Terps Football: Early National Signing Day Recap

Despite entering this week with their 2022 recruiting class consisting of just 13 players and ranking as one of the worst in the Big Ten Conference, head coach Michael Locksley and his staff finished very strong. As things currently stand, 19 players have signed their Letter of Intent (LOI) and the class ranks 28th-best in the country and 8th-best in the conference, according to the 247Sports Composite ranking system. Things aren’t even close to being wrapped up either, with a number of targets set to sign in January, and plenty of action still to take place surrounding the transfer portal.

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It’s a Flip Party, and You’re Invited

Beginning on Tuesday night and continuing through Wednesday morning, Maryland flipped three different players who’d been committed to Penn State, South Carolina, and Virginia Tech. Things kicked off with 4-star running back Ramon Brown, who’d been committed to the Hokies but began entertaining other offers after the firing of head coach Justin Fuente. They continued with 3-star offensive lineman Andre Roye, Jr., who was considered to be fairly solid towards the Nittany Lions.

The biggest surprise came from 4-star linebacker Jaishawn Barham, who was thought to be leaning towards Maryland on Saturday but wound up committing to the Gamecocks. Four days later, he signed with the Terrapins and will be enrolling early in January. Over the course of the last four years, Locksley has shown an impressive ability to make big splashes on or around National Signing Day. From stealing 4-star defensive back Nick Cross from Florida State to nabbing 5-star wide receiver Rakim Jarrett away from LSU, this is something that’s been seen time and time again. But to do so three times in the span of approximately 12 hours is perhaps his most impressive work yet on the recruiting trail.

The Class

• 4-star LB Jaishawn Barham (District Heights, MD)
• 4-star WR Shaleak Knotts (Monroe, NC)
• 4-star RB Ramon Brown (Midlothian, VA)
• 4-star WR Octavian Smith, Jr. (Silver Spring, MD)
• 3-star TE Preston Howard (Arbutus, MD)
• 3-star OL Andre Roye, Jr. (District Heights, MD)
• 3-star QB Jayden Sauray (Lanham, MD)
• 3-star DL Daniel Owens (Pikesville, MD)
• 3-star WR Perry Fisher (Tallahassee, FL)
• 3-star WR Leon Haughton, Jr. (Richmond, VA)
• 3-star LB Caleb Wheatland (Centreville, VA)
• 3-star S Gavin Gibson (Mooresville, NC)
• 3-star LB Kellan Wyatt (Severn, MD)
• 3-star CB Lionell Whitaker (Tallahassee, FL)
• 3-star OL Coltin Deery (Glen Mills, PA)
• 3-star OL Ja’Kavion Nonar (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
• 3-star DB Lavain Scruggs (Baltimore, MD)
• 3-star OL Keon Kindred (Belle Glade, FL)
• 3-star JuCo OL Maximus McCree (Kansas City, MO)

In addition to the players listed above, the team added 3-star linebacker Andrew “Bam” Booker, who grayshirted last season; and LB VanDarius Cowan, a former 4-star linebacker who’ll be transferring from West Virginia.

One thing that stands out immediately about this recruiting class is what a large local flavor it has. Seven of the top eight players are from the DMV area, with Knotts being the sole exception from the state of North Carolina. Of the nine scholarship players who entered the transfer portal during the off-season, none are from this area. If one thing is clear, it’s that Locksley has gotten the local players to buy-in to his stay-at-home movement.

With the departures of linebackers Branden Jennings and Terrence Lewis, Maryland had a need at the inside linebacker position. The additions of Barham and Cowan, who’ll both be enrolling next month and participating in spring practices, fills that need almost seamlessly. Additionally, the departures of running backs Peny Boone and Isaiah Jacobs, and the graduation of Tayon Fleet-Davis, left a gaping hole that can now be filled by Brown and some of the rising sophomores on the roster.

While they aren’t highly-ranked by the various recruiting services, keep an eye on offensive linemen Kindred and Nonar. The high school teammates were being courted heavily by Florida and a number of other blue-blood programs in the run-up to National Signing Day. They, along with Roye, Jr., will be projects for offensive line coach Brian Braswell, who’s done impressive work in the trenches thus far.

Remaining Targets

As mentioned above, there are still a number of players in the high school, junior college, and collegiate ranks who are on Maryland’s radar. Locksley still wants to add talent to his offensive line, and junior college tackles Kobe Rios (Rock Island, IL) and Wallace Unamba (Rowlett, TX) are their top remaining targets at that position.

Another player to keep an eye on is former Arizona State commit and 4-star safety Larry Turner-Gooden (Mission Hills, CA) who is said to have signed somewhere yesterday but will be waiting until January to announce his destination. He’s being courted by a number of top programs including Penn State, Texas, and USC, but has made two trips to College Park over the course of the last month.

There are also a number of potential targets on the transfer portal that Locksley and his coaching staff will be looking at. Wide receivers Jadan Blue (Temple), Tyrese Chambers (Florida International), and Jacob Copeland (Florida) are all local players who could return home. Linebacker Colby Reeder (Delaware) has received an offer from Maryland, and cornerback Karon Prunty (South Carolina) is also a possibility.