Ravens Have Boosted Football Prospects in State of Maryland

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The emergence of the Ravens has coincided with a bit of a renaissance for football prospects in the State of Maryland.

Players from the University of Maryland, Towson University and Morgan State have made NFL rosters over the past few decades. Several prep players around the state, such as Adrian Amos (Calvert Hall), Kyle Fuller (Mount St. Joseph), Tavon Austin (Dunbar) and Stefon Diggs (Good Counsel), have made their mark in the NFL.

"One of the things that I was thinking about is when I first started here in 1996, very few players were actually drafted from the state of Maryland," Ravens GM Eric DeCosta said. "We’ve seen a tremendous change over the years; I think partly because of the Ravens coming to Baltimore. But it’s really nice to see all these players from the state become good players in college and then go on to play in the NFL as well."

This year, Maryland has two players that could be selected in this year's draft — tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo and safety Nick Cross. Both players had exceptional seasons and that carried over to their recent pro days.

Perhaps, they could have their names called by the Ravens on draft day.

"With ‘Chig,’ he’s probably a little undersized – not your 6-5 tight end – but [he’s a] versatile player," DeCosta said. "He had an outstanding week at the East-West; I thought he showed up well down there. He put together a good season, obviously, and then performances in the postseason and in the workouts and Pro Days and Combine. He’s got speed, good mass to him – put together really well – and I think he offers some versatility. Especially [with] how we are creative with our tight ends, he’d be able to do multiple things.

"And then with Nick, another guy with excellent size for the position – at the safety position. [He’s got] really great range. [He’s] a physical player, and same thing [with him in] the postseason. He lit it up at the Combine, [and] I thought [he] really put out some good numbers. We had a chance, with these guys both being local, to see them at their Pro Day, bring them in, spend some time around them. [They] both carry themselves very well and represent the University of Maryland well.”