to bring significant four and five-star players to College Park. In fact, Edsall brought arguably the biggest fish ever to Maryland in Stefon Diggs out of Good Counsel (Md.).

Edsall’s 2012 class featured Diggs, four-star running back Wes Brown, and four-star linebacker Abner Logan. Obviously, Brown and Logan never lived up to their billing, but it was still a very strong class at the time.

Sean Davis, Kenneth Goins Jr., Perry Hills, and Levern Jacobs were also part of the class as three-star recruits, so Edsall clearly could see the budding talent.

Edsall had similar success in the 2013 class. He landed the likes of four-star Yannick Ngakoue along with three-stars Jermaine Carter Jr. and Will Likely.

Edsall also got Taivon Jacobs to flip his commitment from Ohio State to Maryland on National Signing Day.

Judging by his success on a large scale, Edsall is a phenomenal recruiter. He’s also done it in the past at UConn.

The Glen Rock, Pa. native is also not afraid to embark on groundbreaking ventures.

During his tenure with the Huskies the first time around, he led UConn from a Divison I-AA to a Division I-A program in just his second season in 2000.

In two of Edsall’s final four seasons in Storrs, he had his team ranked in the BCS and played in the Fiesta Bowl in 2010.

While at Maryland, the Syracuse alum helped transition the school from a member of the ACC to the Big Ten in a conference realignment move. Edsall helped usher in the new era in College Park and led the Terps to a seven-win season in their first Big Ten campaign in 2014.

In 2014, Maryland finished third in the very tough Big Ten East.

All in all, Edsall may not have been a perfect fit for Maryland, but he should be able to produce similar success that he did the first time around with UConn.

He won 74 games during his first tenure with the Huskies, which made him the all-time leader in wins. In six of his 12 seasons with the program, he led UConn to at least eight wins.

Next: Ty Johnson continues to excel

Edsall has the resume that leads many to believe that he’ll be a success in his second go-round.