Maryland Football: Anthony McFarland pushes back commitment date

Anthony McFarland is one of the biggest fish left on the board in the 2017 class.

McFarland was supposed to announce his college choice on Wednesday. Instead, he’s pushing back his decision and is taking more time to think it over.

The star running back didn’t offer a new commitment date, but it should be noted that National Signing Day is exactly one week away.

McFarland is deciding between Maryland and Miami (Fla.). Alabama was in the fold, but McFarland is now just deciding between the ACC and Big Ten schools.

According to 247Sports, McFarland is rated as the No. 100 player in their composite rankings. He’s also ranked as the second-best player in the state of Maryland and the third-best all-purpose back in the country.

The four-star running back took an official visit to College Park back on Dec. 3, but has visited several times in recent months. His senior season with the Stags was completely wiped out due to a broken fibula that he suffered last summer.

Over his sophomore and junior seasons, McFarland rushed for 1,651 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s also caught 40 passes for 698 yards and eight touchdowns.

Despite the injury, McFarland was an Under Armour All-American, but obviously didn’t played in the game earlier this month. It was there that the Terrapins received a huge commitment from Bridgeton (NJ) athlete Markquese Bell.

Maryland has been in the mix for McFarland’s services for a long time.

The fact that the DeMatha star is pushing back his commitment date is good news for Maryland. Miami is the favorite and has 84 percent of the Crystal Ball predictions on 247Sports, but McFarland is clearly struggling with the decision.

The Terps certainly aren’t hurting at tailback with Lorenzo Harrison and Ty Johnson in the fold together for the next two seasons. Harrison has three years of eligibility remaining with the program.

As it currently stands, Maryland has the No. 18 class in the country and the fourth-best class in the Big Ten. 247Sports also rates seven of the Terps’ commits as four-star prospects.

Bell and Deon Jones are already enrolled at Maryland and arrived on campus earlier this week.

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McFarland is an absolute gem at the running back position and getting a player of his caliber would be huge for D.J. Durkin’s program. If Durkin is somehow able to land McFarland, expect Maryland to see a solid bump in the recruiting rankings.