Morgan State coach Donald Hill-Eley has a little bit of everything in the Bears' 2010 recruiting class.

The 23-man class includes one quarterback, one running back, one athlete, one safety, two defensive linemen, four wide receivers, five linebackers and eight offensive linemen. There are five players from Maryland and seven players from Florida. It's a diverse mix of youth and experience that gives Hill-Eley great hope for the Bears' future.

Overall, how well do you feel this class addresses your needs?

Hill-Eley: “Well, our goal was going out in recruiting and wanting to get the team bigger. A lot of the conference really expanded and outsized us. We wanted to get bigger on the O-line and D-line. So it was just good to get some 6-3, 6-5, 6-6 players into the program. We also tried to make sure we kept up our speed ... and things of that nature. I think we pretty much answered those questions with our recruiting.”

Continue reading "Q&A with Morgan coach Donald Hill-Eley" »

Posted by Matt Bracken at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Disappointing news for local high school basketball fans today.

Corrigan Sports Enterprises announced that the Charm City Challenge all-star event has been canceled.

Lee Corrigan, President of CSE, said, “In this current economic climate it’s been difficult to find a sponsor who could step up to the line and fund the event this year. It’s sad because this game served as the biggest platform for Baltimore’s elite to showcase their talent against the top U.S. All-Stars. Ultimately the kids have lost the most from this situation.”

The game, which has been held in late April at the Towson Center, pits a team of Baltimore all-stars against a U.S. squad. There was also a City vs. County game.

“Hopefully we can resurrect this game a year from now. We’ll do everything we can to revive it because we feel the Charm City Challenge has become a part of the fabric of Baltimore basketball,” Corrigan concluded.

Posted by Matt Bracken at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

The weekend blizzard prevented at least one Terps target from seeing Maryland's 92-71 win over North Carolina live at Comcast Center.

Seton Hall Prep junior point guard Sterling Gibbs wasn’t able to trip to Maryland for Sunday’s North Carolina game because of the snowstorm. He also had a mandatory practice Sunday.

• MaxPreps.com reports that five-star power forward C.J. Leslie might have a favorite.

C.J. Leslie, also a 6-8 combo forward, scored 16 points in a 60-57 win for Word of God (Raleigh, N.C.) in its win over Ravenscroft. Leslie drew Kentucky head coach John Calipari and the Wildcats’ are believed to be the favorite to land him. Wildcat freshman phenom John Wall was Leslie’s teammate at Word of God last season.

Continue reading "Weekend wrap — Gibbs misses out" »

Posted by Matt Bracken at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

The chances of four-star shooting guard Terrence Ross ending up at Maryland likely moved from slim to none this week.

The Washington Post's Steve Yanda reported Tuesday that the former Terps commitment had left Montrose Christian.

"I’m not going to talk about it other than to say that Terrence has withdrawn from Montrose," [Mustangs coach Stu] Vetter said. "It was a parental decision, and we wish him well."

Now it appears that Ross, a Portland, Ore., native, is headed back west. Yanda reported Thursday that Ross' destination will likely be Westwind Academy in Phoenix.

Assuming Ross does, in fact, end up at Westwind Academy, he will be coached by Gary Trousdale on a team that currently is 24-2. Among Trousdale's former coaching stops, he once was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Portland. A call to Trousdale's listed work number at Westwind Academy on Thursday was not immediately returned.

Vetter told Recruiting Report in December that the Terps were "still very much in the picture" to land Ross. His transfer from Montrose Christian, however, has likely closed the door on that possibility.

Continue reading "Weekly recruiting roundup" »

Posted by Matt Bracken at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Weekly recruiting roundup
        

Check out a recap of Thursday's chat below. I talked Terps football recruiting, local high school commitments and more.

Posted by Matt Bracken at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen was in good spirits Wednesday as he unveiled the Terps' 2010 recruiting class during a news conference at the Gossett Football Team House.

Friedgen spoke at length about a class filled with "athleticism and character," and a group rated 37th in the country by Rivals.com. Check out our staff story on Maryland's Signing Day event here.

• Even though Maryland lost Chris Turner to graduation, the Terps could have their deepest group of quarterbacks in two decades. Tyler Smith and Devin Burns will be true freshmen, Danny O’Brien and C.J. Brown will be redshirt freshmen, and Jamarr Robinson and Miami (OH) transfer Clay Belton are both juniors. The Terps haven’t had such good depth at the position since the days of Boomer Esiason, Frank Reich, Stan Gelbaugh and Scott Zolak, Friedgen said. Robinson is the early frontrunner after some promising moments late last season. The opportunity for Robinson to play as a sophomore was “a blessing in disguise.” Belton, meanwhile, was Maryland’s offensive scout team player of the year. “I’ve been really pleased with Clay Belton,” Friedgen said.

• In Friedgen’s opinion, the strongest part of Maryland’s team just got a little bit better. The Terps signed three highly touted linebackers — David Mackall, Lorne Goree, Javarie Johnson — that will join an already deep group that returns Alex Wujciak, Demetrius Hartsfield, Adrian Moten, Darin Drakeford and Avery Murray, among others. Thanks to post-grad seasons at Fork Union, Goree and Mackall are “more like sophomores coming in than true freshmen," Friedgen said.

Continue reading "Notes from Friedgen's news conference" »

Posted by Matt Bracken at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

City wide receiver Adrian Coxson decided where he wanted to play college football about a week ago, but didn’t reveal his decision until Signing Day during a ceremony at his high school.

“He wanted to surprise his mother,” said City coach George Petrides. “We had a sign [for the school] up and he turned it over. He didn’t want anyone to know until [it was official]. Then he pulled a Florida hat out of the bag and put it on. That’s the only hat he had.”

Coxson selected the Gators over Georgia and Notre Dame, and successfully surprised his mother in the process.

“She just smiled a lot, knowing her son is going to a good school and [having] the opportunity to do what I like to do best,” Coxson said.

Continue reading "City's Adrian Coxson signs with Florida" »

Posted by Matt Bracken at 1:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Local recruiting
        

Maryland's 21-man recruiting class is officially in the books.

According to UMTerps.com's Signing Day Central, letters of intent have arrived at Maryland's football office for all 17 commitments. Four players -- Devin Burns, L.A. Goree, Javarie Johnson and David Mackall -- have already enrolled in classes, giving Maryland a drama-free Signing Day.

“I know there’s a couple big names that got away, but I think Maryland got some good football players and good students,” said Kyle Schmitt, Terps safety recruit Matt Robinson’s coach at Atholton. “I know the knock on them is missing big in-state guys, but I thought they did a nice job establishing themselves with pretty good football players after a tough season. For them to finish in the national rankings, it kind of shows the work they put in to find good football players.”

Continue reading "Letters of intent all in for Terps" »

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Edmondson quarterback Jerry Lovelocke will play his college football in Texas.

The 6-foot-5, 215-pound senior will sign with Prairie View A&M, Red Storm coach Dante Jones said today.

“It was within the last couple days,” Jones said. “After he took the visit, Prairie View was the highest on his list. Jerry wanted to get away from home. He went on the visit and they play a good brand of football. They won the [Southwestern Athletic Conference] last year. So a lot of things weighed into his decision.”

Continue reading "Edmondson QB Lovelocke headed south" »

Posted by Matt Bracken at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local recruiting
        

I didn't get to use nearly enough quotes from Scout.com recruiting analyst Matt Alkire in Monday's story about Maryland's 2010 football class. Here's the rest of what Alkire had to say about the Terps.

On whether this was a good class considering Maryland’s 2009 season: “Oh, definitely. You go 2-10, you have to be a very strong program in terms of tradition to be a top pick in terms of recruiting. You really have to recruit the heck out of your state. Maryland is a solid state, but not a hotbed of talent. I guess the crazy thing to me is that the better players Maryland recruits actually weren’t from Maryland. I was surprised they had this good of a class. Their best players, sans a Javarie Johnson, obviously, are not from the Maryland-D.C. area. I think a lot of kids are drawn to Maryland just with it being a strong ACC program. Obviously, they’re typically not a 2-10 team. After a couple years of 2-10, that’s going to be a problem. So right now, I wasnt really surprised, but if that continues, I would be very surprised if they can keep that up.”

Continue reading "Terps' 2010 class: More from Matt Alkire" »

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This is part of a series of 2010 Maryland football commitment Q&As leading up to Signing Day on Feb. 3. All answers are provided by the featured player.

Name: Jeremiah Johnson
Birthdate: Aug. 28, 1992
Birthplace: Washington D.C.
Hometown: District Heights
Nickname: JJ
Height: 5'11 1/2
Weight: 157
Position: Cornerback

Continue reading "Meet Jeremiah Johnson" »

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Categories: Meet the recruit
        

The decision is in for Brandon Coleman

The four-star wide receiver from Bishop McNamara committed to Rutgers on Tuesday.

Coleman also held offers from Boston College, Maryland, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

Maryland was the runner-up school in Coleman’s recruitment.

"I [decided] over the weekend and talked it over with my family the last couple days and i just knew Rutgers was the place," Coleman said. "I just went with my gut feeling. We did all the pros and cons and everything was pretty much even. I went where I felt more comfortable."

Continue reading "Updates on Terps targets heading elsewhere" »

Posted by Matt Bracken at 9:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

One man's opinion on the potential of Maryland's 2010 football commitments. Post your takes below.

Most wanted: Given to the most heavily recruited Maryland commitments.

OFFENSE

Max Garcia — Norcross (Ga.), offensive lineman

One year after pulling Norcross (Ga.) running back D.J. Adams out of the south, the Terps struck gold again at the suburban Atlanta school by picking up a pledge from Garcia. Florida State, Michigan State, North Carolina State, South Carolina and Wake Forest all reportedly offered, but Maryland, Clemson and Vanderbilt eventually emerged as Garcia's final three. Tigers tight ends coach Danny Pearman, a former Maryland assistant, gave Garcia the hard sell, but the 6-foot-5, 280-pound offensive tackle couldn't pass up the opportunity to reunite with Adams and major in broadcast journalism at Maryland.

DEFENSE

Javarie Johnson — Dunbar (D.C.), linebacker

It was always going to be a challenge for Maryland to land Johnson, Washington's top-ranked player according to Rivals.com. The Terps were seriously in the mix from the beginning, but Johnson also claimed offers from Florida, Illinois, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, among others. Johnson committed to the Hurricanes last summer, but pulled a stunner last month when he switched his commitment to Maryland and enrolled in classes. An early start for Johnson -- one of UM's top-ranked pledges -- will most likely lead to immediate playing time.

Continue reading "Superlatives for the Terps' class of 2010" »

Posted by Matt Bracken at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

Most of the quotes I got from Rivals.com recruiting analyst Mike Farrell were used in Monday's story on Maryland's 2010 football recruiting class. Here a couple more thoughts from Farrell.

Continue reading "Terps' 2010 class: More from Mike Farrell" »

Posted by Matt Bracken at 9:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Here are some leftover quotes from CBS College Sports Network recruiting expert Tom Lemming, who spoke to Recruiting Report at length about Maryland's 2010 class.

On his first impressions of Maryland’s 2010 class: “I think they have a pretty good class they’re putting together with a lot of good athletes and a lot of good defensive players in the class. I think it's one of the better defensive classes in the ACC. If they can get a couple more guys, like [DeMatha offensive tackle] Arie Kouandjio and [Bishop McNamara wide receiver] Brandon Coleman, then it could improve the class even more.”

Continue reading "Terps' 2010 class: More from Tom Lemming" »

Posted by Matt Bracken at 5:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Conventional wisdom says a 2-10 football team would be unlikely to assemble anything but a poor recruiting class.

In the case of Maryland’s 2010 class, however, conventional wisdom doesn’t apply. The Terps are poised to sign a Top 40 class Wednesday, an improbable feat for a program that struggled so greatly on the field last season and had so much uncertainty off it.

“When you look at the circumstances, they did a very good job,” said Tom Lemming, CBS College Sports Network’s recruiting expert. “No one expected them to have a Top 40 class, but they will. I think that’s a testament to the stick-to-itiveness of [the Terps’ staff in] recruiting, even in the bad times. You have to keep pounding away and it worked.”

The Terps’ last-place ACC finish in 2009 made recruiting challenging enough. The late-season uncertainty over whether Ralph Friedgen and his staff would be brought back for another year added another degree of difficulty to Maryland’s task. But despite those factors working against the Terps, the UM staff was able to compile a class that ranks ahead of nearly half of their in-conference rivals.

“For them to finish in the middle of the ACC [in recruiting] after coming off a year like that and almost losing all their coaches [is impressive],” said Rivals.com recruiting analyst Mike Farrell. “They’re ahead of teams like Georgia Tech, Boston College and Wake Forest, who have all gone to pretty good bowl games in the last few years. So that’s a good job that they’ve done.”

Continue reading "Analysts weigh in on Terps' 2010 class" »

Posted by Matt Bracken at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

Hollywood Hills (Fla.) coach Scott Barnwell cruised down U.S. 27 last July with football at the forefront of his mind and four of his top linemen along for the ride.

The coach and his players -- which included Maryland defensive end commitment Clarence Murphy -- had just completed a lineman camp at the University of South Florida and were headed back home. On a particularly rural stretch of the highway near Lake Okeechobee, however, Barnwell was forced to make an unscheduled stop.

“We had an incident where a car overturned in a canal,” Barnwell said. “[Murphy] was with me and helped me rescue a baby and two people trapped in the car. There was a 2-year old in the car seat. The door had broken through and the car seat became wedged. On the other side, there was a lady unconscious in the water. It was kind of a nightmare -- I can’t even tell you. But [Murphy] completely ripped the car door right off that was trapped. I don’t know how he did it, but he did it. It’s a wonderful thing that he did. That’s the kind of kid [Maryland is] getting in the program.”

On the field, Maryland is getting a player who recorded 75 tackles and 12 sacks as a senior, helping the Spartans to a 6-4 record and a berth in the Florida state playoffs. Barnwell witnessed significant progress in Murphy’s game over three varsity seasons.

Continue reading "Season recap: Clarence Murphy" »

Posted by Matt Bracken at 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Season recaps
        

This is part of a series of 2010 Maryland football commitment Q&As leading up to Signing Day on Feb. 3. All answers are provided by the featured player.

Name: Desmond Kearse
Birthdate: Feb. 7, 1992
Birthplace: Fort Myers, Fla.
Hometown: Fort Myers, Fla.
Height: 6'2
Weight: 181
Position: Strong safety

Continue reading "Meet Desmond Kearse" »

Posted by Matt Bracken at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Meet the recruit
        

Terps small forward signee Mychal Parker led the Miller School (Va.) to a 66-54 win over Covenant on Thursday.

The third quarter indeed proved to be a long one for the Eagles. Parker took over for Miller in the period, knocking down two deep 3-pointers and gliding to the rim for a one-handed slam while pouring in eight of his team-high 18 points in the frame.

• According to ESPN.com, Gary Williams has checked out Montverde (Fla.) Academy forward Haukur Palsson, a 6-foot-6 senior from Iceland.

[Montverde coach Kevin] Sutton said Maryland coach Gary Williams stopped by practice Wednesday afternoon, and there have been other offers from Central Florida, South Florida, Vanderbilt and Harvard. Palsson, an honors student, is considering top-flight academic schools but says his long-term goal is to play professionally.

Continue reading "Weekly recruiting roundup" »

Posted by Matt Bracken at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Weekly recruiting roundup
        

This is part of a series of 2010 Maryland football commitment Q&As leading up to Signing Day on Feb. 3. All answers are provided by the featured player.

Name: Jake Wheeler
Birthdate: Jan. 8, 1992
Birthplace: Hollywood, Fla.
Hometown: Hollywood, Fla.
Nickname: Big Wheels
Height: 6’8 ½
Weight: 250
Position: Offensive tackle or tight end

Continue reading "Meet Jake Wheeler" »

Posted by Matt Bracken at 2:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Meet the recruit