COLLEGE PARK, Md. — After signing 23 new Terps to the 2020 class in the early period of his first full year at the helm in College Park, head coach Mike Locksley stood proudly at his press conference podium on National Signing Day Dec. 18 and declared that Maryland football “got a great deal stronger” thanks to the philosophies and hard work of all involved in the recruiting process.
The countless hours spent on the recruiting trail didn’t just help the Terps land nearly two dozen new players; it helped Locksley & Co. bring in who they believe are the right ones to move the needle for Maryland football.
“We can’t stress the importance enough of getting the right people in here to help us put this foundation together for us to have the success we want to have,” Locksley said. “I couldn’t be more thrilled with the type of kids we’ve recruited, with the premium of them being smart, tough and reliable. Those were the three characteristics that our staff wanted to evaluate these guys with.”
Locksley and his staff had specific holes in Maryland’s roster that had to be filled, and there’s a certain level of athlete needed to compete in the Big Ten, but above all else, the Terps’ lead man said bringing in talent that fit a certain mold of characteristics — smart, tough, and reliable — took priority when piecing together the 2020 class.
“Those are paramount to play and be a contributor for us,” Locksley said. “Smart players do things the right way on the field, tough players – mentally and physically – you’re always going to win with them, and reliable. If you look at the way we played this year, I would dare to say that we weren’t a team that consistently played smart, tough, and reliable. To me, when we go out and recruit, we put a premium on checking those three boxes with the guys we bring in, and with our current team, just continuing to reinforce it with the culture that we’re creating and developing so that we can be consistent playing smart, tough, and reliable.”
Intangibles such as the three pillars of Maryland’s recruiting checklist mentioned by Locksley are integral to building a program from the ground up like the Terps are attempting to do, but attrition in College Park has created a reality that also leaves a major need for big, experienced linemen on both sides of the ball that are able to come in and compete from Day 1.
Locksley went the junior college route to find players who have matured enough physically and mentally to help Maryland right away, signing five JUCO players last Wednesday, three of which will play in the trenches for the Terps — Mosiah Nasili-Kite, Viliami Finau, and Johari Branch — with the other two bringing their experience with them to the secondary and linebacking corps — Jakorian Bennett (DB) and T.J. Kautai (LB).
“The thing that stood out is the characteristics we look for in terms of height, speed, size and then the characteristics that we look for by position when we evaluate them,” Locksley said of his JUCO signees. “Obviously, all the guys from Independence (Community College) and Hutchinson (Community College) checked all the boxes for us. They’re older players. A couple of the guys have gone off on Mormon missions, so they’ve come back and they’re a little older, which gives us a little more maturity at the position. Up front on the O-line and D-line, the help that they bring, the fact that they’re a few years older than a high school player, usually that maturity helps you, especially up front.”
Not only will the Terps welcome a handful of signees with post-high school experience, they’ll also have the benefit of getting more than a third of their current signees on campus in January as early enrollees. The list of Maryland’s signed recruits expected to enrollee in January includes wide receiver Deajaun McDougle, cornerbacks Devyn King and Jakorian Bennett, safeties Beau Brade and Shane Mosley, offensive linemen Ja'Khi Green and Johari Branch, and linebackers Ruben Hyppolite and T.J. Kautai.
“Bringing in the junior college players on both sides maybe expedites the development stage a little quicker because they’ve got a couple years of experience, but I think the biggest factor for us will be the fact that eight of the signees will be mid-year enrollees, whether they are high school or junior college,” Locksley said. “To me, that’s the part I’m really excited about because these guys will be here for spring practice, for our winter workouts, and all the culture-building things that we need – and that more than anything helps in the development of players.”
Maryland’s 2020 class is full of players who physically and mentally fit what Locksley is looking for in College Park, but perhaps the common trait among the Terps’ recent signees that will mean the most when it’s all said and done is the winning culture many will be bringing with them to Maryland.
“If you look at the group of guys we have, I think we have about 13 state champions in this group,” Locksley said. “To me, when guys have the ability and love to win it becomes contagious. That’s what we went after. Guys who have the ability to be smart, tough and reliable, but also had some winning pedigree.”
That type of winning pedigree can also be found in the Terps’ top National Signing Day addition, Washington (D.C.) St. John’s College High five-star wide receiver Rakim Jarrett, who stunned most of the college football world when he flipped his commitment from LSU to Maryland in the 11th hour of his recruitment.
Jarrett has a history of joining a program when it’s down and helping it reach new heights. Locksley and Terps fans everywhere are hoping he can do the same for the flagship university of his home state.
“One of the unique things about [Jarrett], unless you know his story you wouldn’t understand,
but he was a kid that in eighth grade had a chance to go to some perennial, really powerful high
schools in the area, but he chose to go to St. John's before they became the St. John’s that
they are now. That showed me was that he’s a guy that believes in himself, that has some
natural leadership abilities and the type of guy that we want to build our program with,” Locksley said. “We've talked to [Jarrett] quite a bit over the last year. I think the big thing for him is he's a kid that loves challenges. He really enjoys doing things and building. Again, using the example of him going to St. John's over some other local schools that have had great success. It talks a lot about the character. I think the epitome of what this area represents, kind of a hard-working,
blue-collar area. He's not a follower by any means. You win with guys like him.”
Locksley is hoping to win with all of Maryland’s recent signees and put together quite an impressive class for a team that finished the season 3-9 overall and 1-8 in the Big Ten.
But bringing in an influx of talent to College Park with recruiting classes like the Terps have in 2020 is the first step toward rebuilding a program, and Locksley intends to stay the course despite a rough first season on the field.
“Again, we’ve been able to add some really good players to a foundation of good players we
have coming back,” Locksley said. “With that, that’s where my excitement starts. This is the type of the class we expect to be able to recruit here year-in and year-out. Hopefully, we’re able to show our fans and everyone who loves the Terps that we’re moving in the right direction.”
