Just days before taking an official visit to College Park, River Hill (Clarksville, Md.) 2020 three-star safety Beau Brade decided he had seen and heard enough about the Terps and committed to Maryland June 13.

Despite also holding offers from programs such as Michigan, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Wake Forest, West Virginia, and Virginia Tech, the 6-foot,190-pound defensive back became the fifth DMV prospect in his class to pledge to his hometown school.

“I realized Maryland was the best place to be for me because it’s close to home and I feel like Maryland football is going to prove to a lot of people that we’ve got a lot of talent,” Brade told TSR.

Brade’s commitment came as a bit of a surprise, as it’s not everyday a recruit commits on the eve of an official visit. But it was welcomed news by the Maryland coaching staff.

“I told coach (Michael) Locksley and Coach (Brian) Williams and they were both pretty speechless because they didn’t see it coming,” Brade said. “They were very excited though and said that I will help their program get to where they are trying to go.”

Brade added that seeing how the Maryland football community, including the players themselves, has rallied behind the hiring of Michael Locksley as the Terps head coach played a large role in his decision to take his talents to College Park.

“The way that the assistant coaches and players talk about Coach Locksley was huge,” Brade said. “A couple weeks after he got there people were incredibly high on him which spoke to me.”

Terps outside linebackers coach Brian Williams and Locksley did a great job of building a strong relationship with Brade throughout his recruitment, but Maryland’s safeties coach and defensive coordinator, Jon Hoke, was also instrumental in keeping the local product at home.

“It was big,” Brade said of his bond with Hoke. “I’ve spent a lot of time with [Hoke] at Maryland and he has texted, called, and come by my school. I enjoy talking to him and can’t wait to learn from him too with all the experience he has.”

Now that he’s committed, Brade is looking forward to getting other DMV Terps recruiting targets on board with him stating, “I have to, there’s too much talent not to.”

But besides still getting to take an official visit to College Park this weekend, what Brade is most excited about on the coattails of his announcement is that he can now say emphatically that he’ll be representing his home state at the next level.

“It means a lot because I get to show others the talent that comes out of Maryland,” Brade said. “I’m looking forward to meeting and getting to know players both on Maryland and the recruits during my official visit.”

Brade joins DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) offensive lineman Jordan White, Oxon Hill (Potomac, Md.) wide receiver Corey Dyches, St. Frances (Baltimore, Md.) offensive tackle Ja'Khi Green and Flowers (Springdale, Md.) offensive tackle Santana Saunders as the current in-state commits for Maryland’s 2020 class.