Maryland football secured its first commitment of the 2021 cycle as three-star Jayon Venerable announced his commitment on Saturday.
#COMMITTED #FTT #LockedIn Jackboy to UMD pic.twitter.com/USt6fG0uuH
— Jackboy Venerable (@JayZVenerable) July 27, 2019
Venerable is a 5’10, 173-pound local prospect out of Archbishop Spalding (Md.) who primarily has seen time on the field as a running back. He earned his offer in June during the evaluation period when camping in front of the coaching staff.
The Terps recruited Venerable as a defensive back, but his size and athleticism out of the backfield clearly jumps off his early tape. He managed to rush for 684 yards and six touchdowns while also adding 100 yards and one touchdown receiving in 10 games as a sophomore. He is also a track athlete who ran a personal-best 11.49 100-meter dash in 2018.
Venerable was primarily recruited by defensive backs coach Cory Robinson, who first came in contact and offered him during his time at Rutgers. Massachusetts, Temple and Virginia Tech all extended offers as well.
247Sports is currently the only service to have ranked Venerable, listing him as the No. 18 prospect out of Maryland and a top-500 prospect overall in the Class of 2021.
The Terps are one of seven Big Ten programs to have an early commitment in this class, and one of 30 in the country to add a player this cycle.