October 20, 2012; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins wide receiver Leak Marcus (82) runs following his catch to set up a touchdown against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Byrd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

@terpstationmd Speed, speed, speed. Good player.

— JC Shurburtt (@jcshurburtt) February 6, 2013

Though that quote is about the newest Maryland Terrapin wide receiver, Taivon Jacobs, believe me when I tell you that it applies to the entire receiving corps. I actually cannot remember the last time I was this excited about watching a Terrapins offense; the mere thought of it has me nervously questioning how it’s possible to even do better than what head coach Randy Edsall and offensive coordinator have done?

Taivon Jacobs was a firm commitment to Ohio State until recently, and when a coach like Urban Meyer is enamored with you enough to seek you out repeatedly, it’s almost a certainty that you ooze talent. Jacobs does exactly that, with his 4.4 40-yard dash, All-Met pedigree, and top-10 talent in the state of Maryland. His senior year at Suitland consisted of 1,065 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns, with scouts claiming he scored a touchdown every time he touched the ball.

Oh, and did I mention he also runs track for Team USA? Are you kidding me?

Pause for a moment, and take in exactly what the Terrapins are going to be working with next season. WR Stefon Diggs was arguably one of the best freshmen in the country last season, with 962 total yards offensively and six touchdowns. He has the quickness and shiftiness to lineup in the slot, the speed to burn defenses on deep balls, and the hands to catch anything in the middle. Defenses have to keep at least one or two guys on him at all times, lest they enjoy getting taken on a ride by the Diggs4Heisman train (he’s got 40-1 odds in Vegas, by the by). Alone, Diggs was a weapon.

Locksley knew this and wanted to ensure that defenses couldn’t just hone in on Diggs, so what did he do? He got Deon Long, the best JUCO wide receiver in the country and a 6’1, 205 lb. menace who had 1,600+ yards of receiving and 25 touchdowns on the year. He is fast, he is strong, and by all accounts a five-star caliber player with the ability to dictate the game to defenses. He is so good, in fact, that his coaches at Iowa Western C.C. didn’t even play him in the fourth quarters of games. Mind you, just because it’s JUCO ball doesn’t mean it’s bad ball at all; on the contrary it’s very, very good football.

Combine him with Diggs? We’re talking Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin-style offenses right off the bat. These two aren’t even question marks like most young receivers who haven’t played a snap of college football. They are proven commodities that are, barring injury, going to become a hassle for defenses abound the minute they swagger step onto the field. Diggs and Long have done it already, there’s no questioning it.

Then there’s Marcus Leak, another 6’1, 205 lb. receiver whose prowess last season was overshadowed by Diggs and the injury bug. Leak is the smart receiver of the bunch. Not necessarily the fastest (though he is plenty fast), not necessarily the most elusive (though again, plenty elusive), but he knows where to be on the field to get the ball. Leak runs routes like a veteran, and understands the flow of a football game.

Leak only played six games last season, but rest assured they were impactful. Four of those six games were for 60 yards or more, and two of those four were 90 yard performances. Mind you, he was playing hurt. Leak and Long are very similar wideouts who are going to be able to line up anywhere on the field, and even with just Long and Leak, an offense would be terrifying.

But the Terrapins have Diggs, Long, and Leak. It’s all about proven commodities, and the Terps have three of them.

So in comes Taivon Austin, the 5’11 speedster who can bust up any coverage by mere virtue of the hypersonic jets he calls legs. He is an Urban Meyer recruit who was booted out because Ohio State’s receiving corp was too full, not because he wasn’t talented enough. Think he’s going to benefit from playing with Diggs, Long, and Leak? He might be the biggest beneficiary of it, because there are very few corners who can one-on-one cover a guy with this much speed. He’ll get those matchups all game long, and that is mind-boggling to think what Edsall and Locksley can think of.

I won’t even get into the fact that before Wes Brown and Brandon Ross got injured, they were widely considered to be two top-tier running backs who were bruisers that also had breakaway speed. Their presence gives the Terrapins a running game that will force defenses to stack the box, and when they do that, the air raid will begin in full effect.

The Terrapins have so many options and looks that they may be able to get away with a linebacker at quarterback (maybe not). This isn’t just hype getting spewed out by some fanatical fan, this is actually a reality for the Terrapins. It’s a best case scenario reality, but even the worst case isn’t far off from the best one. There’s just too much proven talent on offense at the time. It’s something that Terrapins fans haven’t had in awhile, but believe me they can get excited about it now.

All I can say to the fans is: Get ready.

And to Maryland’s opponents? Good luck.

Already Enrolled/Signed LOI:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Taivon Jacobs — WR — Forestville, MD (Suitland HS)

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

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

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

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

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

Hard Commits:

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

Targets Still On The Board:

None…They are all Terps.

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.