3.7.14 Maryland Football Recruiting Updates, including new 2014 Commit

July 23, 2012; Greensboro, NC, USA; Maryland Terrapins head football coach Randy Edsall talks to reporters during the ACC media day at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro NC. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports

With more junior days and visits, I take a look at where Maryland stands with some of their top prospects.

• 2014 P Lee Shrader accepted a preferred walk-on position with the team, reported first by Recruit757 yesterday evening. Shrader’s highlights can be shown here. Khol’s Kicking Camp rated Shrader as a 5-star and 11th in the country among punters. What immediately stands out is his insane power, which could help give the defense more room on the field next year. He will likely be competing for the starting role against junior Nathan Renfro.
• 2015 Gonzaga QB Nick Johns is taking a visit down to UNC and NC State this weekend. This past weekend, Johns traveled to UVA for their junior day. Johns said the visit “went great, I’m looking to go back down within the next month.”
• 2015 Quince Orchard DT Adam McLean has been racking up the offers in recent weeks, but Mike Farrell said that he is hearing McLean has a top five of Alabama, Michigan State, Ohio State, South Carolina and Ole Miss. I’ve spoken with numerous prospects close with McLean, and all believe that when he comes up with his final top five, Maryland will be in it. McLean told me that his top five are the schools that are recruiting him the hardest, not the schools he likes the most.
• 2015 St. Thomas Aquinas RB Deltron Sands was offered almost instantaneously after the staff watched his tape. Sands is an explosive running back that can break open on any given play. Right now, Arkansas, Auburn, FAU, UF, Miami, Syracuse, West Virginia, and Western Michigan are all recruiting him hard, but Sands said that Maryland is the favorite. It’s still very early, and Jalen Tabor reminded us that just about anything can happen these days.
• 2015 Gonzaga CB Marcus Lewis informed Jared Shanker from ESPN that Ohio State is the favorite, followed by the University of Florida. Lewis informed me two weeks ago that when he looks to trim his list to ten, Maryland will “definitely” make the cut. Right now, Maryland has a lot of work to do, but Lewis has been on campus numerous times and is very familiar with the coaching staff. I’d say it is a safe bet for Maryland to be in Lewis’s current top five.
• 2015 St. John’s DE Eric Assoua said that Rutgers is the favorite because “they show the most love” while also crediting their nice jerseys. Assoua added that Maryland is one of the schools he loves the most, but also credited Penn State for their dedicated fans and the hire of James Franklin. Assoua is looking to commit at the end of summer.
• 2015 Glenelg G David Robbins has a very busy schedule. Between March 20-24, Robbins will be visiting Alabama, Auburn, and Florida State and Ohio State on March 29. Despite receiving attention from the top schools in the country, Robbins said he’s still talking to the coaches at Maryland “almost every day.” Robbins had previously told me his visit on Junior Day went very well.
• 2015 Milburn Sr. TE/DE Jake Pickard will be visiting Rutgers this Saturday, Penn State on either the 22^nd or 29^th and again on April 12^th with a visit to Purdue in the coming weeks not yet finalized. Pickard is a guy that was asked to do a lot and play different positions during his junior season. Expect him to get more attention as the summer and his season progress.
• Maryland’s 247 Timeline stated that 3-star guard Tommy Hatton and 4-star TE Chris Clark were both on Maryland’s campus today for an unofficial visit.

New Offers

• Wake Forest has offered 3-star ATH Dontae Strickland
• Miami (FL) has offered 4-star Gilman QB Kai Locksley
• Maryland, Minnesota, Notre Dame and Tennessee have offered 4-star ILB Josh Barajas
• Michigan State has offered 4-star OT Grant Newsome
• Washington State has offered 4-star OT Matthew Burrell
• Cincinnati has offered 3-star TE Jake Pickard
• Texas A&M has offered 5-star DT Tim Settle
• UNC has offered 3-star CB Kareem Ali
• Kentucky, Notre Dame and Texas A&M have offered 4-star DT Adam McLean
• FAU and FIU have offered 3-star RB Rashad Blunt
• Tennessee has offered 4-star OG/OT Richie Petitbon
• Arizona, Kentucky, and Virginia Tech have offered 4-star TE Chris Clark
• Boston College has offered 4-star OG Quarvez Boulware
• Maryland and West Virginia have offered 4-star RB Ray-Ray McCloud III
• Purdue has offered 4-star safety Jay Stocker
• Florida State and Maryland have offered 4-star OT William Sweet