Durkin excited about Terps early enrollees

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Eight members of Maryland’s 2017 recruiting class decided to get a head start on their college careers by enrolling in classes this winter in College Park. They will be eligible to participate in spring practices with the Terps.

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The early enrollees are three-star cornerback Fofie Bazzie, four-star safety Markquese Bell, three-star buck linebacker Bryce Brand, quarterback Ryan Brand, three-star offensive tackle Tyran Hunt, four-star cornerback Deon Jones, three-star linebacker Nick Underwood and three-star cornerback Alex Woods.

Ryan Brand (a preferred walk-on), Underwood and Woods are junior college transfers. Bell was a 2017 Under Armour All-American and was a two-time all-state selection for New Jersey. Jones was ranked as the top defensive back in the state of Maryland by Rivals.com and Bazzie was a 2016 First Team All-Met selection by The Washington Post.

Early enrollment isn’t something that college football head coaches can necessarily plan around during their recruiting cycles, but D.J. Durkin addressed the importance of the Terps’ early enrollees on National Signing Day and spoke of the mutual benefits created by getting some new players on campus in January.

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"We're not choosing who we're recruiting based on if they can be in early, but it's a huge benefit,” Durkin said. “If a guy is motivated, if him and his family want to do it, we are all in. We push it and try to help them the best we can. It's a tremendous benefit to them as well as our team. We don't push anyone though. If it's not something they want to do, we don't push it. I don't think it's something you really want to do to a guy that's not feeling it because you take him out of his senior year of high school.

“To all the guys that are in here, yeah, it's tremendous. They're all in here for winter workouts with us, they're enrolled in fifteen hours of classes, they're going to be in spring ball for fifteen practices. So when all the other freshmen come in this summer, these guys are in a class of their own. They're not a freshman, they're above that at this point.”

It’s easy to notice that Maryland’s group of early signees is defensive back-heavy. That bodes well for the Terps, who are in need of more talent and depth in the secondary with the departures of seniors Will Likely, Alvin Hill and Denzel Conyers.

The early jump that Bazzie, Bell, Jones and Woods are getting on the rest of their recruiting class could help them make an impact early in College Park and Durkin expressed his excitement about the defensive backs he and his staff have been able to bring in this year.

"Some of those guys are DBs and we need them,” Durkin said. “When you look at those DBs, one of the biggest things, at safety, corner, all the DBs, we have guys with length, we have guys that can run and change direction and go cover guys. What we want to do defensively is that--get up in guys face, play some press, play man to man and play aggressive. That's what we want to do and we brought in guys that can help us go do that."

Bell in particular could see the field right away because of his immense talent and Maryland’s need for someone to step up at safety. New Jersey has been kind to the Terps in the past when it comes to recruiting, and Bell is just the latest product from The Garden State who will be looking to make a name for himself in College Park.

"Jersey pumps out good players every year,” Durkin said. “They have great high school programs up there. It's in close proximity to us, so we'll always be up that way and trying to get as many guys as we can. We feel great about Markquese (Bell). He walks in the room and looks like a NFL safety. It's going to be for him learning the defense and getting caught on but he's going to have every opportunity to do that."

Terps fans are understandably excited about Maryland’s highly rated 2017 class, and once spring practices begin, the eight early enrollees will give them their first look at the talent Durkin and his staff have brought to College Park this year.