More former Terps have found homes as they begin their NFL journeys.
Wide receiver Jacob Copeland will head to Tennessee after signing as a UDFA with the Titans. Originally signing with Florida in 2018, Copeland spent four seasons there before transferring to Maryland in 2022. In his four years as a Gator, he finished with 86 catches for 1366 yards and nine touchdowns. This included leading the team in receiving yards (642) and tying for first in catches (41), and receiving touchdowns (4) in 2021.
Copeland also recorded two 100-yard games during the 2021 season, with a 175-yard, three-touchdown performance against South Florida. He also earned an SEC Freshman of the Week award in 2019 after catching three passes for 89 yards and a touchdown against South Carolina.
For the Terps in 2022, Copeland finished sixth-best in receptions (26) and fourth-best in receiving yards (376). Against Charlotte, he had his best game of the season with four catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns. It was one of five games that Copeland caught four passes on the year.
Wide receiver Dontay Demus has signed with the Baltimore Ravens, first reported by Inside the Black and Gold.
Dontay Demus is signing with the Baltimore Ravens as a UDFA, per source
— Ahmed Ghafir (@ghafirtheturtle) April 29, 2023
Demus signed with Maryland in 2018 and finished ninth in career receptions (128), seventh in receiving yards (2008), tied for fifth in touchdown catches (14), and second in career 100-yard receiving games (7) in school history. He led the team in receptions and receiving yards in 2019 and 2020.
In 2021, Demus finished second on the team in receiving yards despite only playing in five games due to a knee injury. At the time of his injury, he already had three 100-yard games and would have been a high draft pick in 2022. Even with the injury, Demus was still named an All-Big Ten honorable mention, just like in 2019 and 2020.
Demus returned to Maryland for his fifth year in 2022 but couldn’t make the same impact as in years past, finishing the season with 22 catches for 223 yards and one touchdown. His best game came against Ohio State when he caught five passes for 67 yards. Demus had a streak of at least one catch in 34 straight games played that ended against Penn State last year.
At the combine, Demus tied fellow receiver Rakim Jarrett with a 35.5” vertical and 10’3” broad jump. He also ran a 4.57 on the 40-yard dash.
Meanwhile, offensive lineman Johari Branch has signed with the Los Angeles Chargers, first reported by Inside the Black and Gold.
Johari Branch is signing with the Los Angeles Chargers as a UDFA, per source
— Ahmed Ghafir (@ghafirtheturtle) April 29, 2023
Branch was one of four signees in the 2020 class out of Independence C.C. as the juco product became an integral part in the Terps’ offensive line. Branch started all 30 games during his three seasons with the program, lining up at both guard spots along with center, before being selected to the East-West Shrine Bowl alongside Spencer Anderson.
Wide receiver Rakim Jarrett is signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, per multiple reports. The former five-star recruit flipped from LSU to Maryland on National Signing Day in 2020, in one of Mike Locksley’s first big recruiting wins since becoming head coach. His breakout game came in his freshman year against Penn State when he caught five passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns in a Terp victory. Jarrett finished his freshman season with 17 catches for 252 yards and two touchdowns.
Jarrett then led the team in receptions, yards, and touchdown catches in 2021. His 62 receptions that year is tied with Stefon Diggs for seventh-best in school history for catches in a single season, while his 829 receiving yards are ninth-best. Jarrett had a career-high 10 catches for 105 yards against Michigan State that year.
In 2022, Jarrett was third on the team in yards (471) and second in catches (40). He got off to a fast start with six catches for a season-high 110 yards against Buffalo. Jarrett later had a season-high eight passes for 82 yards and a touchdown against Northwestern. He was named an all-Big Ten honorable mention all three years as a Terp. Jarrett finished his college career with 119 catches for 1552 yards and 10 touchdowns.
After the season, Jarrett was invited to the combine and ran a 4.44 on the 40-yard dash. He also jumped 35.5” on the vertical and 10’3” on the broad jump.
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