2021 JUCO linebacker Gereme Spraggins commits to Maryland football

Within two hours of 4-star DMV defensive tackle Taizse Johnson committing to Maryland football, junior college outside linebacker Gereme Spraggins doubled down and announced his pledge to the Terps.

“I’m in JUCO right now, and being so far away from the crib makes me want to come back to it,” Spraggins told Testudo Times. “The recruiting — they’ve always been hardcore recruiting me, but out of high school I wasn’t qualified, so I had to come out here and grind. I’ve been grinding in JUCO and got the opportunity to commit to Maryland.”

While he is playing his junior college seasons at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, Spraggins is a product of Arundel High School in Gambrills, Maryland, and originally signed with the Maine Black Bears in the 2019 class.

Despite drawing up interests and offers from the likes of Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia while in junior college, Spraggins said he was thankful, but the goal was to always come back home.

The DMV to UMD movement has started to take effect, and Spraggins described it as a no-brainer decision.

“If you’re from Maryland, you know,” he said. “We probably got the best uniforms in the nation and are cut-throat on the field.”

Spraggins stands at 6’2, 235 pounds, and brings some real speed to the linebacker position. He is a disruptive blitzer who has a nose for the ball, but also the ability to recognize plays and drop back in coverage. He describes himself as a “bully” and “cut-throat” on the field.

In 2019, Spraggins was teammates with Hutchinson C.C. defensive back Jakorian Bennett, who signed with Maryland as a part of the 2020 class and enrolled early.

“Him being from Alabama and me being from Maryland, seeing him fall in love with the state of Maryland made me fall in love even more with my state,” Spraggins said. “For somebody to not pick Ole Miss or Auburn and pick Maryland ... that really opened my eyes to ‘Yeah, I got it good back at home.’ I know Mike Locksley’s got something brewing up there and I want to be a part of it.”

Spraggins also shares a connection with 2020 signee Ja’khi Green, as the two won multiple youth national championships with the Maryland Seahawks.

“[Green] was like ‘If you’re from Maryland, why wouldn’t you want to come play at Maryland,” Spraggins said. “And that means a lot to me, because that makes sense.”

As a December 2020 graduate, Spraggins says he plans to enroll early at Maryland and take part in practices next spring.

“I learned that football is more of a business — it’s a grind,” Spraggins said of what he’s learned in junior college. “Nothing is given and everything is earned. It’s a grind, so you’ve got to work for everything you want in life.”

With Spraggins on board, Maryland now has five commitments in the class of 2021 — who all hail from the DMV area. The class ranks at No. 25 in the nation and seventh in the Big Ten, according to 247Sports.