Terps recruits include pair of standout local backs Phase one of Maryland football’s image rehab arrived Wednesday as the Terrapins unveiled 24 recruits on national signing day. Considering the growing pains of last year’s 2-10 season under first-year coach Randy Edsall, this is a strong group of players around which to rebound, led by a pair of standout running backs.
In Wes Brown of Good Counsel and Albert Reid of Friendship Collegiate, Edsall landed two of the most sought-after backs in the region, both rated four stars by Scout.com.
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As a bonus, they complement each other. While the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Brown is a bruising, between-the-tackles threat, Reid (5-10, 177) is a pure speedster.
| Maryland recruits |
| RB Albert Reid (Friendship Charter), 5-10, 177; RB Wes Brown (Good Counsel), 6-1, 210; WR Levern Jacobs (Milford Academy), Temple Hills, 6-0, 180; OLB Abner Logan (Dexter), Cambridge, Mass., 6-1, 220; RB Kenneth Goins (Gilman), Baltimore, 5-10, 210; CB Sean Davis (Maret), 6-1, 185; S Anthony Nixon (Central Catholic), Pittsburgh, 6-1, 200; TE P.J. Gallo (Council Rock South), Holland, Pa., 6-2, 225; QB Caleb Rowe (Blue Ridge), Landrum, S.C., 6-2, 185; QB Perry Hills (Central Catholic), Pittsburgh, 6-3, 205; OG Nick Brigham (Marist), Atlanta, 6-2, 280; DE Roman Braglio (McDonogh), Owings Mills, Md., 6-3, 240; OG Mike Madaras (Good Counsel), 6-5, 293; OLB Shawn Petty (Eleanor Roosevelt), 6-2, 228; WR Malcolm Culmer (Willingboro), Willingboro, N.J., 6-0, 180; S Joe Riddle (Linganore), Frederick, 6-0, 195; MLB Brock Dean (Bishop McDevitt), Harrisburg, Pa., 6-0, 210; CB Alvin Hill (Luella), Locust Grove, Ga., 5-11, 190; OLB Avery Thompson (Grassfield), Chesapeake, Va., 6-2, 205; WR Amba Etta-Tawo (McEachern), Powder Springs, Ga., 6-2, 175; OLB Stefan Houston (Clarksburg), 6-2, 192; 2011: DL Quinton Jefferson (Woodland Hills), Pittsburgh, 6-4, 250; Transfers: DB Zach Dancel (Good Counsel/New Mexico), 6-0, 185; CB Isaac Goins (El Cerrito/Contra Costa) Hercules, Calif., 6-0, 185. |
Maybe most importantly, however, is they’re local and from two of the area’s top football factories. On Wednesday, four players from Good Counsel signed with BCS conference schools, with its most highly regarded player, wideout Stefon Diggs, yet to commit. At Friendship, 19 players signed college scholarships on Wednesday.
“We really wanted to try to make inroads here in Maryland, D.C. Pennsylvania and Virginia — the area we felt we needed to be strong in in order to be who we want to be,” Edsall said.
Eleven Terps recruits are from Maryland and the District. Five more are from Edsall’s home state, Pennsylvania.
As a group, Maryland’s class ranks 47th according to Scout.com and seventh in the ACC. Edsall was quick to emphasize character over the number of stars next to a recruit’s name, pointing out that 21 of the 24 players were team captains.
“We’re looking for that leadership,” Edsall said.
Two quarterbacks were tabbed — Perry Hills of Pittsburgh and Caleb Rowe of Landrum, S.C., who played this fall at the Blue Ridge School near Charlottesville.
Edsall credited recruiting coordinator John Dunn and new offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, a former Maryland assistant who parlayed his success under former coach Ralph Friedgen to a head coaching job at New Mexico.
With this recruiting class, Edsall overcame negative perceptions about the rigid discipline he has instilled.
“They just need good people here,” said Quinton Jefferson, a defensive line recruit from Pittsburgh who signed last year but did not come to school until this semester. “The players who left did so because they couldn’t deal with people telling them what to do. I like structure. [Edsall] is just doing good things for us. He wants to protect us and keep us out of trouble.”
With more players on board with his ideals and more players from local schools involved in the program, Edsall sees the program headed in a positive direction.
“I think this class is the class that sets in motion the things we want to do,” Edsall said. “I think we’re on the right track with what we’ve done this year, getting into some of the schools we’ve gotten the young men from. There’s gonna be players there every year.”
