After producing the third-best passing attack in the Big Ten last season, Maryland will once again turn to quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa to lead a revamped offense with a few new faces at his disposal. Enter Kaden Prather, a 6-foot-4 wideout hailing from nearby Montgomery Village, Maryland.
Out of Northwest High School, Prather was a top target for Maryland as his four-star status was earned after being named an All-Metro First Team selection following his junior year. Prather’s senior season was impacted by COVID as Northwest opted out of competition, but that didn’t deter his recruitment with Penn State, Oklahoma, Maryland and South Carolina in pursuit before heading to West Virginia.
Prather started in four games and played in all but one of West Virginia’s games as a true freshman, but he became a mainstay in the Mountaineers’ passing attack last season. Prather posted six or more catches in six games, including a five-game stretch that ended with 109 receiving yards and a touchdown on eight catches versus Baylor.
After the Mountaineers’ offensive staff turned over following the 2022 season, Prather elected for a fresh start elsewhere before hitting the transfer portal on December 12. The same day he entered the portal was the first time Prather made the short trip to College Park to watch the Terps’ bowl practice. From then on, it became clear where Prather wanted to finish his college career.
“I always knew this was a destined location,” Kaden Prather said following spring practice. “As soon as I hit the portal, I knew where I wanted to go. The portal is not as fun as Tyrese [Chambers] said it is it, but I already had an idea.” Penn State, Oklahoma and Alabama were among the schools to show interest while the Sooners were on the cusp of securing the last official visit. West Virginia also worked to get Prather to return to Morgantown and withdraw from the portal, but in the end, all it took was Prather following through on his December official visit to Maryland before he made the call.
Film breakdown: WR Kaden Prather
“It’s just love everywhere. There’s a bunch of my friends, family here. Like you can’t ask for anything better.” That sentiment extends to Prather’s new teammates as the receiver room has quickly gotten close. “It didn’t take long for us to be like this at all. Like first day they brought me, they call me family from the jump. That makes it easier to come out here and play for these boys.”
After enrolling for the spring semester, Prather now enters his first spring at Maryland in a feature role as he and Taulia get a chance to build on their rapport, a connection that began in late January during player-run workouts.
“It’s picking up now. First couple [of] days, [it] was a little slow just learning the playbook but that’s kind of the only slow up right now is, just learning the playbook. As the practices go on and as the days go on, it’s getting easier and easier.” Prather gives the room the experienced big-bodied receiver that fills the role Dontay Demus once shined in. “Taulia’s used to throwing to a big receiver with having Demus last year. So me and him, our chemistry’s getting better and better every day. Tai Felton, Jeshaun Jones, really our whole wide receiver room is gonna be a problem this year.”
With seven practices left before the spring game on April 29, Prather knows what the offense needs to do to call it a successful spring.
“Just all be on the same page. It’s a lot of new pieces so once we all get on that same page and we start clicking consistently, then our offense is gonna be a huge problem for sure.”
Maryland culminates spring ball with the annual spring game set for April 29.
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