Terrapin Takes, Monday 8/26: Another Football Commit, ACC Projections, & FIU

November 3, 2012; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins wide receiver Stefon Diggs (1) in action against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Byrd Stadium. Georgia Tech beat Maryland 33-13. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

• It’s been quite a week for Maryland in terms of commitments. In the same week that the Terps landed commitments from Trayvon Reed and Jesse Aniebonam, Randy Edsall and his staff secured a verbal pledge from Iowa Western Community College offensive lineman Larry Mazyck. Mazyck was a one-time Maryland commit but ended up at New Mexico (sounds familiar eh?) playing for then head coach Mike Locksley. Mazyck is a massive 340-pound offensive lineman who will provide some depth to the unit. As I always say, you can never have too many offensive linemen.
• With the regular season just days ago, ESPN posted their ACC preseason power rankings on Monday morning. The Terps came in at number nine in the rankings. The article suggests that Maryland should be in much better shape this season with more stable quarterback play, a strong defense, and Stefon Diggs in tow. The Terps are about where they should be given their four-win season a year ago. I’d make the case that Maryland could be ranked above N.C. State and Wake Forest.
• It looks like Florida International may be without two of their top playmakers on Saturday against Maryland. Junior cornerback Richard Leonard is the primary kick returner for the Golden Panthers and is one of the key members of the defensive secondary. Leonard is listed at the bottom of the cornerback depth chart. Wide receiver Glenn Coleman is Florida International’s top returning receiver and also isn’t listed on the top eight receivers on the depth chart. The team is currently waiting on their grades as they could be academically ineligible.
• Bruce Feldman answered his mailbag and there a Stefon Diggs question that he answered. The question was if Diggs was the least talked about great player in the nation. Feldman claimed that if Diggs was on a higher-profile team, he would be a legitimate Heisman finalist. As much as I love Maryland, he’s probably not wrong. If Diggs played for Michigan or Ohio State, he would be one of the most talked about players in the nation.
• ESPN also had writers Mark Schlabach and Brad Edwards project this season’s bowl games. Edwards had Maryland taking on Missouri in the AdvoCare V100 Bowl while Schlabach had the Terps facing Ohio in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl pits B1G and MAC teams against one another. I guess Schlabach didn’t realize that Maryland will play one more season in the ACC before moving to the B1G.