'09 NJ LB Ryan Donohue (Maryland Verbal)

[GoRU]

'09 NJ LB Ryan Donohue

Inside linebacker
Montvale (NJ) St. Joseph's

Ht: 6-foot-2
Wt: 215 lbs
Forty: 4.6 secs
Bench max: 315 pounds
Squat max: 440 pounds
Class: 2009 (High School)

Currently holds one offer from Rutgers. Was at practice this week with a lot of other prospects.

ESPN

Donohue possesses the physical tools for a college program to mold into a steady, productive linebacker at the next level. Has good height, well-layered thickness and the frame for much continued physical development. Productive in the middle and that is the spot we project he will take most of his college snaps with added size. Very fundamentally sound with good instincts between the tackles. Diagnoses the play quickly and gets a good jump on the football. Fills hard vertically with adequate burst. Not real fluid sifting through the trash but can effectively mirror ball carriers and takes proper pursuit angles. Will turn and chase with a high motor to the sideline masking his lack of great speed and range. While he shows some good strength as a tackler he often struggles breaking down in space and can overrun the play. Flashes difficulty redirecting sharply and is a bit stiff pursuing laterally. Needs to get to his drop quicker in coverage and he tends to lose some in transition opening and turning. Our main concern is his lack of great speed and burst when he locates the football. Not a fast-twitched athlete had shows limited explosiveness in space. Good downhill run filler but will need added size, strength and improved hand technique to hold his base at the point of attack and beat/disengage the cutoff block of bigger D-I linemen. Overall, Donohue brings good upside and scheme versatility to the table as a prospect; could develop in the middle or potentially on the strong side. Shows some hidden athleticism running the ball as a tailback and a slide down to fullback with improved blocking is a possibility. Should be an asset on special teams as well.

[GoRU]

Rivals $

5/29

Is favoring Rutgers.

[GoRU]

Rivals $

6/24

Says he committed to MD at their camp.

Recruiting Report: N.J. LB Donohue discusses Terps commitment - University of Maryland, local and national recruiting news and analysis - baltimoresun.com

Mark Leoni was beginning to get anxious.

His son, St. Joseph (N.J.) High School linebacker Ryan Donohue, was offered a scholarship by Rutgers in September, but remained uncommitted heading into the summer.

“He was getting nervous because everyone was starting to fill up,” Donohue said. “[He’d say], ‘If they run out of spots, what’s the offer good for?’ But I just had the feeling that [Rutgers wasn’t the right fit for me] ... there was something missing.”

With that in mind, Donohue and his father loaded up the family car and made the drive from New Jersey down to College Park, in hopes of finding that indescribable quality Donohue sought in a program.

At Maryland last week, he found what was missing and committed to the Terps.

Donohue, 6 feet 2, 220 pounds, said he was immediately blown away by Maryland’s campus.

“[I was impressed with] just how beautiful everything was, driving around and looking at the campus,” Donohue said. “It's what a college is supposed to look like to me. ... [My father] just looked at me one time and was like, ‘You're going to commit, aren’t you?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, probably.’”

So before Donohue returned to New Jersey, he and his father had a sit-down with Ralph Friedgen to inform Maryland’s coach of his intention to accept UM’s offer.

“I went to shake [Friedgen’s] hand, and he was like, ‘Is that right?’ And he was like, ‘I hug all my commitments.’ And he hugged my dad too, and that's the stuff that makes you feel welcome,” Donohue said.

Donohue said he expected an enjoyable visit going in based on conversations with St. Joseph's head coach Tony Karcich, who has known Friedgen for almost 25 years.

“Well we go way back to when he was an assistant coach at Maryland,” Karcich said. “I was the head coach at Bergen (N.J.) Catholic. He recruited one of my guys (offensive lineman Bill Hughes) who ended up being a captain in the [mid-1980s] at Maryland. It was a great job of recruiting on Ralph’s part. They projected him, redshirted him, and he became at least a two- or three-year starter. I’ve known Ralph ever since then. He’s an upfront guy, so I feel very comfortable sending any of my kids to Ralph.”

Karcich said Donohue, who contributed 116 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions for St. Joseph's as a junior, should fit in well at Maryland.

“They recruited him as an inside linebacker. He’s got good instincts as an inside linebacker, a good nose for the ball, and he’s a physical kid,” Karcich said. “He’ll hopefully put on a little more size. He’s probably about 220. I’m sure they’d like him to be a little bigger. But he runs real well and doesn’t have many weaknesses. He takes on blockers, is a great hitter, very physical and also does a good job on pass coverage, so he’s a complete package.”

Donohue, who’s leaning toward studying kinesiology at Maryland, said he -- and his father -- are relieved that his decision is made and he can now concentrate entirely on his senior season. Beyond that, Donohue said he’s excited to join a team that already feels like family.

“It was just awesome [at Maryland] -- totally different from all the other colleges I visited," Donohue said. "Just the closeness, I felt like almost family down there. When I went to talk to all the kids and coaches, they welcomed me. All the other schools kind of took [recruiting] like a business. [Maryland] didn't take it like that and that's what I wanted.”

[HotMic]

Scout $

7/30

From the Maryland site. Donohue says Rutgers just didn't have the feeling Maryland did to him, as he liked the facilities and S&C program better at Maryland. He plans to visit the Terps with his parents next week and says he is 100% committed.