It's Official: Maryland Is Setting Up Shop In Florida

Flash back to early February for a moment. Signing Day is on the horizon, and we reflect on what we possibly learned from the recruiting season. One of the major trends: Florida recruiting.

Last year, Maryland picked up a surprising three players from Florida, which largely came a result of Don Brown's connections in the state from his time at UMass. You see, Massachusetts doesn't produce much in the way of football talent, so Brown would go to the place that had the most of it: South Florida.

When Brown came to Maryland, he brought his connections with him. Last year, three players from Florida became Maryland commitments, hardly a usual circumstance; the last Florida commitment before those three were Nolan Carroll and Terrell Skinner, both of whom ended up being crucial secondary players for Maryland last year.

At the end of last year, all three of your dear bloggers said that we certainly wouldn't mind Maryland recruiting Florida harder. That's what happened. With the recent commitment of Allen Ramsey, Maryland has already landed two players from the Sunshine State, almost reaching their total from last year, and have plenty of other major targets on the radar. Not only are they liable to land other sleepers from the area, they're getting serious consideration from big-timers like Bobby Hart, Tre Mason, and Andrew Buie. Right now, they're just grabbing the under-the-radar prospect, but it's liable that it's just a matter of time before they grab one of the bigger fish.

Perhaps if you had watched The U, you'd know how stacked South Florida can be with talent. If not, just know that there's a recruiting site dedicated solely to three counties in Florida.

Is there a point to this post? Not really. But trends needs to recognized, and this trend is a very good thing. Now we just hope that one or two more big players end up in College Park.