The Hampton Roads region in Virginia has increasingly become a Maryland football recruiting base. Few have followed high school football in the area closer than Bryan Black, the high school sports editor at The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va.

Black, The Pilot's high school sports editor since 2000, has been with the paper since 1981 and held a variety of positions -- including Norfolk city editor and Portsmouth city editor.

Black was kind enough to answer five questions via e-mail on Terps football recruiting in the Hampton Roads region.

1.) What are your impressions of Terps wide receiver commitment Kerry Boykins? How is he regarded among Hampton Roads football followers? What do you expect from him in college?

The first word that comes to mind when I think Kerry Boykins is hands. He has tremendous hands. I've been watching high school football in some form or fashion since the 1960s, and he has made some of the most unbelievable catches in high school football games that I've ever seen.

He had a one-handed grab in the end zone in his junior year that was every bit as good as the one you see replayed regularly on TV made by the Southern Cal receiver a few years back. He has good speed, but he's not a burner. The knee injury he battled this season slowed him down some, and I don't think he ever fully regained his speed by season's end.

In terms of sheer talent, he's probably one of the top receivers ever to come out of Hampton Roads. He didn't get some of the postseason accolades he might have otherwise because he missed about half of the regular season due to injury. At The Virginian-Pilot, we made him second-team All-Tidewater simply because we didn't feel it was fair to make him first team over some other kids who had great seasons.

In the regular season, because he missed so much time with the knee injury, he had just 19 catches for 272 yards and four touchdowns. He was first-team All-Tidewater as a junior. I think he's a great pickup for Maryland. I would expect him to have an outstanding career. If he's healthy, I think it's possible he could play as a true freshman. He certainly has the talent.

2.) How big was it for Maryland to get Boykins and fend off the instate schools and some other traditional powers?

Boykins was a nice get for Maryland. Virginia Tech would have loved to have had him. Virginia has not recruited well in-state recently, so I'm not sure if Virginia was ever much of a player for him. Maryland clearly has a good in at Oscar Smith, which is currently the most dominant program in South Hampton Roads. Maryland already has former Oscar Smith star lineman Brian Whitmore on its roster.

3.) What kind of player is Virginia Beach Green Run defensive end Joe Jones? Why did he slip under the radar? Do the Terps have a decent chance? Who's the favorite?

Jones is a heckuva player. He played defensive tackle at Green Run, and it was very easy for any player from Green Run to slip under all radars. Green Run came into this season having won just two total games in the past seven seasons. There was little reason this decade for college coaches to know Green Run even existed, even though that's where Plaxico Burress came out of years ago. But a new coach, Shawn Wilson, came in last spring and changed a lot at Green Run, and Green Run had a tremendous season in 2007, going 9-1 in the Beach District and making the playoffs. We've been hearing that Virginia Tech is the team to beat for him, but Virginia Tech already has a ton of commitments, so I have to believe if Maryland is putting in the recruiting time, Maryland has a chance. He's a high-motor guy and a very interesting prospect.

4.) Who are some big-time Hampton Roads prospects for 2009? Do any have Maryland interest? Are there any players the Terps are really going after?

It's a little early for us to know who Maryland is really going after. We'll have a better idea after the local combines in the spring. But these are some of the best Class of 2009 players in South Hampton Roads (South Hampton Roads includes Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Suffolk -- and excludes Hampton and Newport News -- we cover the South Hampton Roads schools -- we do not cover the schools on the Peninsula, i.e., the schools in Hampton and Newport News) ... These are listed in no real particular order.

• Logan Heastie, WR at Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake
• Kevin Newsome, QB at Western Branch High School in Chesapeake
• Mike Privott, LB at Lake Taylor High School in Norfolk
• Sterlin Phifer, RB at Landstown High School in Virginia Beach
• Tim Smith, WR/DB at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake
• Javanti Sparrow, DB at Western Branch High School in Chesapeake
• Perry Jones, LB at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake
• Jerod Askew, LB at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake
• Tavon Gatlin, DB at Green Run High School in Virginia Beach
• Telvion Clark, LB at Granby High School in Norfolk
• Drew Jarrett, K at Cox High School in Virginia Beach

5.) How is Maryland perceived in the Hampton Roads area and the rest of Virginia? Can the Terps be an out-of-state program that steals an occasional Va. player, or at least a viable alternative for non-Virginia Tech and Virginia kids?

There's so much talent in Hampton Roads that Maryland should be able to pick up a player or two every year if it so desires. Virginia Tech can only get so many guys. Virginia recruits Hampton Roads, but its recruiting interest seems more broad and more to the north. Virginia Tech recruits South Hampton Roads extremely hard and is almost impossible to beat for a kid whose heart is already set on going to Blacksburg. You simply are not going to change the mind of those kids.

NC State and UNC also try to pluck kids out of South Hampton Roads annually. So, although the competition is pretty stiff, Maryland certainly can get kids every year if that's what it wants to do. There's more than enough talent to go around. There are South Hampton Roads kids every year who are good enough to play major D1 football, but they don't get major D1 offers because it seems the coaches can't seem to get past that tippy-top tier. The depth of talent in South Hampton Roads is extraordinary. That's one reason Norfolk State is really coming on at the I-AA level. Norfolk State's coaching staff finally started snatching up all these kids who probably could play at the I-A level. It's also a reason Old Dominion likely won't have any trouble being very competitive at the I-AA level when it starts playing football in 2009. There's a lot of talent to go around.