One of the worst seasons in Maryland football history made no difference to Mike Williams. The Terps’ 2-10 campaign last fall didn’t bother DeAndre Lane, either.
All that mattered to Williams, a lineman from Archbishop Spalding, and Lane, a record-setting running back from Catonsville, was that their hometown school selected them to be part of a potentially unprecedented turnaround built on local players.
“They’re using Maryland guys and guys around Maryland to build up … the Maryland pride and win with Maryland guys,” Williams said Monday.
Said Lane: “They have been recruiting a lot of local kids from around the area, and I like being part of a local movement. They made it feel like a family atmosphere for me.”
Williams and Lane, who both committed to Maryland on Sunday, were part of one of the biggest recruiting weekends in program history. The Terps also landed pledges from three Friendship Collegiate (D.C.) standouts in offensive lineman Derwin Gray, outside linebacker Yannick Ngakoue and inside linebacker Cavon Walker. The five-man haul over a three-day span vaulted the Terps’ nine-member 2013 recruiting class to the No. 32 spot in 247Sports.com’s national team rankings.
For at least one scout, Maryland’s weekend recruiting binge has been a long time coming.
“The key with Maryland was to recruit local talent,” said JC Shurburtt, 247Sports.com’s national football recruiting analyst. “I think if you do that, considering the level of football in the state and in D.C., and the amount of upside a lot of these kids have, you’re going to do OK in the ACC. And I think that was a big step toward doing that.
“I think they’ve established some momentum for the Terps. This, combined with getting [Good Counsel wide receiver] Stefon Diggs at the end of last year, is huge. Things are definitely looking up from a talent acquisition standpoint for Randy Edsall and company.”
In the wake of Maryland’s disastrous 2011 season, Diggs’ post-Signing Day announcement provided a much-needed glimmer of hope for Terps fans. Shurburtt said the five commitments this weekend is just a continuation of an encouraging recruiting trend. While all five commitments are from Maryland or Washington, all but Lane were considering other BCS-level scholarship offers.
Gray and Ngakoue were consensus four-star prospects who could have gone almost anywhere in the country. Friendship Collegiate coach Aazar Abdul-Rahim said Gray is a “prototypical left tackle” and “one of the most athletic linemen” that Maryland will have on its roster. 247Sports.com’s No. 35 player in the 2013 class picked the Terps over offers from Florida, Tennessee, Nebraska and Rutgers.
Ngakoue, who picked Maryland over Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Oklahoma, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, should be a perfect fit as an outside linebacker in the Terps’ 3-4 defense. Abdul-Rahim said the 6-foot-2, 240-pound player is a “can’t miss prospect” because of his versatility.
Walker, who missed his junior season with a foot fracture, picked the Terps over North Carolina State and Purdue. Maryland was the first school to offer him a scholarship.
Abdul-Rahim said he “wasn’t surprised” that his three players – who will follow former Friendship Collegiate running back Albert Reid to College Park – all committed within a day of each other.
“They all have their motives for why they did it,” he said. “It just so happened to time up during the weekend. All of them felt strongly about Maryland from the beginning. … All of them have a good chance to play early if they do what they’re supposed to do. A lot of them look like college players right now.”
First-year Terps offensive coordinator Mike Locksley was the point man in dealing with the Friendship Collegiate trio – although Abdul-Rahim credited Edsall for offering all three players even before Locksley was hired. Having the former New Mexico coach on staff was certainly a major selling point for Walker.
“I was already ready for Maryland,” Walker said, “but he came and kind of pushed me towards Maryland.”
Shurburtt said recruiting is all about relationships, and bringing Locksley – a former running backs coach under Ralph Friedgen – back to Maryland has done nothing but strengthen the program’s ties to D.C. and Prince George’s County schools. Having someone so connected locally makes it easier for recruits to overlook recent on-field struggles.
