Terps OL Damian Prince: 'I'm in the best shape of my life'
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Having come to college as a five-star recruit, high expectations have always surrounded Terps sophomore offensive lineman Damian Prince. But with an energetic, first-year coaching staff now in College Park, the 6-foot-3, 315-pound blocker is ready to become a cornerstone of Maryland’s offensive front.
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“I feel great,” Prince told TSR. “I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life and as focused as ever. This season has a different feeling to it. There’s a different energy surrounding the program and I just feel great.”
The Forestville (Md.) Bishop McNamara product redshirted his first year at Maryland in 2014 and then appeared in 10 games last season with six starts at right tackle. Prince has been locked in as the Terps starting right tackle in fall camp and appears to be acclimating very well to offensive coordinator Walt Bell’s fast-paced offensive scheme.
Continuously moving at such a high tempo isn’t easy for any offensive lineman, but Prince believes learning to play in Bell’s system has helped improve his overall game by making his craft more challenging.
“Running the up-tempo, no-huddle offense I think speaks volumes to the offensive linemen who are able to even do it because it’s hard,” Prince said. “We’re all 300-plus pounds and we’re running from hash to hash, running up field 20 yards, getting on the ball, trying to get set so we can get the ball snapped. I feel like if you can do that then you can do almost anything as far as being an offensive lineman. We still have to make our calls. We still have to make our IDs and things of that nature, so it kind of makes you have to up your ante or up your game and get in the film room more to learn more about the different defenses and the calls to make.”
Prince has transformed his body since last season and is down nearly 15 pounds from his playing weight in 2015. The Washington, D.C., native credits the Terps’ new strength and conditioning staff with helping him get the most out of his massive frame.
“People who have seen me can see there’s a big difference,” Prince said. “I feel like that’s a testament to us as a team and the strength staff and just how hard we’ve been working. We’ve been putting in work since January and I feel like now we’re getting ready for the season we can definitely all feel a difference. We’re all more in shape and we can work longer and harder now than we could in the past. So I feel like the new strength staff has done a great job with each and every one of us.”
But Prince’s offseason training has included more than just getting stronger and faster. He has also become more well-rounded as Maryland offensive line coach Dave Borbely has worked all spring and summer to make the Terps blockers a more versatile group.
“We get what they call ‘cross training’ so if you play right tackle you’re going to know how to play left tackle, if you play left tackle you’re going to know how to play right tackle and etc,” Prince said. “I just know confidently that I know the offense and I know the offensive line play that I can play anywhere on the line. So wherever Coach Bell, Coach Durkin or Coach Borbely best see fit, I’m all for it.”
Borbely told TSR at Maryland’s media day Aug. 16 that one of the earliest lessons he learned as a young coach was to make sure his best blocker can play multiple positions. And the player on Borbely’s current offensive front with the most potential could very well be Prince.
“When I was a graduate assistant back in the 80s, I worked for a guy named Phillip Fulmer, who was the offensive line coach at Tennessee--Johnny Majors was the head coach,” Borbely said. “[Fulmer] told me make sure that your guys can play multiple positions, take your best guy and make sure he can play every position. He said some day it will save your ass, and he was right.”
Even with his immense talent and improved body, Prince can’t do it all alone. An offensive line is only as good as its weakest link, but Prince sees a strong unit across the board when looking at the Terps offensive front and has been particularly impressed with Maryland’s young blockers.
“I definitely feel like there are some young guys now who are really going to do some great things,” Prince said. “I have to really tip my hat off to the young guys. Seeing how dedicated they are as freshmen and sophomores. You typically don’t see that. Offensive line is a position that usually takes people a couple of years to develop and get accustom to and get physically ready for. But I feel like that a lot of our young guys did a great job of taking things seriously and getting in the film room and taking the weight room seriously, too.”
Borbely echoed Prince’s sentiment and has also been happy with what he has seen from his guys during the offseason.
“They’re working extremely hard,” Borbely said. “In all of my years, I would say this is the toughest training camp I’ve ever been involved with for the players. And they saddle up everyday and they come out and bust their butt for us. And all of these kids are but it’s a little harder when you’re 300 pounds.”