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Something I really like about our community here at Testudo Times is that anyone who thinks he or she has good information can go ahead and share it with no real restriction, and we can evaluate the source together over time. A few of our commenters have demonstrated that they know recruiting quite well, and they've been willing to share their own reporting in a recurring post.
It's maybe not as comprehensive as the remarkable databases put together by staffed-up recruiting agencies, but it's a hugely helpful read for the community. I'd be foolish not to consult it while trying to piece together Maryland's final 2016 class. So, thanks to PeachesTerp and others for continually making this contribution.
Based on everything I can find from querying the college football recruiting portion of the Internet, plus two conversations with smart recruiting people and one with a friend of the player's, I think Maryland's just about out of the running on four-star athlete Trevon Diggs. The Terps really want the Alabama commit but probably can't get him, despite how I felt about his situation last week.
Here's a weekend class prediction. It's already outdated a little bit, but let's continue along:
This view could change throughout the next week, and I like to distinguish between projecting that a player will go one direction and reporting that he will, in fact, go that direction. What you'll read here is very much the former. The last projection came Thursday.
Players who are verbally committed are in bold, and recruiting rankings come via the 247Sports Composite.
Quarterbacks
Lindsey Scott, 3 stars, Zachary, La. (Zachary)
Tyrrell Pigrome, 3 stars, Pinson, Ala. (Clay-Chalkville)
Chase Fourcade, unrated, New Orleans (Archbishop Rummel)
Fourcade is apparently out.
Maryland still hasn't extended an offer to Bishop McNamara three-star quarterback Ramar Williams, and we're getting too close to National Signing Day for me to continue to think a late offer will come. Williams seems to me like a great kid, and he's popular locally. But Maryland's new coaching staff doesn't seem apt to give into public pressure from local prospects. If scholarship offers mean anything, the Terps want Scott and Pigrome.
Anyway, Scott and Pigrome both feel like toss-ups, but there are reasons to like them – from a distance – to Maryland. Maryland offensive coordinator Walt Bell wants Pigrome badly, and I refuse to believe this tweet isn't about Pigrome taking a flight to Maryland (or maybe Reagan or Dulles). I just won't, because I want Maryland's coaches to be this witty:
One thing I have learned today, Pigs do fly.
— Walt Bell (@coachwaltbell) January 29, 2016
As for Scott, a couple of prominent recruiting writers seem to really like him to Maryland. I haven't been able to reach Scott, so this is really just going off a broader consensus. I have been told his relationship with LSU isn't totally mutually strong, although it'd be hard for Maryland to get a kid from Baton Rouge away from the Tigers if they decided they really wanted him. The quarterbacks will probably be hard to peg right up until Wednesday.
Running backs
LaDerrien Wilson, 3 stars, Kissimmee, Fla. (Osceola)
Lorenzo Harrison, 3 stars, Hyattsville, Md. (DeMatha Catholic)
Jake Funk, 3 stars, Damascus, Md. (Damascus)
Tight ends
Noah Barnes, 2 stars, Auburn, Ala. (Auburn)
Receivers
Tino Ellis, 4 stars, Hyattsville, Md. (DeMatha Catholic)
DJ Turner, 3 stars, Hyattsville, Md. (DeMatha Catholic)
Everyone here at the skill positions is already committed, with Diggs no longer projected to join the receiving group. To whatever extent Maryland had a chance with Diggs, the prospect of adding his friend Williams was an important selling point. Given that Williams hasn't received an offer and Diggs is still verbally committed (for whatever that term is worth) to Alabama, I no longer think there's better than a 50 percent chance of him joining Maryland. Way lower, in fact.
The Terps would probably love to flip Minnesota "commit" Dredrick Snelson, but Black Shoe Diaries recruiting reporter and good friend Nick Polak thinks he's bound for Penn State. I trust that assessment, and even if Snelson doesn't go to Penn State, he's got other options beyond Maryland. If it's any solace, I talked to someone who thinks Snelson's not a serious miss.
There's also four-star prospect Aaron Hansford, whom our community post has making an unofficial visit. (I haven't seen him on campus so can't confirm it, but I trust that he's around.) Hansford, from Washington, is a teammate of Maryland target Terrell Hall and can play linebacker or receiver. Either way, he'd be a nice get. But without learning a bit more, I struggle to project players to Maryland over schools like Texas A&M and Ohio State. Both are in on Hansford.
Offensive tackles
Terek Zingale, 3 stars, Macedonia, Ohio (Nordonia)
Brian Plummer, 3 stars, Sykesville, Md. (South Carroll Senior)
Offensive guards
Terrance Davis, 4 stars, Hyattsville, Md. (DeMatha Catholic)
Richard Merritt, 4 stars, Washington (Archbishop Carroll)
Defensive linemen
Aaron Thompson, 3 stars, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Dillard)
Terrell Hall, 4 stars, Washington (St. John's College)
Dion Goldbourne, unrated, Delray Bech, Fla. (Atlantic)
No changes here from me, even though the only real consensus on Hall is that there's no consensus at all. Hall is clearly very interested in Maryland, but the Terps are recruiting against Alabama, which, well, you know.
Linebackers
The PeachesTerp clearinghouse features both Virginia linebackers Tavante Beckett and Chase Pine on recent visits. Beckett is a Virginia Tech commit and Pine a Pitt commit, but perhaps Maryland can turn somebody here. I'm not sticking either of them in the projection now, but anything could happen.
Some of Maryland associate head coach Mike London's most important recruiting chops come in Virginia, where he spent six years as Virginia's head coach. With Keandre Jones gone to Ohio State, Maryland really needs someone.
Defensive backs
Cornerbacks
Antwaine Richardson, 3 stars, Delray Beach, Fla. (Atlantic)
Travon Stott, 3 stars, Olney, Md. (Good Counsel)
Elisha Daniels, 3 stars, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Cardinal Gibbons)
Safeties
Elijah Daniels, 3 stars, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Cardinal Gibbons)
Qwuantrezz Knight, unrated, Greenville, Fla. (East Gadsen)
Perry Young, 3 stars, Birmingham, Ala. (Spain Park)
Somewhere in the secondary
Tyrek Tisdale, 3 stars, Orlando, Fla. (Oak Ridge)
Peaches has Alabama three-star safety Young, a Cincinnati commit, on a Maryland visit this weekend. Young had been recruited previously by – you guessed it – Arkansas State, where Bell had been the offensive coordinator. His offer list, via 247, doesn't feature another Power 5 program: Arkansas State, Jackson State, Georgia State, Tulane and Southern Miss, which just lost its head coach to the NFL. If the Terps want Young, these are schools they should be able to beat.
Punter
Wade Lees, unrated, Australia.
Changes from Thursday's projection, which had been the most recent:
In: QB Tyrrell Pigrome, S Perry Young
Out: WR Trevon Diggs, QB Ramar Williams
Under this projection – which is extremely fluid – Maryland would have a 23-man class, one under the 25-scholarship per-class limit and leaving the Terps quite possibly over-signing the 85-scholarship team limit pending further roster attrition. We unofficially track the team's scholarship situation here.