Maryland football has to beat out Alabama and Penn State to get Tariq Castro-Fields

Maryland football only has a few prospects left to complete its 2017 recruiting class. One of the players head coach DJ Durkin and his staff are chasing is four-star cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields.

Here’s the thing: so are Penn State and Alabama. Castro-Fields released a top three on Monday night.

He broke down his standing with each school to Ahmed Ghafir of InsideMDSports:

Here’s Maryland:

“Everyone knows I have a great relationship with Aazaar. Playing with people I know appeals to me, and play early is evident there and they know I can come in and do that. Plus it’s home, that’s a big reason. They tell me they see a lot of [Jalen] Tabor, and it just so happens he’s my favorite player.”

That’s the pitch Maryland will give every in-state recruit. Play with your friends, play in front of your family and play early. TCF seems to be giving it some real thought. Jalen Tabor, for the uninitiated, was a five-star corner DJ Durkin recruited to Florida from D.C. Tabor’s projected to be a first-round pick in this year’s draft, should he skip his senior year.

On Alabama:

“Great relationship with coach Luipoi, coach Saban. They’re still recruiting me hard, they still want me. They still need me. They were the standard for what I thought the official should be like. My mom really liked it, grandma liked it. Plus, I know a bunch of the guys down there and DMV guys always do well down there.”

Looks like he enjoyed his official visit with the Tide. Usually when Maryland and Alabama want a recruit, Alabama gets him. This happened last year with Terrell Hall and Trevon Diggs, who evidently made a good impression on Castro-Fields. DMV guys do usually do well there. So does just about everyone.

Penn State:

“Mainly because of the relationship I have with the coach staff, coach [Charles] Huff, [James] Franklin, [Brent] Pry. I have a great relationship and they’ve been recruiting me even before the offer, my mom enjoyed the academic part of the visit, too. Plus, my relationship with Zechariah McPherson, it’d be cool to be back with him both at corner.”

McPherson was Castro-Fields’ teammate at Riverdale Baptist before signing with Penn State. He undoubtedly wields some influence in this situation.

He’ll be announcing his commitment on Jan. 23. Stay tuned.

In other news

The Rose Bowl was last night and it was awesome.

Maryland’s quarterbacks weren’t great in 2016. What’s next? We’re not sure, but it should be fun.

Eriq Gilyard, Maryland’s only 2018 commit, has reopened his recruitment.

Maryland basketball got a little further away from the AP top 25.

Maryland was winning against Nebraska, then lost. Here’s how.

Here’s Josh Stirn on Kevin Huerter’s career day, which would have been center stage had Maryland beat Nebraska.

The Big Ten: not so great at bowl games this season. (I’m aware this isn’t how one should evaluate conferences, don’t @ me.)

And last but not least, Mark Turgeon is out here for a good cause.