The Terps have already hosted a couple of portal visitors and are set to host several more this weekend. Here's a breakdown of this week's transfer portal visitors.
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- Obviously the biggest visit, which has already begun is that of NC State starting QB MJ Morris. A 6-foot-2, 205-pound Ga. native, Morris started multiple games last season as a true freshman and also started games this year as a sophomore before announcing he would enter the portal after four games. In doing so, he preserved his redshirt and would have three years of eligibility remaining. The connection here is the Terps' new GM, Merci Falaise, who took over in College Park during the season. Morris already has an established relationship with Falaise, who is also from Ga., and it was certainly a driving factor in getting him on campus so quickly.
Morris has good size and mobility with average to above average arm strength with the ability to make accurate throws on the run while rolling out of the pocket. These traits likely make him a good fit for Maryland's offense.
This isn't to say he's a done deal to the Terps. He's heard from other schools and he visited with LSU on Wednesday in Raleigh before making the trip up to College Park yesterday. But LSU has former Rivals100 QB Garrett Nussmeier waiting in the wings and he might get first shot at the starting job in their bowl game if Jayden Daniels opts out.
Finally, while Morris isn't among the top tier of QB transfers, he is among the top 25 QBs in the portal and is ranked inside the top 150 of all players currently in or planning to enter the portal. He would likely be an excellent value play in that he won't command top dollar like the Cam Wards or the Kyle McCords, but the Terps could potentially be getting a multi-year starter for significantly less than those top tier guys with plenty of room to sign multiple starters along the o-line and at tight end.
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- Speaking of offensive linemen, one of the biggest needs up front is at the center spot, where outgoing linemen Aric Harris and Mike Purcell were basically a two-man platoon this season. To address this spot, the Terps first hosted Purdue interior lineman Josh Kaltenberger, who was on campus beginning Wednesday. Kaltenberger, a former Rivals three-star out of Seneca Valley (Pa.), appeared in 36 games with 7 starters over the past three seasons for the Boilermakers. Maryland would likely offer him a chance to earn a full-time starting spot next season and be a leader of the O-line unit. Terps are in waiting mode with Kaltenberger after completing his visit.
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- Perhaps the headliner of this weekend's visitors is a potential replacement for outgoing tight end Corey Dyches. That would be Baylor starting tight end Drake Dabney, a 6-foot-5, 250-pounder out of Texas who caught 33 balls for 552 yards and 5 TDs this season for the Bears, earning honorable mention All-Big 12 honors. Size-wise, his frame would likely make him a significant upgrade to Dyches as a blocker, while still having excellent ball skills. This is one visit where the presence of Spavital and Sulmin should really help the Terps. He does not have any other known visits set up at this time.
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- The Terps will also look to fill one of the vacant defensive back openings when they host Bowling Green cornerback Jalen Huskey, a 6-foot-1, 185-pounder who played his high school ball locally at Quince Orchard.
Huskey started all 12 games for Bowling Green this season, finishing with 52 tackles (30 solo), 6 pass breakups and 4 interceptions (including an INT of Michigan's JJ McCarthy), earning first-team All-MAC honors. This is one to definitely keep an eye on moving forward.
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- With Kaltenberger still weighing his options, the Terps will host another Big Ten center in Indiana's Zach Carpenter. A former Rivals three-star who began his college career at Michigan, Carpenter started every game for the Hoosiers this season at center. He started 15 games for the Hoosiers in the three seasons prior to this one, making 27 starts in all, along the offensive line.
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- The Terps will host yet another Big Ten offensive lineman in Michigan State's Keyshawn Blackstock.
Blackstock, who transferred to Michigan State this past offseason after playing at Coffeyville C.C., came to East Lansing as a redshirt junior but only played in four games for the Spartans this season, thus saving his redshirt eligibility. He is free to transfer again immediately due to the firing of Tucker and putting his name into the portal within a month of his firing.
At 6-foot-5, 315-pounds, Blackstock has excellent size to play either tackle spot. He saw 25 snaps this season at LT versus Washington and 18 snaps at LT versus the Terps.
The rub here is that Blackstock is currently committed to Arkansas of the SEC. He gave his pledge to the Hogs back in November. The Terps, along with Penn State, Virginia Tech, NC State, Colorado and more all heavily recruited Blackstock out of the portal back in November. The fact that he is still following through with a visit to College Park at this point in the process is likely a decent sign for the Terps as they look to flip the former Spartan before he enrolls at his next school.
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- Finally, the Terps will host Florida State backup offensive lineman Qae'Shon Sapp. A redshirt freshman, Sapp only saw action in a single game this season.
Sapp was highly recruited coming out Lee County (Ga.) high school and was rated a four-star offensive guard prospect by Rivals and the 16th ranked guard prospect in the country. Among the schools that offered were Alabama, Georgia, NC State and Texas. At 6-foot-4, 325-pounds, Sapp would give the Terps another big bodied interior lineman who has been through the rigors of a P5 season.
BONUS:
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- The Terps will once again host South Carolina high school commit Braydon Lee. The Rivals250 prospect has been on campus more times than I can count this season and it still feels like he's basically a Maryland commit at this point even though he's officially committed to the Cocks.
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