Eddie Goldman Cuts to 7: Terps Make List Alongside Recruiting Powers

If there's any football recruit who can do for Randy Edsall what Mitch McGary and Shaquille Cleare - regardless of whether they commit to Maryland - have done for Mark Turgeon in the fans' eyes, it's Eddie Goldman, the five-star DT from Washington, D.C. Here's some good news for the head man, then: per Rivals' Mike Farrell, Goldman is down to seven. Maryland is on the list, along with traditional powerhouses Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, USC, and Miami.

As Farrell notes, the absence of Florida State, previously thought to be a potential front-runner for his services, is encouraging. Wow, so Farrell apparently said Florida and USC when he meant Florida State and Cal. So knock off the Gators in favor of the Seminoles and the Trojans in favor of the Bears. Anyway, the Noles are probably still front-runners.

But the presence of Miami is encouraging, given everything that's just happened there, and so is Clemson for that matter, which hasn't had too much success recruiting big names north of the Carolinas. Being on the list at this point means they have a chance, but with Miami staring at heavy sanctions and Clemson being Clemson, they aren't too worrying.

Of course, everyone else is saying the same thing about Maryland. For sure, the Terps are probably one of the least threatening programs on the list, particularly if there's no parent in their corner like Edsall has with Stefon Diggs and maybe Noah Spence as well. But they are the hometown team, which counts for something, and no one really knows what Edsall and his staff are capable of doing.

(And, hey, he goes to the same HS as Jalen Tabor, so maybe Tabor's just starting his national championship push early.)

If you have no idea who Goldman is: he's Rivals' #4 overall prospect in the country, Scout's #19 overall prospect, and ESPN's #2 ranked prospect. He's a massive guy, with good footwork and quickness. Physically, he's pretty pitch perfect for a DT, and it shouldn't be surprising that he's ranked so highly as a result.

It's worth noting that, as unlikely as it may be that Maryland lands any of these players, Edsall deserves some measure of credit for Maryland being on the lists of three top 20 five-star prospects, two of them local, in Stefon Diggs, Noah Spence, and Goldman. Two of the three have probably made their final cuts. I'm as iffy on Edsall as the next skeptic as far as recruiting goes, but so far you can't fault him too much with how he's handled the big prospects.

And, yes, the dream of a Spence-Goldman-Mackall defensive line (plus one other guy) lives on.