After being on the losing end of the transfer train (HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE) for most of this offseason (except for HERE), Maryland has seen an addition to its roster who will be able to make an immediate impact.
Friday evening, Maryland announced in a release that linebacker Jefferson Ashiru has transferred into Randy Edsall‘s football program. Ashiru comes to Maryland from UConn, from where he underwent a mysterious departure during the 2014 season.
The Baltimore Sun relayed the following information when it comes to what led to Ashiru’s divorce from the Huskies, as explained by the transfer’s father at the time:Tayo Ashiru told Brian Koonz, sports columnist for Hearst Connecticut Media Group, that his son had been “forced” out of the program. Huskies coach Bob Diaco told Koonz that Jefferson Ashiru “decided that he didn’t want to be on the team anymore. I didn’t decide it. He decided it.”
Father heard otherwise.
“I asked him, ‘Is this true? Are you tired of football? What is the story?’ I wanted to know what was going on,” Ashiru told Koonz. “He told me, ‘No, Daddy. I love football.’ That’s what he told me.
“He said Diaco and the coaches were coming up to him at practice, yelling at him, and asking him, ‘Do you love football?! Do you love football?!’ He said, ‘They want to get rid of me.’ When he went back to his room, he told me he cried in a way he had never cried in his life.”
The fact that Ashiru landed with the Terps is far from surprising as Edsall, as UConn’s head coach at the time, was responsible for bringing the linebacker to Storrs as a member of his then-program’s 2011 recruiting class.
“We are thrilled to welcome Jefferson to the Maryland football family,” Edsall said in a statement. “Jefferson has experience as a starter and can play multiple positions at linebacker. He has a tremendous work ethic and terrific understanding of the game. During his time at UConn, he played in a similar system and he will make a seamless transition. We are confident he will be a great team leader for our football program.”
Ashiru started 19 games as a Huskie, with 18 of those starts coming the last two seasons. Because Ashiru comes to College Park as a graduate transfer, he’ll be eligible to play immediately for the Terps this season.
2015 will be the linebacker’s final season of eligibility.
“I’m really excited to join the Maryland football program and have the opportunity to compete in the Big Ten Conference,” Ashiru said in his statement. “I have known Coach Edsall and was also recruited by [Terps defensive backs coach] Darrell Perkins, so those relationships played a key role in my decision to come to Maryland. Coach Edsall is a tremendous leader who cares deeply about his players. I’m looking forward to furthering my education and continuing my football career for a great University.”
