Friendship Collegiate Academy CB D’Andre Payne will announce his commitment tomorrow morning. Finalists: #UMD #FSU #UVA #TENN #VANDY #CLEM

— Tom Loy (@TomLoy247) April 3, 2013

The Terrapins are in the final group along with Florida State, Virginia, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Clemson for the #2 prospect in the District of Columbia per the 247Sports Composite. Payne was named the Overall MVP of the Next Level Nation Five-Star Elite Showcase held in Frederick, MD on March 9th at an event that brought together nearly 300 prospects.

Payne just completed a visit to Vanderbilt last weekend and had visited the University of Tennessee earlier in the month of March. Payne’s last trip to College Park came about six weeks ago when took an unofficial visit to the University of Maryland for their junior day on February 16th.

At this point in time it appears as if the Tennessee Volunteers appear to be the team to beat for the services of the four-star DB. Look for Payne’s announcement to come between 9:00 and 10:00 AM Wednesday morning. Should any news surrounding this announcement come up in the next 12 hours I will be sure to keep you updated but as of right now I think the Vols should be looked at as the favorite in this decision.

“Its been real relaxed but real hectic at the same time,” said Tabor when asked how process has been up until this point. “I haven’t been going to a lot of schools but they’ve been contacting me and I’ve been contacting them. So it’s been hectic in that sense, but we’ve been working out and its been real laid back.”

With highly touted recruits like Tabor the recruiting process can be extremely intense as the top programs in the country work their hardest to secure his signature on a National Letter of Intent, however, for the top prospect in the District of Columbia things have been closer to the status quo. “Nothing has changed,” said Tabor. “(It’s) been the same since the end of the season.”

On why he feels it is important to make a Signing Day decision:

One thing that we have seen out of some of the more highly touted prospects to come out of Friendship Collegiate Academy as of late, such as Eddie Goldwater and Terps signee Yannick Ngakoue, would be waiting until National Signing Day to make their announcement public. Not surprisingly, Tabor will take the same approach. “I want to see all the schools and what they have to offer,” said Tabor when asked why he felt it was important to wait until NSD to make his commitment.

The last thing I asked the five-star DB was what schools were sticking out to him at the moment in his recruitment. “Alabama, Florida and Florida State,” were the first schools Tabor ran off. However, Tabor did add “Maryland is still right there,” without any sort of prompting. Recruiting extraordinaire Mike Locksley is the Terrapins recruiter of record for Tabor who turned some heads by showing up to the showcase wearing Florida Gator shorts, socks and rocking a Gators backpack.

While Tabor did not participate in any of the position drills during the showcase the top ranked prospect in Washington D.C. did take part in the “five up”drill yesterday with his teammates in the Friendship Collegiate secondary D’Andre Payne and Dimitri Lee. Below is video of their performance in their first run through of the”five up” drill. Tabor is lined up on the far side in the white t-shirt while showcase MVP D’Andre Payne is lined up as the DB on the near side of the video.

Following a 4-8 season that included a quarterback injury list unlike anything a team has ever experienced (from Pee-Wee to the NFL), Randy Edsall and his staff’s recruiting efforts produced a respectable #33 ranked recruiting class in 2013 (according to Rivals.com). Despite a combined record of 6-18 in his first two seasons at the helm, Randy Edsall was able to bring together 22 young men that have the ability to bring Maryland football back from the crypt of the ACC and into forgotten heights as they transition into the Big Ten.

For the fans with star-studded eyes, you’ll notice that Maryland was able to bring in its second consecutive 5-star Receiver in Deon Long. Along with Long, Maryland was able to add much needed depth to its OL, LB core and TE with Derwin Gray (OL), Yannick Ngakoue (LB), and Andrew Isaacs (TE).

But instead of stating the obvious (Deon Long will make an immediate impact and will be playing his football on Sundays), Maryland’s 2013 class is chalk full of players who can make an impact in the 2014 season and some serious sleepers who will ultimately redshirt　but could possibly make an impact down the road. Here are three players that could have an immediate impact on the 2013 season (plus one potential sleeper for this season and one player to keep an eye on for the future):

Will Likely (CB – Glades Central HS – Belle Glade, FL) – If Will Likely was just 2-3 inches taller, he could very well be suiting up for Florida or Florida State this coming season. Luckily for Maryland, he only stands at 5’7″, and the top college programs overlooked him. But don’t let his small stature fool you; he is a very physical corner who has the speed and acceleration to play both zone and man-to-man coverage. He’s already on campus, and he’s getting a head start by taking part in spring workouts. Look for Likely to be part of the Dime and possibly the Nickel packages if Isaac Goins struggles on Defense.

Kingsley Opara (DL – Manderin HS – Jacksonville, FL) – With the losses of AJ Francis and Joe Vellano, the suspension of Isaiah Ross, and just one DL recruit in 2012 (Braglio), the DL is extremely thin. Maryland will likely go with return NT Darius Kilgo along with Quinton Jefferson and Keith Bowers to round out its DL. But there are some question marks concerning the 2-deep. Braglio and backup NT Nate Clarke have yet to play a single down in college, Justin Anderson has had injury concerns all four years at College Park, and Andre Monroe is coming off an ACL injury that sat him out the entire 2012 season. Enter Kingsley Opara. At 6’4″ 275 lbs, Opara already has the build of a college football defensive lineman, and the summer program will do him wonders. I expect Opara to work himself into the 2-deep and if injuries/poor play transpire, don’t be surprised if you see the big man from Florida lined up next to Kilgo on Saturdays.

Silvano Altamirano (OL – Mesa C.C. – San Diego, CA) – This OL transfer is not your typical tan, long blonde hair, blue eyes, southern California dream boat. On the contrary, Altamirano is a large beast with a mean streak that will knock you down, sit on you, and smile while he does it. He wasn’t highly sought after coming out of Mesa CC (Terps beat out Connecticut and SMU for his services), but he comes into a unit that is in desperate need of his athleticism and bully mentality. He’s already serving as De’Onte Arnett’s backup at LG, but If Arnett is ineffective, Altamirano will get his shot.

Sleeper:

Elvis Dennah (S – Annapolis Christian HS – Annapolis, MD) – Annapolis Christian isn’t exactly a hot bed for football talent (despite Maryland being on the trails of 2014 four star Rivals250 S Demetrius Johnson), but Elvis Dennah has the makings of a typical Maryland sleeper. Sought after by only division 1 AA schools, Dennah has the size (6’4″) and a knack for finding the ball (almost like a poor man’s Kenny Tate before he made the switch to LB). Dennah will likely redshirt, but with the loss of Eric Franklin and Matt Robinson moving to LB, the opportunity is there for Dennah to make a move into the 2-deep and get some playing time.

Keep an Eye on Down the Road:

Derrick Hayward (LB – Wicomico HS – Salisbury, MD) – Hayward isn’t exactly a sleeper like Dennah (offers from Rutgers and Boston College) but he certainly wasn’t highly thought of by recruiting analysts. Yet, Hayward has the potential to be something special in a few years, if not sooner. Because of his 6’5″ frame, he has lots of room to add muscle (he’s only 200 lbs) to go along with his speed and athleticism (he also played WR/TE at Wicomico HS). If Hayward can bulk up to 245-250 by his redshirt SO year (very doable) while not losing a step with his quickness, he can become a force rushing from the Will or Sam LB position.

According to 247Sports Team Rankings, Maryland signed the seventh best recruiting class in the ACC finishing behind FSU, VT, Clemson, Miami, UNC and UVA . Since the Terrapins are a member of the ACC it makes sense that this recruiting class is looked at against its conference brethren. However, the vast majority of these prospects will not being making a name for themselves as Maryland Terrapins by going against ACC competition as the 2013 season marks the Terps last go around the conference in football. When looking at how this class stacks up it makes far more sense, to me at least, to compare it to the league the Terps will soon call their home for all sports, the Big 10.

The Big 10 had two of National Signing Day’s big winners in Ohio State and Michigan as both blue bloods, not surprisingly, brought in stellar recruiting classes which landed them in the top ten in the country respectively. Much like in 2012, the Buckeyes and Wolverines were the class of the Big 10 on signing day and among the nation’s best. The Big 10 Recruiting Team Rankings can be found here, as you can see the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Penn State Nittany Lions and Wisconsin Badgers round out the top five when it comes to how the current Big 10 did this recruiting cycle.

Now, how would these rankings be different when you take into consideration the classes signed by, incoming members in 2014, the Maryland Terrapins and Rutgers Scarlet Knights? Since we don’t cover Rutgers I won’t go into much detail on their class other than to say it would finish ranked eighth when compared to the rest of the league.

Maryland, however, would have provided a shake up of the top five classes in the Big 10 were this class to be compared to the rest of the Terps future conference. When you look at the total number of points allocated to the Terrapins recruiting class, 247Sports ranking system can be explained further here, you see that they earned a total of 719.36 points, as I mentioned previously good enough for seventh in the ACC. Compare that number to the classes in the Big 10 and you find that the Maryland Terrapins 2013 signing class would be considered as the fifth best in the Big 10 Conference moving behing Penn State and in front of Wisconsin.

Maryland won’t be joining the league until the 2014 season but for the most part, unless your name is Stefon Diggs, it is hard for a true freshman to break onto the scene and make a major impact. More times than not freshmen are redshirted or spend their initial season trying to work their way up the depth chart. The bulk of these players who signed their letters of intent on Wednesday will get their first shot at consistent playing time for the Terps after they have made the move to the Big 10.

After the festivities of National Signing Day had wrapped up, Randy Edsall was quoted as saying that the coaching staff really pushed the move to the Big 10 on this recruiting class and it was something that they were all excited over which helped the Terrapins land the #31 class in the country, according to 247Sports, despite the disappointing 2012 season which was marred by injuries. If Maryland is able to sign this type of class after the way the 2012 season ended on just the promise of the upcoming move to the Big 10 imagine the type of damage Randy Edsall and, recruiter extraordinare, Mike Locksley can have in the talent rich Washington D.C. area, as well as inside the state of Maryland, in the class of 2014 once the Terrapins start winning.

Coming off of a season where things just seemed to snowball in a negative direction for the Terrapins there was plenty of reason for these three prospects in particular to consider leaving the area for college. The competition for these three was a who’s who of current college football powers in Florida State, Ohio State, South Carolina and Nebraska making some fans uneasy as to the likelihood of landing all three. In an effort that would have made head basketball coach Mark Turgeon proud, Randy Edsall and his staff “shot 100% from the field” yesterday by locking down the commitment of all three prospects over the course of a two hour period which had to have brought on a few gray hairs for the coaching staff.

The excitement started at 10:00 a.m. as Taivon Jacobs announced during a ceremony at Suitland HS that the two-time All-Met WR would be switching his commitment from the Ohio State Buckeyes to the hometown Maryland Terrapins. There were many factors that ended up playing into this decision to switch by the younger Jacobs (His older brother Levern is a rising sophomore on the Terrapins football team). The largest, and quite frankly more important, reason was the desire of Taivon to want to be near by his daughter which was quite telling in my opinion as to the type of man Randy Edsall and staff were able to bring on. To a lesser extent the fact that the Buckeyes had four higher ranked WR’s commit and sign with them in the past week surely played a role in this switch as well. Jacobs is a two-sport athlete who will also compete for the Maryland Terrapins track and field team in the offseason.

Next up in the gauntlet was All-American linebacker Yannick Ngakoue from Friendship Collegiate Academy. Ngakoue was a one-time Maryland commitment as he pledged to Maryland close to the same time as his HS teammates Derwin Gray, Cavon Walker and Jermaine Carter. After de-committing from Maryland Ngakoue was wooed by the South Carolina Gamecocks and Florida State Seminoles bringing a sense of worry to Terps fans who hoped to keep the All-American from Washington D.C. home.

As we all now know, Ngakoue re-committed to the University of Maryland yesterday and has signed his LOI making him officially a member of the Terps. Randy Edsall was quoted yesterday during his address to the media as having spoken with Ngakoue the night before and asking him what his decision would be before being told he would have to wait and find out on National Signing Day. After the ceremony at Friendship Collegiate Academy yesterday Ngakoue told WUSA 9′s Kevin Jones that he “knew months ago he was going to be a Terp” on an unofficial visit to the College Park, MD campus.

The final uncommitted target on the board was also a one-time Maryland commitment. Jacquille Veii had his offer pulled for a period of time due to a discrepancy on his transcript at The Avalon School in Bethesda, MD. Once that issue was sorted out internally the Terps once again extended an offer and going into the final week prior to National Signing Day appeared to be in a good position to land the speedy athlete who scored 14 touchdowns while also racking up 61 tackles and 4 interceptions his senior season.

This was all until the Nebraska Cornhuskers offered Veii very late in the process leading to Veii taking an official visit to the Lincoln, NE campus the weekend before National Signing Day. Nebraska is a program that has an aura about it which could have easily swayed Veii in their direction. He admitted yesterday after announcing his decision to stay home and play at Maryland that he had a great visit to Nebraska but “everything I need is here in Maryland…I knew Maryland was the right place for me,”.

All in all, what is normally an extremely stressful day for college football coaches could not have gone any better for Randy Edsall and his staff. Closing strong by securing commitments from Ngakoue, Jacobs and Veii in addition to not losing any prospects who were considered to be “hard commits” to Maryland is a testament to how hard this staff worked on the recruiting trail.

In the end, the major recruiting services all ranked the Terps as having a top 50 class; Rivals.com had Maryland ranked 30th, 247Sports had Maryland 31st, ESPN had Maryland 45th and Scout.com had Maryland 49th. The fact that Edsall and Co., managed to “shoot 100%” on uncommitted recruits yesterday was simply the cherry on top.

Those four aforementioned prospects are none other than Yannick Ngakoue, Jacquille Veii, Kingsley Opara and Taivon Jacobs. Throughout the course of the Wednesday each of these prospects will be sit at a table and make a decision that will help shape their lives going forward. I was able to ask 247Sports National Recruiting Director, JC Shurburtt his opinion on what Ngakoue and Veii would decide in a feature we ran earlier today.

I will be providing the analysis of each of my picks while also giving the pick of Terrapin Station MD Co-Editor Michael Willis so that we have two sets of opinions for you. Without any further ado lets get down to business and make some projections for these four recruits.

Yannick Ngakoue:

Ngakoue is probably the most important remaining recruit on the board for the Terps as we head into the signing day. In the last few days his recruitment has become clearer as the South Carolina Gamecocks, thought by many to be the Terps toughest competition, have seemingly gotten out of the race in the past week. Tomorrow morning Ngakoue will announce his decision between Maryland, South Carolina and Florida State during a ceremony at Friendship Collegiate Academy.

Projection:

Bohlin: Maryland

Willis: Maryland

Jacquille Veii:

Veii’s recruitment took a turn in the past week when the Nebraska Cornhuskers extended a scholarship offer to the athlete from The Avalon School in Bethesda, MD. Instead of a scheduled trip to the University of Maryland, Veii took an official visit to the Lincoln, NE campus so that he could get a taste of what Nebraska had to offer as a program and university. With in-state prospect Marcus Newby already committed to the Cornhuskers and the returns from his official visit being as strong as they were it would appear that the Terrapins have some catching up to do between now and tomorrow morning.

Projection:

Bohlin: Nebraska

Willis: Nebraska

Kingsley Opara:

Opara has been considered a soft commitment to the Terrapins since October of 2012. For a while the biggest competition in landing Opara’s signature tomorrow appeared to be N.C. State, once that ship sailed most Terps fans felt confident that Opara would be solid to Maryland. That seemed to be the case before the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets decided to extend a scholarship offer to the DT from Jacksonville, FL very late in the process. There was an inkling that Opara could take an official visit to the Atlanta, GA campus once the offer was extended, however, reports indicate that Opara chose against taking any more visits which should have collectively calmed the nerves of Maryland football fans.

Projection:

Bohlin: Maryland

Willis: Maryland

Taivon Jacobs:

As I noted in an earlier post, Suitland HS standout WR Taivon Jacobs has re-opened his recruitment and the one time Ohio State Buckeyes commitment will now choose from OSU and Maryland tomorrow morning during a ceremony at his school. There are a wide variety of factors going into this decision which could end up pushing things in the Terrapins favor when it comes time for Jacobs to make his decision public. Some of those factors include; proximity to his daughter, his older brother Levern being a member of the Terrapins football team, the re-instatement of the track and field program and, of course, Mike Locksley. In an article by the Washington Post Jacobs states that going into today ”I don’t know what I am going to decide…tonight is going to be a tough night,”.

Projection:

Bohlin: Maryland

Willis: Maryland

Now that you have our thoughts as to where these remaining targets on the board for the Terps will land, what do you think? Let us know in the comments section how you feel the Terrapins will fare once Christmas…I mean National Signing Day arrives.

One of those names is somewhat unexpected however. Suitland HS WR Taivon Jacobs, brother of current Maryland Terrapin Levern Jacobs, has opened up his recruitment and will now decide between the school he committed to in July, Ohio State, and the Terps. Jacobs reportedly chose not to take an official visit to the College Park, MD campus earlier in the process so that he would not upset the coaching staff at OSU.

In an article by Eric Detweiler, of the Washington Post, this morning Jacobs stated that “I don’t know what I’m going to decide, you’re going to know tomorrow. Tonight is going to be a tough night.”

Jacobs also mentions in the same article that his child will play a role in where he chooses to attend college. “I want to make the best choice for me. I have a child. I want to make sure I’m a great father and a great player.”

Is it possible that Jacobs shocks Buckeye fans everywhere with a switch to the Terps tomorrow? Sure, it wouldn’t be National Signing Day without some sort of intrigue as this is never a boring day. There are some factors that play towards the Terrapins advantage as well heading in to tomorrow that weren’t exactly the case in July when Jacobs originally committed to Ohio State.

1) Close to home - Jacobs himself says that it is important to him to “be a great father and a great player” which is an extremely impressive statement coming from a highly recruited high school senior. Clearly, it would be easier for him to do that while playing in College Park, MD than it would be in Columbus, OH. By staying close to home Jacobs would also have a strong knit support group to help him through the adjustment to being a college athelte.

2) Levern - Taivon’s older brother is currently on the Terrapins roster and, as you could expect, has been looked toward for guidance by his younger brother throughout this process. One of the notes in Detweiler’s story which stood out to me was that Levern has never pushed Maryland on his younger brother, which in turn could have driven him further away. Instead, Levern has offered help by telling the younger Jacobs to weigh the pros and cons of all his options and “whatever weighs out best, thats where I should go”.

3) Track is back! - Taivon Jacobs is not only a star on the football field but also a standout on the track as it was always in his plan to compete in both sports at the next level. At the time of his commitment to Ohio State the Terrapins track and field team’s future was in major flux due to the cuts made by the athletic department making it unclear as to whether Maryland would even field a team where Jacobs could showcase his speed. With the influx of money on the way due to the impending move to the Big Ten the fate of the track and field program is not as dire as it looked over the summer which will help with Jacobs.

4) Buckeyes filling up at WR - Last night, the Buckeyes also flipped Dontre Wilson, as the athlete from Texas switched from the Oregon Ducks to Ohio State. Many who cover OSU football envision Meyer using Wilson in the same type of slotback role which Percy Harvin thrived in during Meyer’s time at Florida.

In addition to Wilson joining the fold in the past week Ohio State has also landed verbal commitments from Jalin Marshall and Corey Smith, two four-star wide receivers. Marshall and Smith are top five prospects at their position respectively (Corey Smith ranking as a top 5 JUCO WR) which could be a decisive factor in the decision Jacobs makes public tomorrow.

5) Familiarity with the campus/program - Despite the fact that Jacobs never took an official visit to the University of Maryland the fact that his older brother is currently a Terp and that he played down the road at Suitland HS play in the Terrapins favor. Between his brother being a member of the program and the proximity of his HS to the College Park campus he should have all the information necessary to make an informed decision on whether the Terps program is the right fit for him.

6) Locksley - This would make back to back years that the Terps, aided by recruiting extraordinaire Mike Locksley, would beat out Ohio State for a WR recruit on National Signing Day (Stefon Diggs). While the recruiter of record for Jacobs, according to his 247Sports profile, is Terrapins WR coach Lee Hull there is no doubt that Mike Locksley had some sort of hand in Jacobs recruitment to this point. Dominance in the greater Washington D.C. area is how Mike Locksley has made his name in the recruiting world, would it be that shocking were he to pull off another coup tomorrow?

According to Detweiler’s article, that was released this afternoon, Jacobs decision between Ohio State and Maryland will be made during a ceremony at Suitland HS tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. As those of you who follow us on Twitter (@terpstationmd) know when I first saw this story it was met by and large with skepticism. However, as I noted above there are plenty of reasons for Jacobs to stay home and continue this movement of players choosing to attend the local university over feeling the need to leave the area altogether.

For more coverage on all things Maryland Terrapins football recruiting as we inch closer to National Signing Day be sure to stay plugged in to TerrapinStationMD.com and to follow us on Twitter for reaction to news as it happens.

TerrapinStationMD: The topic at the front of every Terrapins fans mind is, not surprisingly, Yannick Ngakoue’s recruitment. Maryland seemingly has positioned themselves well for the All-American to this point despite the silence from Ngakoue’s camp throughout the process, where do you see him ending up come Wednesday morning when he makes his decision public?

JC Shurburtt: I think he re-commits to Maryland and signs with the Terps. Yannick has a great relationship with the Maryland staff and I feel like in the end, staying close to home is important to him. He’s a terrific, versatile defensive prospect that is one of the better players in the entire country, so obviously he fills a need for the Terps or really any program that signs him. At this point, though, all signs point to Maryland?

TSMD: Following the same line of questioning concerning targets remaining on the board for the Terps, Jacquille Veii appeared to be down to Iowa and Maryland before Nebraska chose to throw their hat in the ring with a scholarship offer last week, how much of a threat should Terrapins fans consider the Cornhuskers as we inch closer to Veii’s decision?

JC: The Huskers made a big move and they already have landed four-star linebacker Marcus Newby from the state. Right now from what I hear, they are the team to beat. It would be a great get for Maryland if they were able to pull him in, though. I’ve always been high on Veii since I saw him at the Under Armour All-American Combine in January. He ran well and competed well that day and had he had more film at the time, he would have been more heavily-recruited.

TSMD: Last season was, unfortunately, highlighted by a series of injuries at the QB position for the Terrapins. With a plethora of QB’s coming back from injury this spring/fall what should fans expect out of incoming Elite 11 QB prospect Shane Cockerille?

JC: Maryland would have won more games last year had Cockerille been on the roster, I can assure you of that. I love the way Shane competes. He’s got a good arm and is athletic enough to get yards running the ball. He’s not the tallest, but he has good strength and it would not surprise me at all to see him become a multi-year starter for the Terps. If you are a Maryland fan, you just hope those multiple years don’t start next season after what happened in 2012.

TSMD: 247Sports lists incoming WR Deon Long as the #2 JUCO prospect in the country at his position after putting up record setting numbers at Iowa Western CC, what would be realistic expectations for Long next season as he lines up across super-sophomore Stefon Diggs?

JC: Long is the perfect complement to Diggs and as long as there are no catastrophic quarterback issues, he should be a big part of the Maryland offense next season. Teams know to stop Maryland they have to stop Diggs, but it gets precarious with Long lining up opposite him. It also will help that the Terps will have someone to get them the ball and that Wes Brown should make strides in his second year of college football at running back.

TSMD: Will Likely was named to the Florida Class 5A First Team today, a major honor considering the abundance of talent in that state, despite standing at only 5’7″. Since the vast majority of Terps fans haven’t had the opportunity to see him play in person yet, what about his game sets him apart as a big time prospect?

JC: Likely is a great, great football player. He’s just not very big. He’s the type of player that can help your program in a number of ways as far as just being a quality guy that brings his hard hat and lunch pail every day and sets the tone for others about how to play the game. We may not project him to play in the NFL, but we think he can be an outstanding college player, perhaps even at the All-ACC level in time.

TSMD: Derwin Gray was recently quoted in a story by the Baltimore Sun’s Matt Bracken as saying “What Stefon Diggs did as a wide receiver, I can be that for the offensive line,”. Stefon Diggs came in with a lot of fanfare as a five-star recruit but did not feel the need to make any sort of proclamations on his freshman season. Gray is clearly a very talented player but can he back up this claim?

JC: I do think he can make that type of impact, but probably not next season. If Gray qualifies and makes it to College Park next season, he’s probably still raw enough that he will need an extra year of development before making the type of noise that he is capable of. Make no mistake about it, though, he’s got as much upside as any of the elite offensive tackle prospects in the country, he just will need to be coached up, add strength and the various things that offensive linemen have to do before they approach their ceiling.

TSMD: Georgia Tech has gotten into the game late for Jacksonville, FL DT Kingsley Opara and, although he chose not to take an official visit to the Atlanta campus, the scholarship offer being extended certainly stood out to him. How strong do you perceive the Yellow Jackets to be in his recruitment as we head into the stretch run?

JC: Rarely has there been a situation where a prospect has been committed to a school for as long as Opara has been committed to the Terps and then switched to a school he did not take an official visit to. If Opara was an Atlanta-area kid, I probably would think it was possible, but he’s from Florida, so I am confident that he sticks.

TSMD: Maryland assistant Mike Locksley has made a name for himself by, for lack of a better term, locking down the Washington D.C. area to secure to top talent in the district. Can Terps fans expect Locksley to have the same kind of dominance on the recruiting trail in the state of Maryland as he does inside of Nation’s Capital?

JC: Inside of D.C.- absolutely. Locksley has proven to be a big factor at this point and as the Terps improve on the field, he will be even more of one. Where Maryland is struggling right now is with the in-state bunch. Losing players to Nebraska, South Carolina, Ohio State, West Virginia, Clemson, etc., is something that has to change in order for Maryland to reach its full potential as a program. I do think the move to the Big Ten is going to help with that to a certain extent and I don’t think that the Terps have to sweep the state, but they do have to start signing their share of the top Maryland players.

TSMD: Maryland will land at least three, and potentially four, recruits in this class from the talent heavy program at Friendship Collegiate Academy in Washington D.C., while the term “pipeline” isn’t exactly the case in this situation how important will it be for the Terrapins program to continue to have a presence at the Washington D.C. charter school?

JC: It seems every recruiting cycle, Friendship has elite prospects and I don’t see that changing anytime soon, so it’s very important. The coaching staff at that school does an excellent job of discovering talent and developing their players for colleges. I haven’t spoken to one college assistant that did not enjoy visiting with that staff, so it’s important for Locksley and the Terps to continue to have a great relationship with the coaches there.

TSMD: If you could pick out one player in this class as an “under the radar” prospect Terrapins fans might not be focusing on in advance of Wednesday who would it be and why?

JC: I really like Milan Collins from Bishop McNamara in District Heights. He is 6-foot-2, 190 pounds and was a high school quarterback, but will probably play safety or cornerback in college. He’s a terrific athlete and a smart kid, so I think his future is bright and as he develops in the secondary, he can become quite the player for the Terps.

With National Signing Day on the horizon we wanted to produce a NSD Primer for you so that you are ready when those signed letters of intent start to be faxed in to the football offices at the University of Maryland on Wednesday. Randy Edsall and his staff have been hitting the trail hard since the season ended in hopes of making a splash on the recruiting scene so that the Terrapins could turn things around on the gridiron.

We will have extensive coverage of all things Maryland Terrapins recruiting as the week moves on but in the meantime take a moment to become familiar with the 2013 Terps recruiting class. Each prospects name below is linked directly to their 247Sports recruiting page, while recruiting rankings can be an inexact science to say the least I choose to work off of their 247Sports Composite rankings as they encompass the entire industries views on a particular prospect.

Already Enrolled:

Deon Long: – WR — Washington D.C. (Iowa Western Community College)

Silvano Altimirano: – OT — San Diego, CA (San Diego Mesa College)

Hard Commits:

Derwin Gray: – OT — Washington D.C. (Friendship Collegiate Academy)

Will Likely: – ATH — Belle Glade, FL (Glades Central HS)

Shane Cockerille: – QB — Baltimore, MD (Gilman HS)

Andrew Isaacs: – TE — Manchester, CT (Manchester HS)

Derrick Hayward: – OLB — Salisbury, MD (Wicomico HS)

Malik Jones: – DE — Baltimore, MD (Dunbar HS)

Milan Collins: – ATH — District Heights, MD (Bishop McNamara HS)

Jajuan Dulaney: – OG — Powder Springs, GA (McEachern HS)

Jermaine Carter: – OLB — Washington D.C. (Friendship Collegiate Academy)

Cavon Walker: – WDE — Washington D.C. (Friendship Collegiate Academy)

Jarrett Ross: – CB — Wilmington, DE (Charter School of Wilmington)

Jalen Brooks: – OLB — Suwanee, GS (North Gwinnett HS)

Moise Larose: – OT — Columbia, MD (Wilde Lake HS)

Elvis Dennah: – S — Annapolis, MD (Annapolis Area Christian)

Chandler Burkett: – WDE — Panama City, FL (Bozeman School)

DeAndre Lane: – ATH — Catonsville, MD (Catonsville HS)

Adam Greene: – K — Annapolis, MD (Broadneck Senior HS)

Targets Still On The Board:

Yannick Ngakoue: – ILB — Washington D.C. (Friendship Collegiate Academy)

Jacquille Veii: – ATH — Bethesda, MD (The Avalon School)

Kingsley Opara: – DT — Jacksonville, FL (Mandarin HS)

Storylines To Watch:

1) Ngakoue Watch 2013:

Where will the All-American LB pledge his commitment come Wednesday morning is the question that looms largest for the Terps. At one point in time the South Carolina Gamecocks were thought to be the only true threat to Maryland landing the signature of Ngakoue, as of today that seems to have changed. The Gamecocks have fallen off of Ngakoue a bit since the Gamecocks coaching staff made the visit to Friendship Collegiate Academy last week. The plan is for Ngakoue to make his announcement from Friendship Collegiate Academy on Wednesday at 10 am EST so be sure to stay plugged in to @terpstationmd where I will be providing up to the minute analysis of his announcement as well as others.

Right now, this is a battle between the Terps and their ACC brethren (for at least a little while longer) the Florida State Seminoles. FSU was always considered to be in the running for Ngakoue largely due in part to the relationship Yannick Ngakoue has with new Seminoles defensive coorindator Sal Sunseri. Since Florida State fully entered the Ngakoue sweepstakes quite late in the game, they did not offer a scholarship to Ngakoue until December 13, 2012, Maryland seems to be the clear team to beat but stranger things have happened on National Signing Day so until that fax comes across with Ngakoue’s name signed on the dotted line all Terps fans will be anxiously waiting for what could be a stallworth for years to come in the Maryland front seven.

2) Can you Veii it coming in the air tonight?

Bethesda, Maryland athlete Jacquille Veii is a name that Maryland Terrapins fans hope they see scrolling across the bottom line of ESPNU as a Terrapins commitment come Wednesday. His recruitment is a curious one as Veii was, much like Ngakoue, a one time Terrapins commitment. A transcript discrepancy caused the Terps to pull their offer off the table at one point but once that book keeping issue was rectified Maryland once again extended an offer.

For a while it was a Maryland vs. Iowa competition for Veii’s commitment. However, Nebraska threw their hat into the ring last week and Veii took an official visit to the Lincoln, Nebraska campus this past weekend to see what the Cornhuskers program was all about. Veii’s official visit reportedly went very well, but it is worth noting that almost all official visits are met with rave reviews as every cost is taken care of by the program. Veii will announce his college commitment publicly on Wednesday at 11:30 am EST at www.dmvstream.com.

3) Where will the King(sley) land?

Kingsley Opara has been a soft commitment to the University of Maryland since October of 2012. Georgia Tech had shown interest in Opara previously, as Yellow Jackets assistant coach and Opara’s recruiter Lamar Owens paid him a visit on December 10th to continue his recruitment. Since Georgia Tech had not offered Opara a scholarship they were not looked at as a legitimate threat to land his signature on a national letter of intent. This all changed last when Georgia Tech extended an offer to Opara.

For a while it was uncertain as to whether Opara would take an official visit to Georgia Tech once they extended an offer this late in the game. Opara had seemingly come full circle from October and was ready to stick with his decision of committing to Randy Edsall and the University of Maryland. After making Maryland fan’s sweat it out, the word finally came down that Opara decided not to take a visit to the Atlanta campus last weekend. This certainly falls under the type of scenario where you never count your chickens until the eggs have hatched as Opara has been anything but a hard commitment to this point but the fact that there was no visit to GT after Opara seemed floored by the offer is telling.