adam mclean – Alexander Jonesi

McLean left Maryland, but now he’s back, and he should help.

Maryland’s football season starts in 85 days. Until then, we’re previewing the entire roster. Up next:

Adam McLean, defensive tackle

Height: 6’2

Weight: 313 pounds

Year: Freshman

High school: Quince Orchard (Md.)

How McLean got to College Park

Adam McLean was a two-time consensus all-state performer and Under Armour All-American; he was named first-team All-Met by The Washington Post in 2013, after finishing his junior season at Quince Orchard with 47 tackles and seven sacks. In the state of Maryland, McLean was rated the best defensive tackle and number two overall player by Rivals. In his class, he was also ranked the 12th best defensive tackle and 83rd overall in the nation by ESPN.

McLean was recruited early and given offers by some big names including Ohio State, Alabama, Michigan State, and Florida State, among others. Although Penn State failed to crack his top five list in January of 2014, McLean announced his commitment to the Nittany Lions via Twitter in April. However, in a surprising twist, McLean decommitted the following November and by next February, he was a Terp.

Additionally, McLean helped to spark the #DMVtoUMD movement, encouraging local recruits to come to Maryland and make it a football powerhouse in the Big Ten. In the past, Maryland has consistently lost out on blue-chip talent to other programs, notably Penn State, Ohio State, and West Virginia. The Capital News Service analyzed that over the last five years, Maryland only retained on average 20 percent of its four- and five-star prospects. McLean recognized his potential and jumped at the opportunity:

“I knew that I had the power to get other guys interested, even though I committed a little bit later in the recruiting process,” McLean said. “…Everyone wants to be a part now, everyone wants to help re-establish the program.”

McLean’s Maryland career hit a snag back in September when he had to un-enroll from the university due to an “eligibility issue” – the initial announcement from the University had worried fans but McLean quickly put them at ease with a couple tweets.

He was indeed on the line come springtime.

Some video:

A career highlight:

He has yet to play a single down for the Terps (besides the spring game), but McLean made waves last year by flipping his commitment from Penn State to Maryland. He has been very active on social media since and continues to play a role in helping Maryland seal local recruits for the future.

2016 prospectus

Even if McLean had remained at Maryland last September, he was highly expected to redshirt his freshman season due to an ACL injury from his senior year at Quince Orchard. In fact, his goal last summer was to be healthy by spring.

This year, he’ll team up with redshirt sophomore David Shaw and look to build a partnership before incoming five-star defensive end Joshua Kaindoh gets in the mix, along with tackle Cam Spence. McLean is already one of Mike London’s most talented players, and in the right defensive scheme, he could hit the ground running.

What a dream season might look like

Fans of Maryland football have been waiting for a long time to watch McLean play seeing as he was Edsall’s top recruit in the class of 2015. We got a glimpse when the defensive tackle saw some springtime action and recorded a few tackles, including one for a loss. Hopefully, London figures out a way to take advantage McLean’s abilities and he makes an instant impact on the field.

If Mclean and Shaw complement each other well, they can lay the foundation for the next couple years – and Kaindoh will slot right in next year. Look for McLean to lock up his starting spot as early as this year.

Next in the series…

Our next player caught Maryland’s attention during his senior season after leading his school to an upset win over local rivals Gilman in the state title game back in 2013.

Standings

PMatt is on the board.

Testudbro- 3

PeachesTerp- 2

amaymon27- 1

apgibson- 1

ezra2141- 1

Murderlandboy- 1

Mr. Papageorgeo- 1

RedTurtle- 1

Carolina- 1

reborn579- 1

PMatt- 1