Terps Football Recruiting Update

With less than a month until National Signing Day new Maryland head coach D.J. Durkin has certainly left his mark on the 2016 recruiting class.

Here is an update on Durkin’s first recruiting class in College Park.

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Terps Pick Up Big Commitment
Four-star offensive guard Terrance Davis committed to Maryland at the Under Armour All-American game on Saturday. The 6-foot-4, 305 pound Davis is rated as the number two offensive guard in the nation and the top prospect in the state of Maryland. Davis chose to stay home over an offer sheet that read like a who’s who of the nation’s elite programs, listing scholarships from schools including Alabama, Michigan, Florida State and Georgia.

Davis is a big get for the Terps on a few levels. Obviously it never hurts to add one of the nation’s top players to your recruiting class, but D.J. Durkin has also shown he can keep the area’s best talent local, a feat which has escaped Maryland in years past.

With the addition of Davis, Maryland now has six offensive line commits, including four-star Richard Merritt, who committed to the Terps in December, and four three-star linemen (Michael Clark, Terek Zingale, Brian Plummer and Alex Hall). In addition, Maryland still has a chance at four-star lineman Jauan Williams, a teammate of Merritt’s at Archbishop Carroll. Currently Williams is leaning towards Florida State, but that is far from a done deal and Maryland hopes the allure of playing with Merritt for his hometown school proves to be enough.

With or without Williams though, Maryland is putting together the type offensive line needed to compete with with the top teams in the Big 10.

Five-Star Hinting at Terps Commitment?
Five-star defensive lineman Terrell Hall excited Maryland fans when he sent out a tweet with the hashtag #DMV2UMD along with a picture of himself in a potential Terrapins’ depth chart.

The 2015 Washington, D.C. Gatorade player of the year originally committed to Ohio State last March before decommitting in August. As of right now Hall is not planning on taking an official visit to Maryland, but the St. John’s (DC) product has been on campus dozens of times and is familiar with with several of the Terps’ current commits. So far he has visited Florida and Florida State, and plans to visit Alabama, Ole Miss and UCLA.

Three-Star Wide Receiver decommits from Maryland 
Evan Fairs, a three-star wide receiver out of Texas backed out of his pledge to Maryland on Wednesday afternoon.

Fairs committed to the Terps in July, but after reports that Maryland will hire Chris Beatty as its new wide receivers coach, he decided to reevaluate his decision. This is unsurprising, because Fairs had a strong relationship with former Terrapins’ wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell, who was his main recruiter during the process. Fairs currently lists offers from Kansas, Illinois and New Mexico, among others.

Fairs’ decommitment leaves the Terps with just two wide receivers, DeMatha’s D.J. Turner and Tino Ellis, in the 2016 class, but Maryland has been connected to several other receivers, so it is likely that there will be another one or two on board come signing day.

Recruiting Priorities for Coach Durkin
After taking over as head coach D.J. Durkin said recruiting in Florida was his second priority behind the DMV and he hasn’t wasted any time at all. Since taking over, Durkin has offered four defensive backs in the state of Florida, including three-star Elisha Daniels earlier today.

Maryland had already offered Elisha’s brother Elijah Daniels, and though the pair are both currently committed to Minnesota, it is expected that they will both end up in College Park.

If Durkin is able to flip the brothers, it would fill a big hole in Maryland’s class following the decommitments of defensive backs Silas Kelly, Parnell Motley and Tyrone Hill in December.

Haskins to Diggs still a possibility?
Four-star wide receiver Trevon Diggs, who committed to Alabama over Maryland in early November told the Washington Post that he has “a hard decision” to make about his future after Maryland hired Abdul-Rahim from the Crimson Tide. According to Diggs, brother of former Maryland star Stefon Diggs, a strong relationship with Abdul-Rahim was one of the main reasons that he committed to Alabama. Diggs is also very good friends with quarterback commit Dwayne Haskins, so the combination of playing for Abdul-Rahim and receiving the ball from Haskins may be enough to flip another star from the Diggs family to the Terps.

Looking ahead at the class of 2017
Recently the Terps offered another Florida three-star, this time class of 2017 tight end Tre’ McKitty out of IMG Academy. McKitty committed to Miami in June, but decommitted from the Hurricanes following the hiring of former Georgia coach Mark Richt. Currently McKitty lists offers from Florida, Florida State, Auburn and North Carolina, among others. So far Maryland has no commits in the class of 2017

Updated List of 2016 Commitments
QB Dwayne Haskins, The Bullis School
RB Jake Funk, Damascus
RB Lorenzo Harrison, DeMatha Catholic
WR Tino Ellis, DeMatha Catholic
WR D.J. Turner, DeMatha Catholic
OT Michael Clark, Downingtown East (PA)
OT Terek Zingale, Nordonia (OH)
OT Brian Plummer, South Carroll
OT Alex Hall, Louisville (OH)
OG Terrance Davis, DeMatha Catholic
OG Richard Merritt, Archbishop Carroll
DE Joey Fisher, Clear Spring
OLB Keandre Jones, Good Counsel
CB Travon Stott, Good Counsel