University of Maryland offensive tackle Jared Gaither could be on the edge of throwing it all away. By that, I mean the big bucks of the NFL, fame and most importantly, the respect of his current teammates and coaches.
He might even be damaging Maryland?s program as a whole.
For the second time in less than a month, Terps coach Ralph Friedgen sat the big fella for disciplinary reasons. Earlier last month, Gaither was suspended for two weeks for an undisclosed reason.
This time, he was held out of Saturday?s season opener against William & Mary. “Big deal,” some might say. “Missing William & Mary is the equivalent of sitting out a veteran in the NFL preseason.”
But it?s a very big deal. There?s a lot resting on the future success of Gaither, a 6-foot-9, 350-pound lineman who has “future professional” written all over him. He?s raw, with just two years of actual football experience.
The former University of South Carolina basketball prospect has all the tools ? size, agility and strength ? to play at the next level. With his head on straight, he could be the next generation?s Jonathan Ogden. And he comes from talent factory Eleanor Roosevelt in football hotbed Prince George?s County.
Recently, the Terpshave had their share of success nabbing players from the southern corridors of the state, getting their share of Roosevelt players like current running back Josh Allen and former Raven Jermaine Lewis. There are a number of P.G. kids on the roster now.
Maryland has been on a roll in producing local NFL talent in recent seasons, too, particularly Aberdeen?s E.J. Henderson, Shawne Merriman from Gwynn Park (P.G.) and Vernon Davis from D.C.
Still, Maryland has lost some high-quality P.G. players recently to revitalized Penn State, including Antonio Logan-El and Derrick Williams. Penn State took advantage of recent lackluster seasons at Maryland and swiped a number of kids from the state in the last year, including Howard County product Aaron Maybin.
Gaither can be the next first-round pick, maybe the one that goes highest of all during the NFL Draft. He?s a once-every-10-years type of presence. But if he continues down whatever path of bad choices he?s pursuing, his name could be thrown in with a whole heap of wasted talent.
Friedgen seemed perturbed after the William & Mary game because fellow tackle Dane Randolph had to shoulder an even bigger load and was getting worn down.
Maryland needs Gaither to get his act together. If the Fridge?s program is going to take the next step, local kids need to see their neighbors on the field. Otherwise, other programs will happily step in and snag the area?s top talent by pointing to their own local success stories.
High school kids these days only respect what they see. Gaither?s not helping his cause or Maryland?s.
Matt Palmer is a staff writer for The Examiner. He can be reached at [email protected]
