Checking Back Up on Maryland Football Semi-Commit, Rodman Noel

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Nick Faust this, Johnny O'Bryant that. Basketball recruiting rules the roost here, but how 'bout a quick delve back into the less exciting, less happy world of football recruiting?

I was rebuilding the football recruiting database, which has been long dead, and noticed that each of Rivals, Scout, and ESPN had a very familiar name listed in Maryland's "interested" section: Rodman Noel.

Noel, as you may or may not know, half-committed to Maryland days before Signing Day last year, when he was a little-known, three-star Massachusetts safety. He wanted to commit, but was just waiting on his SAT scores to make sure he could get in. Nothing else ever happened, and he faded from memory, so apparently the scores weren't what he needed. And it seems he's back.

He ended up at Milford Academy, a prep school in New Berlin, NY, and has reclassified to 2011. It's similar to what fellow Terp commits Nate Clarke and Tyrek Cheeseboro did at Fork Union. And it seems like he's done pretty well there: he's now listed as a four-star on Rivals and the 7th best prep school player in the country, ahead of players headed to Miami, Virginia Tech, Pitt, and South Carolina (and well ahead of 17th-ranked Cheeseboro).

Interestingly, he's also the only "uncommitted" player in the top 10, which is strange considering his previous semi-commitment. You'd that, like Cheeseboro and Clarke, he would stay committed. Then again, his last commitment wasn't exactly a solid one, and he never signed a letter of intent. He is, however, listed as having a Maryland offer, and he made the call for UMD last time; I imagine he'd make it again if he had the option.

It's a strange, vague situation, to say the least. But Maryland's not swimming with four-star prospects that want to be Terps, so he may end up being a big target. If nothing else, he's someone to keep a very close eye on.

It's more complicated by the fact that Maryland has a few high-level targets at linebacker (Travis Hughes) and safety (Dondi Kirby) that probably take precedent over Noel in a crowded class.

Anyway, it was a question I was wondering about that still hasn't been completely answered, but it's interesting nonetheless. I'll have a FanShot up when the database is back up.