The relentless recruiting efforts of D.J. Durkin and staff mined more gold Wednesday night when Oxon Hill (Potomac High) cornerback Deon Jones became the 11th player in Maryland football’s 2017 class. Scouting services rate Jones as the third best player in Maryland and nationally consider him the 13th best cornerback in the class. Jones will fill an area of immediate need for the Terps to fill the gap that will exist with the graduation of William Likely. Although most prognosticators expected Jones to choose between Maryland and Clemson, his offer sheet included Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas A & M from the SEC. The Terps also beat out B1G rivals Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers and Wisconsin.
Jones joins fellow four-star recruits Kasim Hill, Jordan McNair and Cam Spence as well as five-star defensive end Joshua Kaindoh. Let’s get some perspective on this: Despite coming off a three win season, nearly half (5) of the 11 players committed are rated four stars or higher and all of the others are rated with three stars. Jones’ commitment moves Maryland to the number 19 class in the country and number five in the Big Ten according to 24/7 sports. Per the dame source, Randy Edsall’s last (2015) recruiting class had no five star and only two four-star recruits. It ranked 49th nationally and eighth in the B1G.
Currently, Ohio State (1), Michigan (4), Rutgers (17) and Iowa (18) rank above Maryland. However, a closer look shows that Iowa and Rutgers earn spots ahead of Maryland only by virtue of their 14 and 19 commitments respectively. The Terrapins trail only Ohio State and Michigan in the quality of their recruits. A single commit from say, Jones’ teammate three-star running back Tayon Fleet-Davis would propel Maryland ahead of both Rutgers and Iowa.
Edsall’s class that included five star recruit Stefon Diggs had an average player rating of .8299. His highest rated class came in 2014 with a .8453 average rating. As of today, the average player rating for Maryland’s 2017 class is .8850. A lot can change between July 7 and national signing day but if Durkin and company can begin to deliver on the field, the first Wednesday in February could be a very happy day for Terps football.
freddy from boca
nice piece non-rev todd,
look out if/when maryland football takes off on the field. dj is used to recruiting only the better players from his experiences at stanford, florida and michigan. if he can coach em up i expect you’ll see more 4 and 5 stars coming to maryland than one could ever imagine.
i truly believe maryland football is going to become big time on the field, in the stands, practice facility wise top shelf and in the rankings. and i predict that in 5-7 years will be be sharing talk and seeing plans for a new 60,000 seat state of the art stadium.
· 11/12/2019
Todd
Thanks Freddy.
The energy surrounding the football team right now is enormous. The Terps are going to have to start winning soon. I’ve heard some rumblings that season ticket sales have been disappointing so far.
I have real confidence that Durkin and staff will coach theses guys up. MD’s schedule certainly sets them up to be 4-0 going into the game at PSU. Minnesota at home is certainly winnable and if the Terps can come out of State College with a win, they’ll find themselves bowl eligible very early, After that, the schedule has the potential to see the W-L record fall apart.
However, if the Terps can get to (and especially win) a bowl game, I think there are a lot of kids who are waiting the process out who will land in College Park.
I could see MD upgrading the current facility but with the plans for the new Cole facility including a tunnel from the locker room to the stadium (a significant additional expense), the stadium stays where it is. Also, unless they appropriate the golf course, I don’t think there’s anyplace else to build one on campus.
· 11/12/2019