Continuing to add talent across the defensive line in the 2021 class, Maryland head coach Michael Locksley landed another strong prospect from a local powerhouse Monday afternoon with a commitment from Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances three-star defensive end Terrance Butler.
Butler narrowed his recruitment down to six schools in mid-May but, ultimately, he chose the Terps over Florida International, Minnesota, Michigan State, Syracuse, and Tennessee.
“I chose Maryland because I believe in coach Locksley, I believe in coach Joker [Phillips], I believe in coach Brawley [Evans], and I believe in what they’ve got going on right now so I’m ready to hop on board and help them try to win a national championship,” Butler told TSR. “They showed me that they know how to coach in a way that will help develop me as a player and as a male in society today. They were really excited. As soon as I told them, it wasn’t even five minutes and we were all on a Zoom call together.”
Butler, who visited College Park in early March, shared that another key to his decision was the fact that Maryland was the only school in his top six that he had a chance to visit before the Coronavirus pandemic put a halt on recruiting trips.
“That was a big, huge factor in my decision because you’ve got to get a feel for where you’re going to spend four years of your life at,” Butler said. “You can’t just commit somewhere you don’t know and that you haven’t stepped foot on campus at. Once I found out that I wasn’t going to be able to visit colleges, that was another big thing right there.”
The 6-foot, 225-pound pass rusher joins a talented group of defensive linemen that are committed to Maryland’s 2021 class, a group that includes fellow local standouts such as four-stars Demeioun Robinson, Marcus Bradley, and Taizse Johnson.
“To be honest, I believe this defensive line class right here is going to make history,” Butler said. “We’re going to break some records, in my opinion. And this class right here is going to be documented in history one day.”
Butler becomes the third commit from the Baltimore powerhouse St. Frances, joining Joe Bearns and fellow three-star defensive end ZIonAngelo Shockley.
“It will be great because we’ll already be comfortable around each other. It’s going to be great because we already have that chemistry,” Butler said. “I love playing with my brothers already, and to see them at the next level with me, that will be 10 times better.”
With Butler, Shockley, the trio of four-stars, and recently committed three-star defensive end Tommy Akingbesote, Maryland now has six defensive line prospects that hail from the DMV in its 2021 class.
