Inside the Numbers: Maryland’s 2028 Update

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Maryland Class of 2028 rankings have been updated, and there are 100 additional prospects on the list. I decided to take the rankings and take an analytical look at the list.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>POSITION FREQUENCY</strong><br>Linemen, Linemen, and more Linemen<br>There are 45 players with a single designation along the line (28 OL, 17 DL, and 13 Edge) and 13 others with a double designation (8 OL/DL and 5 DL/OL). Overall, it's clear that linemen dominate the rankings, with 36 out of the Top 100 being linemen.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensive backs<br>If we are talking about the biggest group in the Top 200, it's defensive backs. There are 40 players labelled strictly “DB” and currently ranked. In fact, they're the most represented single-position group in the Top 100 with 24 players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MEASUREMENTS</strong><br>Speaking of defensive backs, the average height and weight of those 24 in the top 100 is 5-11.9 (basically 6 feet) and 172 pounds.<br>These four players, if anything else, are physically intriguing.<br>No. 45 [player_tooltip player_id='1175281' first='Chukwuma' last='Nkpado'] | 6-6 | 350 |  OL<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2134361' first='Melvin' last='Underwood'] | OL (<br>No. 38 [player_tooltip player_id='2070999' first='Patrick' last='Shime'] | 6-7 | 210 | Edge/WR<br>No. 1 [player_tooltip player_id='1644118' first='Bryce' last='Smalls'] | 6-5 | 285 | OL<br>No. 11 [player_tooltip player_id='1166085' first='William' last='Crawford']  | 6-5 | 300 | OL<br>No. 19 [player_tooltip player_id='1078829' first='Nikolas' last='Stevens'] | 6-5 | 265 | DL/OL<br>No. 42 [player_tooltip player_id='1084572' first='Ethan' last='Hunter'] | 6-5 | 265 | DL<br>No. 51 [player_tooltip player_id='1727997' first='Kharter' last='Tobias'] | 6-5 | 220 | Edge<br>No. 62 Syrus Benka-Coker | 6-5 | 280 | OL<br>No. 162 AJ Starling | 6-4 | 180 | QB</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br><strong>QUARTERBACK PLAY</strong><br>One thing is for sure: It's tough to crack the top 100 as a quarterback. [player_tooltip player_id='825096' first='Carlos' last='Spencer'] (No. 21), [player_tooltip player_id='1239127' first='Jameson' last='Bryant'] (No. 61), [player_tooltip player_id='2136812' first='Colton' last='Starlings'] (No. 72) and Malcolm Smith (No. 78) all earned a spot in that top 100 range. I think there's plenty of time for not only these players to play their way into a high ranking, but also for those between 101-150 (four total) as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>WATCH LIST INSIGHT</strong><br>There's a total of 64 athletes currently on the watch list, with players in Wide Receivers (9), Offensive Lineman (9, not including players with designation of OL/DL or DL/OL), and Quarterbacks (7).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>FINAL OBSERVATIONS</strong><br>The Top 200 is trenches-heavy, which is impressive from an early-evaluation standpoint. Defensive backs dominate the skill positions, which isn't a surprise to me. It's been among the most consistent pipeline groups in the MD/D.C. area, and the talent pool is deep. If you're a lineman, size definitely matters. The longer, the better.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stay tuned to Prep Redzone for more Class of 2028 updated rankings breakdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->