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Recruits react to handshake controversy, Maryland's win vs. Penn State

By David B. Wilson
Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Ed. Note: David is a new Testudo Times staff member who will be writing a weekly football recruiting column for us. A recent graduate of Syracuse, he was a sports editor at the Daily Orange (where he also covered recruiting) but grew up with Maryland football and basketball. Please give him a warm welcome in the comments.

If James Franklin’s perpetual comments about Maryland’s fertile recruiting grounds or Randy Edsall’s postgame interview didn’t make it abundantly clear, the Twitter feeds and reactions of some Terps targets did — this was a big weekend for the Terps in terms of recruiting.

The two biggest names involved in the weekend were probably Dwayne Haskins and Trevon Diggs, a pair of local four-star recruits in the Class of 2016 who were in Happy Valley on a joint visit to PSU.

Their weekend began with excitement about seeing the Nittany Lions in person. For Haskins, at least, it ended with a bit of excitement for the Terrapins. Earlier this week, he retweeted a Vine of Maryland’s handshake snub in apparent approval. The hot take artists may not be fans of Maryland (and the takes are still coming in!) but the act caught the eye of a handful of Terps targets in a more positive light.

  • In addition to Haskins, a handful of other prominent recruits tweeted about the pregame antics. Keon Paye, a three-star corner from Good Counsel (Md.), and Channing Hames, a three-star defensive end from St. Frances (Md.), both retweeted a video from before the game as did five-star defensive end Byron Cowart. All three are part of the Class of 2015.
  • Eric Assoua, a three-star defensive end from St. Johns (D.C.) in the Class of 2015, was even more clear with his approval:

A couple other tidbits from the past week:

  • Brad Hawkins, a four-star wide receiver from New Jersey with a Maryland offer, picked up an offer from Wisconsin this weekend, according to 247sports.
  • Isaiah Prince told 247sports he has four official visits lined up, including one to Maryland. A four-star offensive lineman from Roosevelt (Md.), Prince is the No. 1 local prospect in the Class of 2015.
  • And a bit of basketball: Diamond Stone, a five-star center in the Class of 2015 and the Terps' top target, says he will make his decision on Nov. 21. He's down to Maryland, Wisconsin, Connecticut and Oklahoma State.

  • Stone's father disagreed, saying no date has been set.
  • 2016 Montrose Christian shooting guard Tariq Jones visited Maryland.

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