Maryland football head coach Mike Locksley is expected to add a pair of assistants to his staff on the defensive side of the ball in former Florida Atlantic inside linebackers coach Lance Thompson and former Louisiana safeties coach Wes Neighbors. The news was first reported by FootballScoop.com.

Thompson, who has been at FAU since 2019, brings a championship pedigree while also being known as an elite recruiter over the years.

A graduate of The Citadel, Thompson was a member of national championship staffs at Alabama (2012), Georgia Tech (1990) and LSU (2003). He was also a member of four SEC championship coaching staffs and two ACC championship staffs. His coaching stops in the SEC include South Carolina, Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee and LSU.

Thompson was named Rivals National Recruiter of the Year in 2008 while at Alabama and was again named the No. 1 recruiter in the nation by ESPN in 2014, also while coaching the Crimson Tide. Among the the players Thompson has recruited over the years are former NFL Pro Bowlers Julio Jones and LaRon Landry.

Thompson is expected to continue coaching linebackers at Maryland.

Neighbors most recently served as current Florida head coach Billy Napier's safeties coach last season at Louisiana. In his lone season with The Ragin' Cajuns, they finished 12-1, ranked No. 16 in the final AP poll with a pass defense that ranked tied for 13th nationally with Georgia, giving up just 190.1 passing yards per game.

Prior to Louisiana, Neighbors had stints at South Florida, Florida Atlantic and Alabama, where he both played and coached.

A 2011 graduate of Alabama, Neighbors was a safety and a member of special teams units for the Crimson Tide from 2008-11. He played on two national championship teams, winning BCS titles in 2009 and 2011.

Neighbors is expected to coach the Terps' safeties, replacing former defensive coordinator Brian Stewart, who is no longer with the program after just one season at Maryland during his most recent stint at the school.

Locksley was originally expected to hire longtime Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele for the same position at Maryland, but after arriving on campus, meeting with recruits and even having his nameplate placed next to the entrance of his office, Steele spurned the Terps and signed on to become new Miami head coach Mario Cristobal's defensive coordinator. With Steele now at Miami, Locksley is expected to promote co-defensive coordinator Brian Williams as the primary defensive play caller.