Departing Maryland football seniors draw NFL interest after Pro Day

Ahmed Ghafir
1 day ago
3 min read

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8q76_ppYII

With seven contributors from the 2025 team in attendance , along with former running back Colby McDonald and kicker Jack Howes, Maryland football hosted its annual Pro Day on Friday with 45 scouts and personnel from 30 different NFL teams in attendance (the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals were the two teams to not show up).

Veteran safety Jalen Huskey drew buzz as arguably the team’s top draft prospect during spring ball one year ago, but he remembered the change that sparked his ascension as a possible day two prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft.

“Playing corner, playing nickel and playing safety, all three positions really jumpstarted my career,” Huskey said. “I probably - if I stayed at corner - probably wouldn’t be in the same position I am in right now and I’m extremely grateful for Locks seeing that in me and changing my position and allowing me to excel as a football player as a man.”

Huskey appeared in every game in 2024, starting in all but one, but his switch from cornerback to safety materialized back on Nov. 9 when Maryland traveled west to face Oregon, but his rise as one of Maryland’s best players in 2025 became clear after notching four interceptions, including three over a four-game span, while finishing with the sixth-most tackles among Big Ten safeties.

Huskey added he met with both the Denver Broncos and New York Giants on Thursday while the New England Patriots met with him following Friday’s Pro Day, giving Maryland a chance to produce its eighth defensive back drafted since 2019.

“He’s a guy that’s played corner at a very high level when we brought him here and then he’s a safety that has skills that allows him to kind of be a slot nickel, safety, maybe a corner in a pinch,” head coach Mike Locksley said of Huskey. “That versatility are things that we try to teach.”

But Huskey isn’t the only one drawing NFL interest after Alan Herron, who started all 24 games during his two seasons in College Park at right tackle, noted he has a top-30 visit set with the New Orleans Saints next week. It’s an impressive development for Herron, who arrived in College Park after spending two seasons at DII Shorter University, where he also started every game during his two seasons with the program at either left or right tackle. But for Herron, who flipped from Penn State to Maryland on signing day, it wasn’t an unexpected development given the agile tackle drew buzz as a NFL prospect in time once he first arrived on campus. He also watched his position coach, who was the driving force in his commitment flip, depart the program midway through the season after Damian Wroblewski quietly replaced Brian Braswell during the 2024 Big Ten slate.

“It was tough, coach Wrobo stepped in and coach Hal [Hunter], they worked with me just watching film and seeing what I needed to improve on and I worked on that in the offseason,” Herron added.

Herron joined Huskey as the second Terp to draw an invite to the the NFL Scouting Combine after participating in both the Senior Bowl and American Bowl All-Star Game, but a pair of wide receivers also suited up in the Hula Bowl with Octavian Smith and Jalil Farooq wearing their Maryland uniform one last time.

Octavian Smith, who reportedly impressed scouts in the 40 yard dash, was hopeful to show scouts his speed one last time. “When it comes to routes, being crisp and sharpening my route techniques and coming in and out of my breaks smooth,” he added.

Smith noted he spoke to roughly 20 of the 32 teams while at the Hula Bowl. “That was a blessing along, being able to speak to scouts, be interviewed and have those nice conversations and get help, get to know me.”

Farooq and Smith joined Shaleak Knotts as wide receivers participating, while long snapper Ethan Gough looked to prove himself as an NFL-caliber prospect after becoming a four-year starter. Maybe the biggest draft sleeper out of College Park this year is defensive lineman Cam Rice, who built his own case as Maryland’s most impressive transfer addition. A one-time walk-on quarterback who then starred at West Liberty University, becoming a DII All-American, the Ohio transfer arrived in College Park where he started all 12 games and notched at least 0.5 TFLs in five of Maryland’s nine Big Ten games.

Rice was spotted having an extended conversation with scouts from the Carolina Panthers following Friday’s Pro Day while noting that he has workouts set with both the Baltimore Ravens and Washington Commanders.

“I think just the way I play, the motor I have, the effort I play with, something you can’t teach,” Rice said.

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