National Signing Day 2016: 4-star DE Terrell Hall commits to Alabama over Maryland

Washington defensive end Terrell Hall announced on Wednesday he'll play his college football at Alabama, choosing the Crimson Tide over Maryland and a list of national powers.

Alabama it is for St. John's Terrell Hall. #RollTide gets another DMV star #allmets https://t.co/IU4ZEhzlb5

— Brandon Parker (@brandoncparker) February 3, 2016

On the 247Sports Composite, Hall is the No. 6 weak-side defensive end in the 2016 class and the best player in the District. He is a five-star prospect at Rivals. No matter who's evaluating, Hall would've been Maryland's consensus best defensive commit with four-star linebacker Keandre Jones no longer in the picture, and missing on him is undoubtedly a serious disappointment for DJ Durkin's staff.

Long considered an Alabama lean, Hall said he had "renewed interest" in Maryland once the Terps brought on Tide recruiting staffer Aazaar Abdul-Rahim as defensive backs coach. He might have had a chance to press for playing time immediately on a Maryland defensive line that lost ends Quinton Jefferson and Yannick Ngakoue to the NFL Draft. While the Terps have upperclassmen Roman Braglio and Jesse Aniebonam at the end spots, Hall is good enough and physically tough enough to withstand the rigors of the Big Ten better than most freshmen.

As the winter wore on, Hall seemed more and more interested in the Terps, which perhaps makes his not coming to Maryland bite a little more than it should. This was always going to be a tough recruiting battle to win.

Here's video of Hall, who recently wrapped his senior season at St. John's College High: