COLLEGE PARK — As a senior at nearby Eleanor Roosevelt High, Maurice Shelton made some unusual recruiting trips for a 6-foot-2, 290-pound offensive lineman.
Among the schools Shelton and his family visited were the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon. Maryland was interested in Shelton, too, but as a budding electrical engineer rather than a football player.
Now, five years later, Shelton is the Terps' starting guard ahead of true freshman Terrance Davis, who was the highest-rated prospect in coach DJ Durkin's first recruiting class. Shelton's rise from little-used backup to starter doesn't surprise Durkin.