Image Credit: NorthJersey.com
Commitment Date: September 23, 2013
Hometown: Englewood, NJ
High School: Dwight Morrow
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 180 lbs.
247Sports Rank: #15 ATH, 4-star
ESPN Rank: #39 ATH, 4-star
Rivals Rank: #36 WR, 4-star
Scout Rank: #52 WR, 4-star
40 time: N/A
Other Offers: Boston College, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgia, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, North Carolina State, Old Dominion, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Carolina, Syracuse, UCF, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Washington State, West Virginia
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Randy Edsall was looking for one wide receiver to add to his 2014 recruiting class. He had a fairly large number of wide receivers already, but wanted to add one more. He certainly picked a good one in Juwann Winfree.
Winfree is a consensus 4-star recruit from Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, N.J., where he also played safety. Even after Terps wide receiver coach Lee Hull left for Morgan State, Winfree stuck to his commitment and signed with Maryland on National Signing Day. Part of that is definitely due to the presence of Stefon Diggs. When Winfree visited the team while they were in Baltimore last season, Diggs took him under his wing. That was enough to get the young man from New Jersey to commit. Not only is Stefon Diggs an incredibly talented wide receiver, but he makes other young men from across the country want to come to Maryland to play on the same team as him.
While Stefon Diggs is a slot receiver in College Park, Winfree likely slots into one of the outside wide receiver positions. For now, since Deon Long has solidified the top outside spot, Winfree will compete for the job at the flanker position with Marcus Leak and Nigel King. I don’t believe he will win that job simply due to the talent already at the position, so I’d project him to redshirt the 2014 season and make an impact in 2015 or 2016. Once Deon Long graduates after the 2014 season, I could definitely see Winfree moving over to take his place and competing with Amba Etta-Tawo for that job.
Winfree has very good speed, and while the major recruiting services don’t list his 40-yard dash time, multiple sources say that it is about 4.4 seconds. That speed would allow him to take over Deon Long’s position as the top man outside. He can also be a good weapon on handoffs as well. Stefon Diggs has been the Terps’ go-to wide receiver for jet sweeps and option pitches, and it works really well since he is already in the slot. But Winfree has the talent to be that guy from the outside once Diggs graduates, and would compete with Levern Jacobs, Jacquille Veii and DeAndre Lane for those extra touches. We only saw Deon Long get one carry last season (on a double reverse against West Virginia that went for big yardage) but I’m sure Mike Locksley has a few more of those type of plays up his sleeve.
While many teams who offered him a scholarship saw him as a defensive back, Maryland stood out to Juwann Winfree by wanting him at wide receiver. Despite the large number of talented receivers in College Park, he has the chance to contribute by his second season. His speed and overall athletic abilities make it really tough to keep him off the field. The Terps were already loaded at the skill positions before Winfree’s commitment, and he just adds another piece to the massively athletic offense that Mike Locksley has to work with over the next few seasons.
Terps Analyst
Zack is a financial analyst for a defense contractor in Washington, DC. The Owings Mills native focuses most of his efforts on Maryland Football recruiting and individual coach and player pieces; but also covers Terps Basketball. He has established relationships with Big Ten beat reporters across the conference, which he utilizes in his game previews. Now a Sr. Terps Analyst for BSL, Zack can be reached at: zack.kiesel@baltimoresportsandlife.com.