Profiles In Terpage – A Countdown To The Football Season: Cole Farrand
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 an incoming middle linebacker.
Cole Farrand, Freshman, Middle Linebacker
Stats:
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 233
Ratings: Two stars by Rivals, #29 in New Jersey; two stars by Scout; three stars, #25 outside linebacker by ESPN
40-yard dash time: 4.6
High School Stats (senior season): 78 tackles, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one interception returned for a touchdown, three touchdown receptions
High School Stats (junior season): 79 tackles and 3.5 sacks
High School Stats (sophomore season): 76 tackles, 3.5 sacks, three pass deflections
High School: Pope John XXIII (Sparta, Nj.)
How’d He Get To College Park?
Cole Farrand was a two-sport star at Pope John. A three-year starter at linebacker, he was also one of the county’s best track and field performers who broke his own record in the shotput this year with a mark of 57 feet, 3 inches. He was recruited to Maryland by Don Brown and Dave Sollazzo, and the Terps were the only major program to offer him (and as far as we can tell, the only offer period), but Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State all showed interest in Farrand.
Farrand was expected to come into the program with another possible middle linebacker, Delonte Morton (who may have played running back instead), but it appears Morton was not eligible academically and instead Farrand and Alex Twine will be the only 2011 linebackers for the Terps (assuming Lukas Foreman plays safety).
Farrand comes from a very successful football program that has won 20 state championships in the past 43 years, and will be the only player on Maryland’s roster from the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference.
Nickname:
“Cole-Train”
Career Highlight:
Beating Sparta in the annual rivalry game by stopping them twice on fourth down.
Career Lowlight:
Friedgen, Brown, and Sollazzo (the three coaches he mentioned as a part of his recruitment) all leaving.
Arbitrary Top Five List:
Tracks on Blue Train:
1. Blue Train
2. Moment’s Notice
3. Locomotion
4. I’m Old Fashioned
5. Lazy Bird
Dream season:
Farrand plays as a true freshman, moving Lorne Goree back over to Will and securing the backup middle linebacking slot while excelling on special teams.
Nightmare season:
Farrand redshirts his freshman year, struggling on the scout team and making way for Brock Dean in 2012.
2011 Prospectus:
Like fellow incoming freshman linebacker Alex Twine, Cole Farrand is an unheralded recruit of sorts entering a very good situation at Maryland. Demetrius Hartsfield is the unquestioned starter at Mike, but behind him is Lorne Goree, a converted weak-side linebacker, and Ray Lynn, a walk-on transfer. Farrand should be able to beat Lynn out for the job, and he has a fairly good chance of competing with Goree for that backup slot as well.
Farrand is, once again, a guy who the recruiting agencies don’t think too highly of, but I honestly don’t see why. He’s got a good frame for an inside linebacker, has a good burst of speed, is incredibly strong (exhibited by his record-breaking track and field performances) and played for one of the most successful programs and coaches in the state of New Jersey. There’s a reason all those Big Ten school were looking at him – the guy just plays a great, hard-nosed game on the inside and by all accounts is a natural leader on and off the field.
The main problem for Farrand lies in 2012, where Brock Dean is already signed up for Maryland’s class. As impressive as Farrand is, Dean looks even better, as we’ve detailed before on this site. Not only that, coach Edsall told Dean that he wants him to be a four-year starter at Maryland, not exactly the best sign for Farrand.
That doesn’t mean that Farrand is out of options if Dean comes in and takes his job, however. He can move over to Will (ESPN has him as an outside linebacker), but I just don’t see that. The more likely situation is moving to tight end, where also played with great success in high school, and where Maryland has a lot of depth issues.
So the final prognosis? Farrand is a really good linebacker who has a chance to play this year, but if Brock Dean comes in next year and blows the coaches away, it’s pretty likely you’ll see him on the other side of the ball in 2012.
Up Next:
Our next player is our last incoming recruit in this series from the state of Florida.