Maryland Football: Plenty of young weapons at wide receiver
By Chris Bengel
The Maryland football team had a revolving door at quarterback in 20115.
However, there were plenty of young weapons at wide receiver to help out.
The Terrapins saw the likes of Daxx Garman, Perry Hills, and Caleb Rowe take snaps at the quarterback position this past season. Hills and Rowe both had multiple games in which they started and saw extensive action.
As lackluster as they may have been at times, Maryland did get consistency from a pair of freshman wideouts.
Jahrvis Davenport and D.J. Moore saw much more playing time than many had imagined. The duo were two of eight Maryland players to record double-digit receptions throughout the season.
Moore was one of the most heralded recruits in the 2015 class as he came from Imhotep (Pa.) as a three-star prospect. The Pennsylvania native ended up catching 25 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns.
Upon arriving in College Park, Moore’s reputation was that he was a deep threat. He was supposed to provide the home run plays that Maryland lost when Stefon Diggs decided to declare for the NFL Draft following his junior campaign.
Moore proved to be just as advertised during his freshman season at Maryland. All three of the speedy wideout’s touchdowns came from 40 yards or more.
After registering two catches against Richmond in the season opener, Moore’s coming-out party was in a lopsided loss at the hands of Bowling Green. The freshman caught a bullet from Hills at the Bowling Green 30-yard line on a crossing pattern, and managed to stay upright on his way to the end zone for a 42-yard touchdown. Watching No. 1 fly down the middle of the field may have even made some Maryland fans have flashbacks to touchdowns from Diggs.
Moore also caught a 52-yard touchdown to lead off the game against Ohio State on the road, and a 40-yard touchdown late in the first half against Wisconsin. The Terps managed to stay competitive in both games.
While Moore was one of Maryland’s most impressive players, Davenport proved that he has just as much talent.
The Florida native didn’t produce a ton until the team’s final regular season game against Rutgers. Davenport finished the season with 11 receptions for 154 yards and a touchdown. However, he hauled in seven passes for 89 yards against the Scarlet Knights on Nov. 28.
With 2:17 remaining in the first half, Rowe found Davenport on back-to-back passing plays that gained 19 and seven yards respectively. On both plays, Davenport worked the sideline and took what the defense gave him before ducking out of bounds and preserving the clock for the Terps.
Davenport is a very quick and agile wideout that does a great job at working around pass coverage. He’s very versatile, which allows him to work the middle of the field as well as the sidelines.
Davenport is oftentimes very aware of where he is on the field and where he needs to be to move the chains. For example, on a 3rd-and-14 play in the third quarter against Rutgers, the true freshman receiver slipped his way directly in the middle of the field and caught a perfectly-placed ball from Rowe for a huge first down.
Intermediate routes are more Davenport’s forte, while Moore is strongly considered the deep threat.
This duo of talented wideouts have just scratched the surface on how talented they are. Now it may be a bit of an adjustment period if the Terps change their offensive scheme when a new offensive coordinator joins coach D.J. Durkin‘s staff, but Davenport and Moore have the capabilities to still be just as successful.
It’s pretty clear that this dynamic duo will be making plays in College Park for years to come.