Rising sophomore defensive lineman David Shaw, who was expected to compete for a first-team role this spring, is likely to miss about five months after undergoing knee surgery, coach Randy Edsall said Monday.
"It is a pre-existing injury that happened during the season. It might be a situation where he could have surgery as early as tomorrow," Edsall said.
Shaw missed two games in October with a knee injury and finished the season with four tackles, including a sack, in seven games.
“I think he would be back ready for the season. David is one of those guys who is a hard worker,” Edsall said. “He has to get it done, so it will make him better. He is one of those guys who always comes back faster than what people said. When he had the injury before, they thought it was going to be longer, and it wasn’t. I am not worried about him.”
The Terps also announced the hiring of Darrell Perkins as defensive backs coach. Perkins spent last season coaching the cornerbacks at Old Dominion, after serving the previous four years at Connecticut, where he overlapped with Edsall. While with the Huskies, Perkins helped develop Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Dwayne Gratz, who were both selected in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft.
"Darrell is a great coach who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the defensive back position,” Edsall said. “He is also an excellent teacher and will maximize the talent that we have in the secondary. Darrell is strong recruiter who will help our staff continue to build our program."