Lavonte Gater commits to Maryland: Terps land 3-star cornerback

Maryland football landed its first member of the Class of 2019 Wednesday afternoon when three-star Ballou (D.C.) athlete Lavonte Gater announced his commitment to the Terps.

The 5’11, 170-pounder has played both ways during his high school career, but will be a cornerback for Maryland. He’s the No. 6 overall prospect in Washington, D.C., this recruiting cycle and the No. 87-ranked athlete in the country, per the 247Sports Composite.

After finishing out their 2018 class with a four-star cornerback in Ken Montgomery, the Terps went right back to the well to start off 2019, but this time from much closer to home. The 2019 class is likely going to have to be a bit smaller than the 28- and 23-man classes of 2017 and ‘18—and that’s not counting traditional transfers into the program—making Gater was a big priority for the staff. It’ll likely be him and one or two other recruits at cornerback for this class. By the time Gater arrives in College Park, the only current Maryland cornerback who will be out of eligibility is RaVon Davis, so the staff could afford to be picky with its targets this time around.

With Gater’s commitment, the Maryland enters the 2019 team rankings at No. 52. There’s still some catching up to do with the rest of the Big Ten, as nine teams already have multiple commits. Wisconsin leads the way with eight.