Maryland fans were disappointed when Dwayne Haskins flipped on his verbal commitment from Maryland to Ohio State.
The Maryland Terrapins are heading into a new era of football under the new regime of head coach D.J. Durkin. Durkin didn’t have much time to make his impact on the 2016 recruiting class, but one of the most intriguing players of this class is Tyrrell Pigrome.
Haskins was one of the highest rated recruits the Terrapins had at quarterback in a long time. The firing of Randy Edsall and the departure of offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, who both were heavily part of Haskins recruiting process, reopened the door for Haskins to consider other schools as he had no history with the new staff taking over in College Park.
Maryland Terrapins
Durkin scrambled and landed a 5’11’/190-pound quarterback from Pinson, Alabama in Pigrome. Pigrome was the 2015 Gatorade Alabama Player of the Year and is a two-time Alabama Mr. Football runner-up.
Pigrome also led Clay-Chalkville to two state championship games and won in one of these appearances as a junior.
Pigrome had strong production in his high school career as well.
Pigrome accounted for 62 total touchdowns as a senior. Pigrome passed for 44 touchdowns and ran for the other 18 touchdowns. As a senior, Pigrome rushed for a mind-numbing 1,349 yards.
The Terps have had continual issues at the quarterback position and have lacked a true passing threat in recent years. Maryland shuffled through quarterbacks last season with Perry Hills and Caleb Rowe both seeing playing time and struggling.
Hills and Rowe combined to throw just 14 touchdowns and a deplorable 28 interceptions.
It’s not to say Pigrome will come out and be the next Heisman Trophy candidate for the Terps, but he has the arm and legs to provide potential excitement and upside under new offensive coordinator Walt Bell.
As a freshman, Pigrome likely will not see the field much for the Terps, but could be a part of the future at the quarterback position. After all, he was heavily recruited by Bell for a reason
Durkin’s success at Maryland will hinge on his quarterback play. During Big Ten Media Days, Durkin made it clear that it’s a wide-open competition for the starting job.
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Pigrome may not be a name that many Maryland fans know as of yet, but if he earns the opportunity, they will soon. Pigrome will be a player to monitor for the Terps if the quarterbacks above him on the depth chart continue to struggle this season.