Tyrek Tisdale signs with Maryland

Oak Ridge (Fla.) three-star athlete Tyrek Tisdale committed to Maryland on National Signing Day Feb. 3, giving the Terps another dynamic playmaker from Florida to help rebuild their program.

Tisdale decommitted from Florida back in October and was being heavily recruited by Maryland’s defensive coordinator Scott Shafer while he was still the head coach at Syracuse.

Shafer and Tisdale’s relationship carried over once Shafer came to College Park and the Terps have been in the driver’s seat for the 6-foot, 198-pound prospect since.

Tisdale, who previously told TSR that he and his family felt he originally committed to Florida a little bit too early, took official visits to UMass Jan. 22 and Maryland Jan. 29. His trip to College Park also happened to coincide with a vacation to Washington, D.C., that his family already had planned.

Good academics and a strong overall football community were what Tisdale said he was hoping to find on his official visit to Maryland, and it appears he found what he was looking for.

It remains to be seen which side of the ball Tisdale will play on in College Park, but he has said in the past that he’s comfortable playing both offense and defense and is confident he can become an All-American slot receiver or safety.

"It's between either slot [receiver] or safety," Tisdale told TSR after receiving his Maryland offer. "But each position I play, I feel like I can be an All-American at that position. That's just how my mind is set up; I'm going to be an All-American at whichever spot I play. So whatever helps the team win games and helps my NFL stock go up. So it doesn't matter where I play; I'm listed as an athlete for a reason."

And athletes are exactly what Tisdale said Shafer told him the Terps are looking for in order to help rebuild the Maryland football program.

"[Shafer] said that they need athletes on the team and that they want to turn the program around and win the Big Ten championship," Tisdale said. "They just want to see things go to higher peaks and for things to improve for the program."

Tisdale is now the seventh player from the Sunshine State to commit to Maryland’s 2016 recruiting class.