COLLEGE PARK — Maurice Shelton and Michael Dunn arrived at Maryland in 2012 as local products walking on to the team as offensive linemen. Dunn had played his high school football at Whitman in Montgomery County, while Shelton had played at nearby Eleanor Roosevelt. Neither were sure what their time with the Terps would hold for them.
Their careers quickly took divergent paths. Dunn became a starter as a redshirt freshman in 2013 and started 37 straight games while Shelton bided his time with the scout team offense. His first two career appearances were in the 2014 and 2015 season-opening blowouts of Football Championship Subdivision opponents. He didn't see his first meaningful action until last October.
But Shelton made his first career start against Iowa on Oct. 31 and finished the season with seven appearances and two starts. In the offseason, he impressed coach DJ Durkin and his staff, and now the senior appears poised to finally join Dunn as a starter on the offensive line.
"It's been great to have this opportunity and this chance," Shelton said Friday. "I was never sure that I was going to get it, but I just kept — we just kept working as a team and I worked with Dunn, who also came in [as a walk-on], and I've just been working hard this whole time. Now, I'm just happy. I'm glad I have this opportunity to come help the team as much as possible."
Shelton has been primarily working with the first-team offensive line at right guard in fall camp, though he's worked some at center with the second team. During spring practice, Durkin stressed versatility in case players found their way onto the field in different situations.
While he's worked alongside Dunn at left tackle, junior JaJuan Dulaney at left guard, sophomore Brendan Moore at center and sophomore Damian Prince at right tackle, Shelton wouldn't say he thinks those five will be the team's starting unit, but he feels there's quality chemistry in the group.
"I'm really not sure what the starting lineup is as far as you'd have to ask [offensive line coach Dave Borbely], but we've really come together as a unit and we've been getting ready all summer. We're looking forward to this upcoming season."
Shelton figures to be a new starter on the offensive line, which lost three key contributors to graduation in the offseason. The current group is a mix of former walk-ons like Shelton and Dunn, top recruits with high ceilings like Prince and sophomore Derwin Gray and players who have developed over time like Moore and Dulaney.
"They've done a great job," wide receiver DeAndre Lane said. "You can tell they're all playing faster, especially with the offense, they're not used to running between plays and getting lined up as fast as possible. But I think they're doing a great job."
Two of the keys to Maryland's success in the trenches could be in Prince and Gray, prominent local recruits who have only had limited time on the field. Prince was to be a starter out of fall camp a year ago, but injuries bounced him from the starting group. He wound up making six starts at right tackle and appeared in 10 games. This year, Durkin and the staff are expecting more for the former five-star recruit from Bishop McNamara.
"We have real high expectations for Damian," Durkin said. "He's a consistent guy. He doesn't say much. He just goes out there. I don't know how many reps he's had this camp, but he's had a ton. He's always out there and he's very consistent with his performance and what he does. He goes about his business the right way. I view him as one of the leaders of the team."
Durkin said Gray, a former four-star recruit who played high school football at Friendship Collegiate Academy before prepping at Fork Union Military Academy, was "all the ability you'd want in a guy." The emphasis with him has been on consistency, and he's primarily worked at left tackle with the second team this month. But when his development is complete and "that light clicks on, he'll be a dominant football player," Durkin said.
In Durkin's culture of competition, Shelton knows that nothing is a given and that week-to-week performance could decide who starts. But the former walk-on has been able to impress the staff, which could go a long way toward helping him carve out a spot.
"He's probably one of the most consistent guys when you say who's the hardest worker, who are the guys that really bust their behind the most, he's in that group always," Durkin said. "And so, he's responded. He's been rewarded for that and he's making the most of his reps and doing a great job."
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