Profiles In Terpage – A Countdown To The Football Season: Andrew Zeller
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 two offensive tackles in Maryland’s 2011 class.
Andrew Zeller, Freshman, Offensive Tackle
Stats:
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 295
Ratings: Three stars, #24 in Pennsylvania by Rivals; three stars, #53 offensive guard by Scout; three stars, #120 offensive tackle by ESPN
40-yard dash time: 5.1
High School Stats (senior season): 67 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, seven sacks
High School: Red Lion Area Senior High School (Red Lion, Pa.)
How’d He Get To College Park?
Andrew Zeller committed to Maryland about a year ago, choosing the Terps over Oregon (!), Rutgers and Duke. He was a star lineman and track and field athlete at Red Lion Area Senior, and was recruited to the Terps by Tom Brattan, offensive line coach superstar.
Zeller grew up in Carroll County, Md., moving to Pennsylvania in middle school, but stayed a Terp fan. He played on Red Lion Area’s JV team as a sophomore, but grew about 3-4 inches and gained around 80 pounds, ending up as one of the top linemen in the state of Pennsylvania.
A lot of schools recruited him as a defensive tackle, and it’s easy to see why. He found a lot of success at that position and is a very big kid. With that 6’6″ frame, however, the Terps saw an offensive tackle.
More after the jump.
Nickname:
“Big Z”
Career Highlight:
Career Lowlight:
Moving from Maryland to Red Lion, Pa.
Arbitrary Top Five List:
IMDB filmography of Andrew Zeller:
1. Screwball Hotel
2. Repo Jake
3. American Born
4. Across The Tracks
5. The Killing Zone
Dream season:
Zeller redshirts, but adjusts to the offensive tackle position quickly, putting him in the hunt to replace Justin Gilbert and/or R.J. Dill in two years.
Nightmare season:
Zeller struggles to switch positions, falling behind Max Garcia, Pete DeSouza, Jake Wheeler and Ryan Doyle among young offensive tackles.
2011 Prospectus:
In high school, Andrew Zeller played offensive guard, so it might take him a little time to adjust to the new position. However, he seems perfectly built for offensive tackle – he’s tall at 6’6″, has shown good movement, and has a whole ton of strength. Zeller’s also a very young kid – he doesn’t turn 18 until October, so that gives him even more time to grow – physically and as a player.
The problem for Zeller is the amount of depth Maryland has at offensive tackle. Justin Gilbert and R.J. Dill, barring (more) injuries, will be the starters at tackle for the next two years. It appears that sophomores Max Garcia and Pete DeSouza will take over after that point (unfortunately, only for one year). After that, the Terps will have Zeller, Ryan Doyle, Jake Wheeler, the highly-touted Mike Madaras, and other recruits we don’t know yet competing for those two spots. Unless he moves over to offensive guard or defensive tackle, his two positions from high school, it’s going to be hard for Zeller to find playing time.
Then again, with Maryland’s recent luck with offensive linemen, all of them will get injured and we’ll end up with two walk-ons starting there in two years. Either or.
Up Next:
Our next player shares a name with a famous free-runner.