Tucker joins football team as wide receiver

When the Terrapin men's basketball team's disappointing campaign ended in March without a postseason bid for the first time in 17 seasons, it seemed senior guard Cliff Tucker had donned a Terp uniform for the last time.

And though Tucker's career on the college hardwood remains over, his athletic career at this university has been given new life. Yesterday, Tucker joined the Terrapin football team at practice as a wide receiver, a team spokesman confirmed.

A heavily recruited wideout prospect at Chapin High School in El Paso, Texas, Tucker spurned scholarship offers from Nebraska and UTEP football in 2007 to sign with the Terps' basketball program. Tucker capped an up-and-down career with the Terps this season, averaging 9.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game primarily in a reserve role.

And while it remains to be seen if he has retained the talents that made him the El Paso Gridiron Player of the Year after amassing 939 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns as a high school senior, Tucker's combination of size and speed makes him an intriguing prospect as the Terps look to replace departed wide receivers Torrey Smith and Adrian Cannon.

Yesterday's announcement came after weeks of speculation that the former two-sport standout would follow in the footsteps of graduated tight end Will Yeatman, who played his lone season for the Terps' football team last year after exhausting his eligibility as an attackman for the men's lacrosse team.

At the ACC Tournament last month, Tucker told InsideMDSports.com that he was considering reviving his football career. Tucker said the Terps' coaching staff "told me they would like to talk to me after the year, so we'll see what happens." According to the report, Tucker's high school football coach also gave first-year coach Randy Edsall a highlight tape from Tucker's days at Chapin.

NCAA rules dictate that student-athletes have five years to complete four seasons of eligibility in any sport, meaning that Tucker would be eligible to participate for the Terps for only the coming season. Should he do so, Tucker, who was not available to comment for this story, would have to remain enrolled as a full-time student.

cwalsh@umdbk.com