National Signing Day 2017: 4-star RB Cordarrian Richardson signed with UCF, not Maryland

Cordarrian Richardson, the four-star running back who surprisingly committed to Maryland on National Signing Day, ended up signing with UCF.

Richardson’s commitment came out of nowhere, as he chose the Terps “from outer space” in a video on Bleacher Report. All of a sudden, it appeared DJ Durkin had pulled off a heist and added a ninth blue-chip recruit to a class that was already outstanding by Maryland’s standards. Richardson is rated as the No. 10 running back in the Class of 2017 on the 247Sports Composite.

But he reportedly had academic issues. That appears to be why he and Clemson parted ways after he had been committed there for almost nine months, and figured to be a concern with the Terps.

Maryland never tweeted out anything to signal that Richardson had actually signed with the Terps, who already had three running backs committed in the Class of 2017. Maybe the team could have tried to fit Richardson into an already-crowded backfield or switched him to another position, but evidently he saw a better fit elsewhere.

UCF visits Maryland on Sept. 23.