from Keith Cavanaugh of terrapintimes.com
All things considered — and considering neither Kevin Hogan, Braxton Miller nor Everett Golson were walking in that door — the Terps did about as well as could be expected with the May 28 pickup of Oklahoma State fifth-year senior quarterback Daxx Garman to fill a crucial team need for 2015.
Garman, a three-star recruit who first signed with Arizona but left for OSU after the coaching/system change under new coach Rich Rodriguez, arrives June 1 for the start of summer school session one and will have one year of eligibility in the fall.
Somewhat in the mold of Terps’ junior signal-caller Caleb Rowe, the pocket-passer Garman has a live, strong arm and solid athleticism. He has a quick delivery, and throws the deep ball well, too. Garman started eight games for the Cowboys in 2014 before yielding the starting job. He played for former Terps assistant coach Mike Gundy, and had a career-best performance in the Cowboys’ opener, throwing for 370 yards and four touchdowns and running for a score in a 45-35 win over Texas Tech.
Garman fills a key team need, what with the Terps down to three scholarship quarterbacks in the system and a fourth, freshman Gage Shaffer, joining the mix in the fall. Shaffer is expected to redshirt and is a developmental prospect, somewhat in the mold of former Terps Sam Hollenbach coming out of high school.
Meanwhile, Rowe has twice injured his left knee non-contact, but is expected to be ready for fall camp in August. Garman will both compete for the job and allow for another experienced thrower in the system in case of injury. Junior-to-be Perry Hills and sophomore-to-be Shane Cockerille both had their ups and downs in the spring, with decision-making and picks in camp, and neither appear ready to consistently win games for Maryland if thrown in the breach if anything happens to Rowe.
With another thrower joining the mix, it remains to be seen if all will stick after the August camp depth chart is released. That may be camp’s biggest question mark looking ahead. Garman appears a perfect fit, a solid, experienced guy who may not ruffle a ton of feathers with his addition, but will lend a helping hand in the aforementioned areas. Hills appears still a solid, steady backup, while Cockerille has made strides but needs more time as he fully transitions to thrower in college after starring as, more often, a running QB at Gilman. Rowe missed the spring while continuing his rehab, while neither Cockerille, who began camp atop the depth chart, or Hills, did enough to grab the reigns/answer enough questions for 2015.
We spoke with an OSU source who said Garman visited College Park, Md., in the spring, took in a Terps practice, and soon thereafter decided Maryland was the place for him, but he has low-keyed it ever since. Garman is known best for his arm, but can move the pocket and has the athleticism to make plays when things break down, etc.
freddy from boca
understand the need for depth. gut feeling. not a difference maker. as a pocket passer how does that work well with locksley’s option offense. it doesn’t. nor does the option probably work well with the dwayne haskins the qb md signed for 2016. the reality is locksley is a better recruiter than offensive coordinator but was given that position to merit his paY.
wasn’t there quite a bit of talk of an extension for edsall a few months ago?
· 11/12/2019