Maryland football's 2017 recruiting class moves into top 15 nationally after 3-star WR Carlos Carriere commits

The Maryland football program got its ninth verbal commitment of the 2017 recruiting cycle on Saturday, when three-star Georgia receiver Carlos Carriere announced he'd be joining up. Carriere is 6'5, and he'll be Maryland's tallest receiver when he gets to campus next year -- unless the Terps get another commitment from someone who's 6'6, which seems unlikely. Carriere's big, but he can run routes.

Carriere is a bit raw but clearly has big talent. He's the second Georgian receiver to commit to Maryland in about a week, following Sean Nelson. Both are similarly rated as solid three-star talents, and they reflect the growing savvy Maryland's coaching staff has shown recruiting the South. Receivers coach Chris Beatty and offensive coordinator Walt Bell, in particular, are both very good down there.

Anyway, Maryland's class exits the weekend ranked No. 15 in the country and fourth in the Big Ten. The average 247Sports Composite player rating of Maryland's commits is higher than any conference foe except Ohio State, and this still looks very much like it could be the best recruiting class Maryland has ever had. DJ Durkin isn't fooling around.

Here's a screenshot from Sunday afternoon, just to document that this is a real thing:

More from the weekend

Maryland men's lacrosse beats Quinnipiac, 13-6 to advance to second round - Testudo Times
Maryland's moving on.

Maryland women's lacrosse beats Johns Hopkins to advance to NCAA quarterfinal - Testudo Times
No Maryland lacrosse team has lost a game since the first Bush administration.

Mark Turgeon and Maryland basketball, 5 years later: Are the Terps better? - Testudo Times
We're doing a series over the next few weeks, probably, about Turgeon's first five years in College Park. This is the first post in that series.

NBA Draft 2016: Maryland basketball's Melo Trimble could miss 1st round but leave anyway - Testudo Times
The 10-day countdown clock on a Trimble decision has officially started.

Vote! Terp of the Week – Testudo Times
Who had the best week in Maryland athletics? You decide!

Title Tracker! Lacrosse teams move on – Testudo Times
Here's this week's Terrapin Title Tracker, a weekly roundup of Maryland non-revenue action.

When Do You Give Up on Treating a Child With Cancer? - New York Times Magazine
Sorry not to #StickToSports, but this is one of the more remarkable things I've read this year. If you've got about 15 minutes, it's well worth reading.

An important note

Zach Lederer, a former Maryland men's basketball manager, died a little more than two years ago, in March 2014. He'd been fighting brain cancer for years, and his fight and spirit captured the hearts of a lot of people at Maryland.

With that in mind, here's a note from my friend Ben Eidelberg, a Maryland basketball graduate assistant:

Hello,

My name is Benjamin Eidelberg and I am a graduate assistant for the Maryland Men's Basketball Team. Previously, from 2011-2015, I was a basketball manager at Maryland and was blessed to have met and become friends with Zach Lederer. No matter what was going on throughout the day, or what was going on at work, Zach had the most positive attitude and always knew how to cheer everyone up. Despite Zach's passing from Brain Cancer in 2014, his positivity, strength, and outlook on life still inspire me everyday.

Along with Juan Dixon, former UMD basketball player best known for winning the 2002 national championship and his final four MVP honors, I am putting together a team to compete in a nation-wide basketball tournament this summer. Our team is named "Team Maryland" and is composed of players and coaches who have ties to the DMV area. We competed in this tournament the past two summers, and while we have not won the whole thing, we were able to accomplish our main goal, which was to raise awareness and money for the Zaching Against Cancer Foundation. The past two summers through a number of media outlets, such as the Baltimore Sun and Washington Post, we were able to continue to spread Zach's message of facing cancer with strength and a positive attitude.

As a fellow Terp working to fight cancer, I am writing you because I am in need of some help. In order to qualify for this tournament, we need as many people to sign up as "fans" by voting for us online at thetournament.com. We once again are seeking to qualify for this tournament so we can continue to spread Zach's story. In addition, if we are to win the tournament, the Zaching Against Cancer Foundation will receive $50,000.

Below I have included the instructions on how to sign up. If you would not mind, I would appreciate your vote and for you to share this information with your organization.

Sign up instructions:

Go to https://www.thetournament.com/teams/team-maryland and click "click here to become a fan and vote for this team."  Then, fill out the appropriate fields. After finishing the form click Create New Account, go to your email and click the confirmation link in the email you receive from the tournament. If you don't see the email, check your spam/junk folder because sometimes it gets filtered to there.

Please consider voting. It doesn't take long, and it's a nice way to help honor someone who touched a lot of people, present company included.