The last time Maryland wide receiver Dontay Demus Jr. was seen on the field, he was carted off the field following a gruesome knee injury against Iowa in October. As he was being taken off the field, Demus yelled the words “I’m coming back!”
Demus suffered a torn ACL.
On Tuesday, nine months later, Maryland head coach Mike Locksley revealed Demus “is ahead of schedule… There is an expectation that we’ll see Dontay Demus playing in the first game.”
Last season, Demus was on the verge of an All-American season. He had 28 catches for 507 yards and three touchdowns through five games. At the time of his injury, he led the Big Ten in receiving yards.
Prior to his season-ending knee injury, Demus was projected as an early-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft. Some still viewed him high but the Washington, D.C. native opted to return to Maryland for a fifth year.
Demus is rehabbing his injury with Maryland’s training staff. Locksley gave credit to the training staff for getting Demus up to speed. He mentioned the talented wideout is hitting 21 to 22 miles per hour in speed during the rehab process.
Maryland opens the 2022 football season on Sept. 3 at home against Buffalo.
Demus will join a reloaded wide receiver group that features Rakim Jarrett, Jeshaun Jones, Marcus Fleming and Florida transfer Jacob Copeland. They’ll all be catching passes from highly-touted quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa.
Getting Demus back makes an already potent Maryland offense more lethal. The Terrapins have an offense that measures with the rest of the Big Ten Conference. Locksley’s team will lean a lot on their offense this upcoming season.
