Fla. safety Lukas Foreman on Terps commitment
Two springs ago Don Brown made his yearly recruiting rounds in Florida as Maryland's newly hired defensive coordinator.
Naples (Fla.) High was one of Brown’s regular stops during his time as Massachusetts’ head coach, so he booked another trip to check out Bill Kramer’s program in 2009.
Lukas Foreman, meanwhile, was a lanky linebacker who saw action for Kramer’s Golden Eagles as a sophomore. Brown saw enough potential in Foreman during that visit to offer the 10th-grader a scholarship.
“I was freaking out,” Foreman said Wednesday. “It’s always been a dream of mine to play college football. [The opportunity] just happened as a sophomore.”
While the excitement over Foreman’s first scholarship offer lingered, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound linebacker decided to take his time with the recruiting process. A three-star prospect according to Rivals.com, Foreman eventually landed offers from Cincinnati, Kansas, Middle Tennessee State and West Virginia. But earlier this week, Foreman decided to go with the program that offered him first.
“He committed [to Maryland Tuesday] night at home,” Kramer said. “Don Brown was in [Tuesday]. He did a really good job recruiting him. I’ve had a good relationship with Don Brown for a long time. I sent kids to UMass when he was there and felt really good about Lukas going to Maryland.”
Foreman said the Terps were always on his mind as he progressed through high school, though he did give serious consideration to his other suitors. Maryland’s academics, Foreman said, were ultimately what put the Terps ahead of the competition. He also enjoyed his official visit to College Park for the Terps’ Oct. 2 win over Duke.
“The atmosphere was crazy because they hate Duke,” Foreman said. “It was fun. They brought me in, met all the coaches, had a pre-game meal with all the players, went to the game and then I was hanging out with my host that night. It was fun. And after that, I got to talk to Coach [Ralph] Friedgen for a little bit.”
A star hurdler and workout warrior, Foreman will be shifted from linebacker in high school to safety in college. Kramer said he thinks Foreman has an ideal frame for the position at the collegiate level.
“Well certainly he has tremendous length and has all the stuff you want physically. His genetics are really good,” Kramer said. “He can run really well and has exceptional hips. He hits guys and they go in the other direction all the time. … Certainly he can get more strength and speed, but he’s worked really hard on all of that.”
Kramer said he knew Foreman was a “no-brainer” Division I prospect from the moment he met him. Brown and the rest of the Maryland coaching staff, evidently, agreed. Next fall in College Park, it’ll be up to Foreman to prove them right.
“I don’t really know what they expect from me,” Foreman said, “but I’m going to go up there and continue to do what I do. And that’s just hit people and be an athlete.”
