Coming off a great recruiting week that saw two 4-stars commit, Maryland seems to have missed out on one of its top 2017 targets.
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Terps miss top four for Elite 2017 DE
5-star defensive end Joshua Kaindoh released his top-four schools on Twitter Wednesday night.
On the list was Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan, but many were surprised to see the Terps excluded from the list after recent reports that Kaindoh was likely to commit to Maryland in the upcoming weeks.
Kaindoh was one of the main targets for coach D.J. Durkin, who’s hoping to get the Essex, Maryland native to return home. He played his first two high school seasons at Our Lady of Mount Carmel before transferring to IMG Academy in Florida last summer.
Kaindoh took a visit to College Park over IMG’s spring break in March alongside Cam Spence and three other teammates. Durkin has made recruiting IMG Academy recruiting priority, extending offers to more than a dozen IMG players in the classes of 2017 and 2018.
Kaindoh is a physical specimen with the body that will allow him to compete at the highest level from the moment he steps on any school’s campus. At six-foot-six and 256 pounds of muscle, currently he uses mostly sheer athleticism and force to impose his will on opposing offensive linemen. Once he refines his technique, watch out.
Local Offensive lineman commits to Maryland
Four-star 2017 offensive tackle Jordan McNair committed to Maryland on Saturday afternoon. His commitment comes just hours after he attended the Terrapins’ spring game. McNair is the sixth commit in UMD’s 2017 class, and the third 4-star prospect, joining a defensive tackle Cam Spence and quarterback Kasim Hill.
McNair’s commitment continues the #DMVtoUMD movement and shows DJ Durkin’s focus on keeping the top talent in the state home. as McNair hails from McDonough High School, less than 50 miles from College Park.
McNair also held offers from Ohio State, Michigan State and Penn State, among other schools. Standing at 6-foot-5, 285 pounds, He has a good frame for a kid going into a senior year of high school and has plenty of room to add bulk.
DeMatha running back high on Terps
Four-star running back Anthony McFarland named Maryland among his top schools in an interview with Testudo Times on Sunday. He also pointed out Alabama, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Miami as other schools yet strong interest in.
“I think about it all the time, staying home, playing with my friends again and my teammates and things like that,” McFarland said in the interview. “But at the same time, I’ve gotta go see these other schools and what they’ve got to offer me, what type of institution I’m gonna be in, because you just never know with the recruiting changes and the coaches and things like that, you just never know. So I’m just going all out with this recruitment process.”
Maryland has an advantage because McFarland goes to DeMatha located just minutes from College Park, and the Terps signed four DeMatha players, offensive guard Terrance Davis, running back Lorenzo Harrison and wide receivers Tino Ellis and DJ Turner, in the 2016 class, and you can be sure they’ll be in his ear about staying home.
Maryland offers 2017 Ohio lineman
The Terps offered 3-star offensive lineman Joel Honigford on Tuesday, according to his Twitter account. Honigford, a 6-foot-5, 272 pound tackle from Sugarcreek, Ohio, also holds offers from Michigan State, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Auburn, among other schools.
Andrew Feather is a multimedia journalist from the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. Currently a broadcast journalism major at Elon University in Elon, N.C., Feather serves as the Assistant Sports Director of Elon Local News, the school’s award winning, student-run news broadcast.