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The Maryland football team made the current cut for four-star New Jersey linebacker Drew Singleton, one of the class of 2017’s best defensive prospects.
Singleton announced his list on Twitter on Saturday, and it includes some top programs. Maryland’s company in his top 12 is Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, California, Clemson, Pitt, Michigan, Rutgers and Penn State. Maryland has a couple of blue-chip New Jersey targets, headlined by Singleton and four-star ATH Markquese Bell. Both Bell and Singleton played at The Opening in Oregon in July.
Maryland has five-star end Josh Kaindoh and four-star tackle Cam Spence committed for its defensive front in 2017, but adding a top linebacker would level the class upward.
Singleton plays at Paramus Catholic, the New Jersey school whose former coach, Chris Partridge, is now on staff at Michigan. The Wolverines have gotten two five-star commitments from Paramus Catholic in the last few years: defensive back Jabrill Peppers and, last February, defensive tackle Rashan Gary.
In other news
This was a big weekend for Maryland. The Terps had a summer cookout for prospects and their families, and a few major targets participated. They got some commitments, all for the 2017 class, which is now sitting inside the top 20 nationally.
The first was kicker Jonathan Doerer, from North Carolina, on Friday.
The second was Gonzaga center Johnny Jordan, on Saturday.
The third was Potomac running back Tayon Fleet-Davis, later Saturday.
The fourth was North Carolina running back Javon Leake, later still.
The bad news is that 2016 DB Tyrek Tisdale won’t be enrolling this fall.
We profiled a few more current players right here.
Maryland women’s basketball is loaded, and off to Italy, from The Washington Post’s Gene Wang.
Robert Carter Jr. is going to Italy, too, but for a longer term. That’s where Carter will continue his basketball career for now, after failing to catch on as an undrafted free agent with Golden State.
It’s a shame Carter couldn’t cut it in the NBA, but don’t use that as an argument against his leaving Maryland with a year of eligibility left to go. Carter chose to play basketball for money instead of for free during a fifth year in college, and that remains an entirely defensible choice.