Naseir Upshur impressed with visit to Maryland

Imhotep (PA) four-star tight end Naseir Upshur continues to rack up the scholarship offers and Maryland became the latest to extend yet another the sophomore’s way. (Mandatory Credit: 247Sports)

Over eight years since his departure from College Park, former Terrapin tight end Vernon Davis is still making an impact for the Maryland football program.

As Imhotep tight end Naseir Upshur watched seven-on-seven sets this past weekend, coach Randy Edsall made sure to remind the sophomore Philadelphia product that one of the top tight ends in the NFL played his college football at Maryland.

“That’s big,” Upshur told TerrapinStationMD on Monday. “One of the top tight ends in the NFL (Davis) went there. I just know that they (Maryland) likes to feed their tight ends the ball a lot and they offer a great education.”

Upshur is a four-star tight end and ranked as the fifth best at his position in the nation, according to 247Sports. The Imhotep star has a very large frame at 6’3/231 lbs. and runs a 4.47 40-yard dash. He is a very physical player that is just as comfortable staying on the line of scrimmage to block as he is to run a pass-catching route.

Upshur visited Maryland with Imhotep teammate and wideout D.J. Moore. The pair toured the campus and took in everything the Terps had to offer. Moore also holds an offer from Maryland. Both came away very impressed on their visit.

The Imhotep star may only be a sophomore, but he already holds a staggering 17 scholarship offers. Three of those are from Big Ten schools including the Terps.

The 2016 star already holds offers from the likes of Wisconsin, Michigan State, South Carolina, and West Virginia in addition to local schools like Rutgers and Temple.

“I’ve been getting all sorts of offers,” Upshur said. “I don’t want to say that I knew I was going to get all these offers, but I knew my time was coming soon. I’ve looked at all the highlights of some of the top tight ends in my class and I didn’t see anyone that can block and catch like me. I knew that this was going to come, so I was patient.”

His recruitment is still wide open due to the fact that he is only a sophomore. He plans to make several visits during the summer. Upshur is visiting Michigan and Michigan State on June 12. He will also hit the South hard and visit the likes of Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Miami, Central Florida, Florida, and Florida State. The four-star prospect is taking his time and trying to find the perfect situation.

“I just want to find the best situation for me and make my family proud,” Upshur said.

Upshur is an extremely impressive player to watch on film. He’s incredibly physical and more often than not, blows up his man at the point of attack. Blocking is a huge part of the Imhotep tight end’s game and his footwork definitely helps Upshur excel in that area.

“It helps me a lot,” the Imhotep star added. “A lot of players just want to catch the ball and be flashy. But I want to do whatever I have to to win. If I have to block every play, I will. I only had eight catches last year and I didn’t complain about it. I just wanted to win. Other tight ends always want the ball, but that’s not a big priority for me. The only other tight end (in the 2016 class) that I’ve seen that can block and catch is the number-one tight end Issac Nauta. Other than that, I’ve never seen another tight end that can block. That’s what separates us from the rest.”

Upshur is a very confident player, but is extremely humble at the same time.

“I’ll block for 20 straight plays,” Upshur proclaimed. “That’s what separates me from everybody else. Other players started off with catching passes, but I started off learning blocking.”