Profiles In Terpage – A Countdown To The Football Season: Alex Twine
By petevolk
A recurring series where we will profile every player and coach on Maryland’s roster, counting down to kick-off against Miami. Thanks to OBNUG for the idea.
Today we profile one of the incoming freshmen linebackers (I forgot to profile them, my mistake).
Alex Twine, Freshman, Outside Linebacker
Stats:
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 210
Ratings: Two stars by Rivals; two stars, #130 outside linebacker by Scout; three stars, #56 outside linebacker by ESPN
40-yard dash time: 4.59
High School Stats (senior season): 52 tackles, 18 for a loss, four forced fumbles and three interceptions
High School: Quince Orchard High School (North Potomac, Md.)
How’d He Get To College Park?
Alex Twine is yet another sleeper to come through Maryland’s program, and they’ve had a good track record with them so far. Coming out of QO, one of the better football programs in the area, he was the third stud on defense from the school to come to Maryland in the past few years, joining Travis Hawkins and Zachariah Kerr. With Hawkins transferring to Delaware and Kerr inelible due to academics, Twine is left as the only Cougar player on Maryland’s roster.
He had a great senior year, and like 2010 defensive back signee Jeremiah Johnson, he’s nearly a year young for his grade, giving him some extra time to mature. His first offer came in from UMass, and other FCS powers (Delaware and James Madison) soon followed. Maryland was the first (and only) FBS school to offer him, and Twine jumped on the opportunity.
He was recruited to the Terps by Don Brown, and, well, you know.
More after the jump.
Nickname:
Alex “Mark” Twine
Career Highlight:
Getting offered the scholarship to Maryland.
Career Lowlight:
Waiting so long for it to happen.
Arbitrary Top Five List:
Wale songs (or songs featuring Wale) by chart position (he went to QO):
1. No Hands
2. Chillin’
3. Change
4. Pretty Girls
5. Rising Up (my favorite, had to add it in)
Dream season:
Twine sees playing time on special teams and at the depleted Will spot.
Nightmare season:
Twine redshirts but struggles on the squad team.
2011 Prospectus:
When looking at his highlight tape, Alex Twine doesn’t blow you away with his athletic skills. In fact, there’s an even a play on the tape where he can’t run down a running back (who scores), a first for me in watching highlight tapes (he did stay step-for-step with the back, though, which I guess is what it was supposed to show). What he does do, however, is impress with his technique and placement. Twine is that linebacker who always ends up in the right place at the right time, and makes the most of that opportunity when he gets there. It’s impossible to say at this point whether his lack of elite athleticism will hold him back in the ACC, but he knows how to play linebacker. In high school he ended up sneaking around the outside of the line for huge hits – but they weren’t the bone jarring, send them back five yards kind of hits you usually see from high school linebackers. Instead, they were perfectly-executed form tackles where Twine ended up carrying them back five yards because he put himself in the perfect position to make the play.
Thankfully for Twine, Maryland is in need of some serious help at outside linebacker. Behind Darin Drakeford, the Terps currently have no scholarship players at Will (the other outside slot is STAR, the safety hybrid). Backing up Double D are Lamonte Gaddis and Shaquan Virgil, two walk-ons, and Twine is the only outside linebacker coming in (unless you count Lukas Foreman, who will likely play STAR or safety). So he has a good shot at playing this year as a true freshman, as long as he can beat out Gaddis and Virgil.
Up Next:
Our next player is a track and field star at his high school.