Darnell Savage, Ty Johnson lead Terrapins with NFL aspirations

COLLEGE PARK — Darnell Savage Jr. is projected to be the highest-drafted Maryland Terrapins in the 2019 NFL Draft. Most scouts and mock drafts peg the safety in the second or third round.

But not every prospect receives the same hype, and some who were overlooked at first blush — like running back Ty Johnson and linebacker Tre Watson — were on the artificial turf of Cole Field House with a month to go before the draft.

Thirteen Terrapins worked out in front of 29 NFL teams, including the Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens, at Maryland’s pro day Wednesday in hopes of advancing their NFL dreams.

Savage only participated in positional drills in College Park after posting a 4.33 40-yard dash and 39.5-inch vertical jump at the scouting combine earlier this month. Savage, offensive lineman Derwin Gray and defensive lineman Byron Cowart were the only Terrapins invited to Indianapolis.

Watson — who was named second-team All-America by the Football Writers Association of America and first-team All-Big Ten — was among those who didn’t receive that invite.

“I certainly was surprised. I think the people around me were more surprised than I was,” Watson said. “Everything adds to the fire. Not being ranked high, coming into Maryland here with a lot of those same things. It’s just another bump in the road, but today was a big relief and another opportunity to overcome those things.”

The buzz in Cole Field House Wednesday centered on Johnson’s blazing 40 time. Unofficially, he was clocked in the high 4.20s, as fast as 4.26 seconds according to some; Johnson added that he was laser-timed at 4.33 while preparing for the pro day.

He ran so hard that he tweaked something in his leg at the end of his second run, but later dismissed it as tightness that had already passed by then.

Johnson ran for 506 yards and three touchdowns in nine games before a calf injury shortened his 2018 season. He also had two career kick return touchdowns for Maryland, though he’d be the first to tell you that’s not the full extent of his kickoff abilities. When coaches ask him if he likes playing, Johnson likes to geek out.

“You need me to be the No. 3, holding the numbers, blowing someone up? I got you. You need me to be the double vise on punt? I got you,” Johnson said. “And they love that terminology, too, because that’s what they use.”

It was Maryland’s first pro day since the events of 2018 that led to the death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair two weeks after passing out at a team workout and the firing of coach DJ Durkin. The Baltimore Sun previously reported that Savage, Gray and Cowart fielded questions about the Terrapins’ challenging season while at the combine.

For Johnson and Watson, it has been no different.

“Every single time they talk to me, that’s all they ask about,” Johnson quipped. “I just tell them it really was rough, it really was like a crapshoot, but at the end of the day, we all came together. We still played every day.”

Watson pointed out that few teams will ever have to experience exactly what the Terrapins did last year in losing a teammate.

“My response (to those questions) is we came together as a team. Everyone in the locker room was equal,” Watson said. “We all shared in our struggle and we all shared in our success throughout the season.”