Maryland back on top for Fla. three-star TE Brett Seither

Changing head coaches can shake up a program’s recruiting priorities in college football, but after recently naming Mike Locksley as head coach there are certain Maryland targets who the Terps plan to remain in hot pursuit of. One of the first to be prioritized is Central Catholic (Clearwater, Fla.) 2019 three-star tight end Brett Seither, who received an in-home visit Dec. 13 from Terps director of player personnel, Dave Mencarini.

“[Mencarini] just reiterated to me that they’re still going to be going after me,” Seither told TSR. “They don’t really have a lot of guys on staff right now. He said there’s four that they know of now on the new staff. Coach Locksley sent him down to come meet with me and they said I was the first guy that they’ve been out to see so I guess that means kind of something. And me and Coach Mac have a really good relationship going since the first staff. It kind of sucks that they’re gone because I built a relationship with them and don’t have that anymore but it’s good to have Coach Mac there to kind of bridge that relationship to the new staff.

“As far as them recruiting me, they just reiterated to me how Coach Locksley felt about me and really tried to make me feel good about the University of Maryland again. They told me not much is going to change besides faces and people--same university, same football. Not much is going to change and if anything it’s just going to get a little bit better, so I’m excited about that. I’m very excited about Coach Locksley and the people he’s bringing in so it should be good.”

During his in-home visit from Maryland, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Seither learned more about the Terps’ new lead man and even had a chance to speak with one of the coaches Locksley is considering bringing on to his staff, Butch Jones, who spent the last year with Locksley on Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama.

“I’ve read about [Locksley] and stuff,” Seither said. “I read about him coaching at New Mexico State and stuff so I know he’s been through some things, but everyone has and you learn from that. Coach Mac brought a whole thing down about him and his bio and what all he’s been through, so that was good for my parents to see and stuff. And then later that night I FaceTimed with coach Locksley and Coach Butch Jones was there too. I know he’s not officially announced on the staff yet but that’s cool to talk to him because he might be coming in as a tight ends coach, so it’s great stuff.”

After potentially falling by the wayside when DJ Durkin was let go as Maryland’s head coach, the Terps seem to be fully back on track with the Sunshine State prospect. So much so that Seither is comfortable naming Maryland as one of his top schools and planning an official visit to College Park for Jan. 24-25.

“I’d say my solid top three right now are Michigan State, TCU and Maryland,” Seither said. “And I’m going to add another two in there for the other two official visits. I haven’t narrowed it down yet but I’d say there’s about five or six schools and two of them are going to get those visits. I’m not sure yet. I locked in [Thursday] night with Coach Mac my official visit for Maryland, so that’s off the board now and I’ve already taken one to Michigan State and TCU so I have two left now.”

Seither said Texas Tech, Rutgers, Syracuse, UCF, Pitt, Florida Atlantic, Minnesota, and Miami are all being considered for his final two official visits. He added that he is waiting to see where Miami is with the tight end position after the early signing period before making his final decision on those visits.

Initially thought of as a recruit that would possibly sign early, it now appears Seither plans to wait until the February deadline.

“I planned on signing in the early signing period initially but then we went into the state semifinals and didn’t finish until early December so I just didn’t have the time for visits and I didn’t really want to get out,” Seither said. “I wanted some time to relax after the season and I feel like I’ve put myself in a good position so far with recruiting where coaches are going after me and everyone said they’re going to wait and take it down to the wire with me, so I’m pretty comfortable with that and I feel like I have options and won’t get locked out of anything.”

The Terps are in a good spot with their top 2019 tight end target and have the advantage of familiarity with Seither. Having grown up in Cecil County in Maryland, Seither is no stranger to the Maryland football program and was even on the brink of committing earlier this season.

“I actually lived in Maryland up until the start of my junior year, Seither said. “No family up there anymore but all my friends are up there and I’ve been to Maryland about three times throughout the whole process so I’m really familiar with the campus and facilities and everything. To be honest with you, I was a couple of weeks away from committing before the whole thing went down with Coach Durkin and Jordan McNair and all of that.”

Seither admitted that his ties to the state of Maryland are certainly playing a role in his outlook on the Terps. After all, he does consider Maryland to be his dream school. But now Seither is even more intrigued by College Park because of the recent coaching changes and the direction the program appears to be heading.

“Just growing up Maryland has always been my dream school,” Seither said. “I’m in love with the campus and everything around the area, so that’s just big, especially with having such a big offensive mind like Coach Locksley coming in as head coach. I’m really excited about it and looking forward to see where it goes.”