Maryland football starting OL named among best in country in 2024 re-rank

Ahmed Ghafir
1 hour ago
2 min read

The Athletic re-ranked the 2024 recruiting cycle with one Terp honored: center Michael Hershey.

Hershey was included among the top seven best interior offensive linemen in his recruiting class alongside Cooper Cousins of Penn State, Jake Guarnera of Michigan, Kyle Altuner of Virginia Tech, Kobe Branham of Arkansas, Harrison Moore of Florida and Ezomo Oratokhai of Northwestern. But it’s Hershey who was ranked the lowest among the group - On3 ranked Hershey as the 1,527th-best prospect in the country, while 247 never bothered to update his recruiting profile to reflect the position he was actually recruited to play.

It’s a testament to Maryland’s development plan after the Pennsylvania native stepped into the rotation as a true freshman. Maryland signed former Purdue offensive lineman - and fellow Pennsylvania native - Josh Kaltenberger the same offseason that Hershey arrived, allowing the veteran to step in as the full-time starter while Hershey gained experience through the season by rotating in and playing in six games.

“Recruiting him, he was one of those guys that earned the right to have a scholarship here because of what did, not just as a football player,” Locksley said of Hershey. “He’s one of those guys that we saw leadership qualities in early and was thrust in there as a true freshman a year ago.”

But that set the stage for Hershey to anchor the offensive line as he prepared to step in as the full-time starter, going to allow zero sacks as Maryland allowed just nine as a unit, tied for the third-fewest nationally, with assistant Damian Wroblewski overseeing the unit heading into his third season with the program.

“He's very mental. So like, he'll always give us leadership opportunities, give us advice, push us. He's always there for us and he's a great coach, guy to lean on. If you need anything, he's always there so he cares about us, and if you do the right things and give him effort, he'll put the same back into you.”

Related Links