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Maryland recruiting roundup: Terps seemingly in good position with two 2014 targets, including Jared Cohen

A new basketball offer is extended, a Vanderbilt commit that Maryland is targeting and two 2014 options that the Terps may get commitments from soon.

By Pete Volk
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

First, basketball:

Maryland took a visit to watch three-star 2015 power forward Esa Ahmad, from Cleveland, and offered him a scholarship. He's rated the 143rd-best player in the class, the 34th-best power forward and the fifth-best player in the state of Ohio. That makes nine 2015 power forwards on our big board -- it's safe to say that's a position they're trying to improve on.

Five-star power forward Carlton Bragg received an offer from Kentucky.

Two players from the class of 2016 attended Maryland's game against Notre Dame: Potomac point guard Randall Brodie and Boys' Latin School small forward Kodye Pugh.

Now, for football:

With James Franklin's departure to Penn State, there have been plenty of movings and shakings in the Commodores' recruiting class -- some of which impacts Maryland.

For starters, there's three-star cornerback Grant Haley, from Atlanta, who is the 47th-ranked corner in the class and would fill a huge need in the Terps' class. He is still committed to Vanderbilt, but is listening to other schools (which does not sound all that different from decommitting).

More importantly, Penn State has added two new offensive tackle commitments, both who had previously pledged to Vanderbilt. Brendan Brosnan and Chance Sorrell are both headed to State College, which appears to suggest there may be no room for former Maryland commitment Jared Cohen. Rumors are abound that Cohen has not yet been contacted by the new Penn State staff, and the three-star lineman could be headed back to College Park.

Cohen would be a gigantic pickup for Maryland, giving them a group of five offensive linemen in the class, with three of them (Cohen, Larry Mazyck and Derwin Gray) all expected to instantly compete for starting jobs.

While the Terps wait on five-star Damian Prince, they've extended an offer to another 2014 offensive lineman, as they're hoping to bring in at least six in this class.

That's unranked offensive tackle Andrew Miles, currently a Western Carolina commit. We can't tell you for sure whether that offer is contingent on Prince's decision (February 5), but here's his tape. He plays in an offense that is very similar, style-wise, to Maryland, so that certainly gives him an advantage.

And finally, Maryland may have found their replacement for running back Johnathan Thomas, who flipped to Penn State. Here's a tweet from local Linganore star Phillip Butler, who has received strong interest from Maryland but no offer as of yet (as far as we know).

Butler is the real deal, but legal issues have thrown a wrench into his recruiting process. We've heard the staff has looked extensively into that (here's more information, involving stolen shoes and a BB gun), and if an offer is extended, that's a fair sign that they think any issues are behind him.

Maryland appears to be out of the picture with three-star 2014 safety Shawn Boone, but the Terps will reportedly make an in-home visit this Friday.

Five-star 2015 cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick has now received offers from Alabama and Michigan, as well as earning a promotion to that five-star status.

2015 safety target A.J. Turner, unrated as of yet, received an offer from Pittsburgh. With offers from Maryland, Pitt and Virginia Tech, expect him to get a rating soon.

2014 Big Board (Basketball):

The Commits:

  1. Melo Trimble, four stars, point guard, Bishop O'Connell (Va.) - committed 12/13/12
  2. Dion Wiley, four stars, shooting guard, Potomac (Md.) - committed 6/7/13
  3. Jared Nickens, four stars, shooting guard, Westtown (Pa.) - committed 6/16/13
  4. Trayvon Reed, four stars, center, Shiloh (Ga.) - committed 8/22/13

2015 Big Board (Basketball):

Point guards:

  1. Bryant Crawford, four stars, Gonzaga (DC)
  2. Malik Ellison, unrated, Life Center Academy (Pa.)

Shooting guards:

  1. Franklin Howard, four stars, Paul VI Catholic (Va.)
  2. Donovan Mitchell, three stars, Brewster Academy (N.H.)

Small forwards:

  1. Jaylen Brown, five stars, Wheeler (Ga.)
  2. Marcus Sheffield, four stars, Chattahoochee (Ga.)
  3. Jordan Murphy, unrated, William J. Brennan (Texas)

Power forwards

  1. Cheick Diallo, five stars, Our Savior New American School (N.Y.)
  2. Carlton Bragg, five stars, Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Ohio)
  3. Horace Spencer, four stars, Henderson (Nev.)
  4. Alex Owens, four stars, Oak Ridge (Fla.)
  5. Josh Sharma, four stars, Northfield Mount Hernon (Mass.)
  6. Jeremy Miller, four stars, New Hampton School (N.H.)
  7. Shawntrez Davis, three stars, Tri-cities (Ga.)
  8. Esa Ahmad, three stars, Shaker Heights (Ohio)
  9. Sylvester Ogbonda, unrated, National Christian Academy (Md.)

Centers:

  1. Diamond Stone, five stars, Dominican (Wisc.)
  2. Daniel Giddens, five stars, Wheeler (Ga.)
  3. Doral Moore, four stars, Luella (Ga.)
  4. Georgios Papagiannis, unrated, Westtown (Pa.)

2014 Big Board (Football):

Quarterbacks:

  1. Will Ulmer, four stars, St. John's College (DC) - committed 4/25/13

Running Backs:

  1. Donte Thomas-Williams, four stars, Hillside (N.C).
  2. Vernard Roberts, three stars, Dunbar (DC)
  3. Anthony Scott, three stars, Green Run (Va.)
  4. Phillip Butler, two stars, Linganore (Md.)
  5. Sterling Dailey, unranked, Stone Bridge (Va.)

Wide Receivers:

  1. Juwann Winfree, four stars, Dwight Morrow (Nj.) - committed 9/27/13
  2. Tyshun Samuel, three stars, Chapman (Sc.)
  3. Rico Johnson, unranked, Georgia Prep Sports Academy (Ga.)
  4. James Duff, unranked, Dunbar (DC)

Tight Ends:

  1. Andrew Gray, two stars, Chardon (Oh.) - committed 6/15/13

Offensive Tackles:

  1. Derwin Gray, four stars, Fork Union (Va.) - committed 6/15/12
  2. Larry Mazyck, three stars, Iowa Western C.C. (Ia.) - committed 8/25/13
  3. Sean Christie, three stars, Patchogue-Medford (N.Y.) - committed 12/15/13
  4. Damian Prince, five stars, Bishop McNamara (Md.)
  5. Jared Cohen, three stars, Mcdonogh (Md.)
  6. Andrew Miles, unrated, Flowery Branch (Ga.)

Offensive Guards:

  1. Brendan Moore, three stars, Westwood (Tex.) - committed 6/25/13

Defensive Ends:

  1. Jesse Aniebonam, four stars, Good Counsel (Md.) - committed 8/23/13
  2. Tyler Burke, three stars, Coatesville Area (Pa.) - committed 6/25/13
  3. Brett Kulka, two stars, General Mclane (Pa.) - committed 6/24/13

Defensive Tackles:

  1. David Shaw, two stars, Spring Grove Area (Pa.) - committed 6/2/13

Cornerbacks:

  1. Vance Roberts, three stars, ASA College (Ny.)
  2. Elliott Davis, two stars, Quince Orchard (Md.)
  3. Daniel Ezeagwu, unrated, Colonial Forge (Va.)

Safeties:

  1. Josh Woods, three stars, Owings Mills (Md.) -- committed 11/18/13
  2. Jordan Noil, three stars, Norcross (Ga.) -- committed 10/1/13
  3. Shawn Boone, three stars, Dwyer (Fla.)
  4. Kendall Randolph, three stars, Lincoln (Fla.)
  5. DaeJuan Funderburk, three stars, Friendship Academy (DC)

Athletes:

  1. Demetrius Johnson, four stars, Annapolis Christian Academy (Md.)
  2. Marquel Dickerson, unranked, North Point (Md.)

Long Snappers:

  1. Nate Adams, two stars, Greenway (Ariz.) -- committed 12/19/13

2015 Big Board (Football):

Quarterbacks:

  1. Kai Locksley, four stars, Gilman (Md.)
  2. Brandon Wimbush, four stars, St. Peters Prep (N.J.)
  3. Kamonte Carter, four stars, Gaithersburg (Md.)

Running backs:

  1. Andre Robinson, four stars, Bishop McDevitt (Pa.)
  2. Johnathan Sutton, four stars, Swansea (S.C.)
  3. Javarius Davis, three stars, Ed White (Fla.)

Wide receivers:

  1. Jabari Greenwood, four stars, Gonzaga (D.C.)
  2. Brandon Polk, four stars, Briar Woods (Va.)
  3. Tavin Richardson, three stars, Byrnes (S.C.)

Tight ends:

  1. Tyler Green, four stars, DeMatha (Md.)

Offensive tackles:

  1. Isaiah Prince, four stars, Eleanor Roosevelt (Md.)
  2. Ryan Bates, four stars, Archbishop Wood (Md.)
  3. Austin Clark, four stars, Rockbridge County (Va.)

Offensive guards:

  1. E.J. Donahue, three stars, Linganore (Md.) -- committed 10/26/13
  2. Matthew Burrell, four stars, C.D. Hylton (Va.)
  3. Richie Petitbon, four stars, Gonzaga (D.C.)
  4. Kendrick Norton, four stars, Trinity Christian Academy (Fla.)
  5. Quarvez Boulware, four stars, Friendship Academy (D.C.)

Defensive ends:

  1. Josh Sweat, four stars, Oscar Smith (Va.)
  2. Harry Lewis, four stars, Phoebus (Va.)
  3. Ryan Buchholz, unrated, Great Valley (Pa.)

Defensive tackles:

  1. Christian Wilkins, four stars, Suffield Academy (Conn.)
  2. Adam McLean, four stars, Quince Orchard (Md.)
  3. Darvin Taylor, four stars, Thomas Dale (Va.)
  4. Chance Hall, three stars, Northside (Va.)

Outside linebackers:

  1. Jeffery Holland, five stars, Trinity Christian Academy (Fla.)

Inside linebackers:

  1. Wyatt Cook, three stars, McDonogh School (Md.)

Cornerbacks:

  1. Minkah Fitzpatrick, five stars, St. Peters Prep (N.J.)
  2. John Reid, four stars, St. Joseph's Prep (Pa.)
  3. Jalen Christian, four stars, Damascus (Md.)
  4. Karem Ali, four stars, Timber Creek (N.J.)
  5. Maurice Smitherman, four stars, Minor (Ala.)
  6. Ashton White, four stars, Friendship (D.C.)
  7. DuWayne Johnson, three stars, H.D. Woodson (D.C.)
  8. Darnell Savage, three stars, Caravel Academy (Del.)
  9. Elias Cane, unrated, Ezell-Harding Christian (Tenn.)

Safeties:

  1. Jay Stocker, four stars, Coatesville Area (Pa.)
  2. Ben Edwards, three stars, Trinity Christian Academy (Fla.)
  3. Ayron Monroe, three stars, St. John's College (D.C.)
  4. AJ Turner, unrated, Centreville (Va.)

Athletes:

  1. Garrett Taylor, four stars, St. Christopher's School (Va.)
  2. Jaason Lewis, three stars, Ocean Lakes (Va.)

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