Paul Frederiksen- USA TODAY Sports
When it comes to the sport of college football, everybody loves their playmakers. Casual football fans aren’t impressed with blocking schemes, shortly thrown out-routes, nor the hang-time on a punt. They want to see a young man take a football and do something mind-blowing with it. They want to be wowed out of their football-crazed minds.
When speaking of the ACC in 2013, things such as those are expected from popular names such as Clemson‘s Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins, Florida State‘s heavily-hyped Jameis Winston, and Miami‘s Duke Johnson–among others. However, the most explosive player in the conference may be from a program that won’t even be a member anymore following this season.
In this their last season as an ACC member before taking off to the Big Ten, the Maryland Terrapins are once again going to rely on wide receiver Stefon Diggs to give them some glimmer of hope. Even though the Terps finished a disappointing 4-8 last season, it was impossible to ignore that spark that the true freshman provided to the burnt-out campfire that was the 2012 Maryland football squad.
Last year, the 19-year old provided 1,809 all-purpose yards on the season–the second most in the history of the Maryland program. With less than stellar production from the quarterback slot and an inconsistent running game to boot, Diggs provided virtually all that he could to keep Maryland afloat.
Early last season–you know, when people still thought the West Virginia Mountaineers were the greatest team ever assembled–the Terps were supposed to get blown off the field by WVU within the first few minutes. Well, the final score of that contest was 31-21, with two of the Terrapin scores being provided by Diggs himself–on just THREE catches. Hauling in scores from 42 and 56 yards out, the freshman finished the game with those three catches for 113 yards–and both TDs weren’t beautifully thrown balls neither. It was a breakthrough performance for one of the ACC’s best players on a national stage.
As a return man, Diggs is just as explosive. In his freshman year, he amassed 934 yards and two touchdowns as a kick returner, including a 103-yard scoring sprint against the Virginia Cavaliers. He literally is the do-it-all man for the Maryland Terrapins.
However, as it goes, the Maryland Terrapins just are not a good football program at the moment–which negatively affects the publicity that Diggs’ talents receive. But eventually the cream rises to the top. If Diggs can put out an even better performance than he did last year, people are going to be forced to take notice of one of the prolific players in the nation, much less the conference.
Who knows, the Terps and Stefon Diggs may be leaving the ACC following this season with the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year trophy in their possession.
________
Jack is a College Football Contributor for Rant Sports. Follow Jack on Twitter @JackJ14RS
