One day after the first NFL decision, Maryland now has their second player off to the NFL.
Senior wide receiver Dontay Demus has opted out of Maryland’s bowl game and will begin preparation for the 2023 NFL Draft, an expected decision and one IBG reported following the regular season finale.
Demus, a former three-star prospect out of Friendship Collegiate (DC), returned this season after suffering a significant season-ending knee injury in week five of the 2021. Despite initial skepticism that he’d be available until conference play, head coach Mike Locksley admitted his veteran was ahead of schedule during Big Ten media days and would be available for the week one matchup against Buffalo.
“It just felt like walking out there my freshman year. It felt like first game all over again,” Demus said after the win. “It’s just been a long while and I missed being out there with my brothers so I just loved every moment of it.”
Off the field, Demus emerged as one of the leaders in the locker room dating back to the start of the 2021 season. In his final game as a Terp, Demus became the seventh player in program history to record over 2,000 career yards and finished with 22 catches for 233 yards and one touchdown this season. Demus ends his career second in the Maryland football record books with seven 100-yard receiving games. He also finished sixth in career receiving touchdowns (13), eighth in career yards (1,827) and 11th in career receptions (111). The announcement from Demus comes one day after Jacob Copeland also announced he’ll opt out of Maryland’s bowl game and declare for the 2023 NFL Draft. Maryland has also watched a wave of second and third-year players enter the transfer portal this week with offseason meetings in full swing. Veteran defensive linemen Austin Fontaine and Tyler Baylor became the latest to join the group after entering the portal as a grad transfer. Related Links Several enter the transfer portal, one declares for NFL, portal target surfaces Pair of second-team selections highlight 13 Terps on All-Big Ten teams VIP: Offseason in full swing, upcoming OVs, four-star update (+) Maryland basketball dominates Louisville on the road