Maryland head coach Mike Locksley and his staff continue to build the Terps’ 2023 recruiting class, which has really come together in the last couple of weeks.
As the recruiting calendar makes its way through quiet and evaluation periods this summer, the Maryland coaches have kept close tabs on their prospects and are getting many of them to commit to College Park. The past week alone has yielded three commitments and several other promising points of contact with top targets.
Here’s the latest:
St. Vincent Pallotti (Laurel, Md.) athlete Alex Moore becomes lucky No. 13
Alex Moore announced his commitment July 1 via social media and was the 13th pledge to the 2023 class. He’s staying home to compete for his state’s flagship university after also acquiring an offer from UConn. Moore impressed Terps coaches with a blazing 40-yard dash at a recent camp and then took an official visit June 21. He was impressed enough by what he saw there to pull the trigger less than two weeks later. He’s 6-foot-2, 170 pounds and is expected to play safety for Maryland. He became the fifth in-state product to commit to the 2023 class.
Terps bolster OL with Duffus
Just a few days after Moore made Maryland his college home, Chaminade-Madona (hollywood, Fla.) three-star offensive lineman Deandre Dufus announced his commitment to the Terps, also via social media. This was a huge get for Maryland, both figuratively and literally. Duffus is 6-foot-5, 315 pounds and had 22 offers from an impressive list of schools. He comes from the talent hotbed of Hollywood, Florida, and is set to be a cornerstone of the Terps future offfensive line plans. Duffus became Maryland’s second offensive line commitment of the 2023 class and the position still remains a point of emphasis for Locksley and his staff. Duffus narrowed his long list of schools down to Maryland, Indiana and Syracuse, but the Terps won out in the end after impressing him on his official visit the weekend of June 10. Terps offensive line coach Brian Braswell and defensive coordinator as well as South Florida native Brian Williams led the way on this big recruiting win. Maryland is doing well in the Sunshine State this recruiting cycle with four Floridians now committed to the 2023 class.
Wingate joins teammate, decides to commit to Terps
It took three-star linebacker Daniel Wingate less than a week to join his St. Vincent Pallotti (Laurel, Md.) teammate Alex Moore. Wingate went with the Terps over offers from Boston College, Penn State, West Virginia, and several schools from the MAAC. The 6-foot-4, 208-pound linebacker is ranked as the 22nd-best recruit out of Maryland by Rivals.com, and like his teammate Moore he also impressed Terps coaches at a recent camp. He was with Moore on his official visit June 21 and didn’t take long to commit thereafter. Maryland’s 2023 class is now up to 15 commits, including six in-state products.
What’s Next?
Jason Moore: DeMatha four-star defensive tackle Jason Moore is arguably Maryland’s top target in the 2023 class and he announced today on Twitter that he will be announcing his commitment on July 10 at 7 p.m. Maryland has been in on Moore’s recruitment from the start and should be in decent position here. He has been on campus in College Park multiple times and is very close with the coaching staff. However, many site are predicting Ohio State as the frontrunner. Notre Dame is also a strong possibility. This will not be an easy last-minute flip, but Locksley has pulled off some impressive in-state recruiting feats before.
Neeo Avery: Another recruit from a local powerhouse, Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) three-star defensive end Neeo Avery has Maryland in his final four, he announced via Twitter July 6. This is a bit of a weird one, as Avery was once a quarterback then turned tight end but is now projected as a defensive end at the next level. The 6-foot-5, 231-pounder was initially committed to Penn State but has since decommitted and said he is no longer considering the Nittany Lions. The other three schools in Avery’s top four are Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Oregon.
Terps Analyst
Pat has been covering sports in the DMV area since 2012. He is a former Washington Redskins beat reporter for PressBoxDC.com and has been covering University of Maryland football and basketball recruiting and daily beats for Rivals.com’s Terrapin Sports Report since 2013. Pat graduated from College Park with his master’s degree in journalism and has received bylines in publications such as USA TODAY Sports, The Philadelphia Inquirer, SB Nation, and Yahoo! Sports. A Philadelphia native, Pat enjoys fishing, golfing, and playing fantasy sports when he’s not covering or watching a game.