COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Maryland head coach Michael Locksley had about as good of a day as possible Dec. 18, flipping local five-star wide receiver Rakim Jarrett from LSU and picking up a later afternoon commitment from four-star running back Isaiah Jacobs, the younger brother of Oakland Raiders running back Josh Jacobs.

Locksley addressed the media Wednesday afternoon with the majority of the Terps' 2020 recruiting class signed, sealed and delivered. Watch him break down the Terps' class in the video player below or read the full transcription.

Opening Statement:

“The big thing with signing day is that our football family got a great deal stronger today through our hard work in recruiting. Philosophies help change programs, as do systems. What really moves the needle is people. 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. 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.

“Our staff, their wives and families did a tremendous job recruiting for us. This is an all hands on deck effort when it comes to recruiting. Our players, which serve as our best advocates, our administration, everyone played a hand in helping us put this class together. I can’t thank all of the people, the professors, that spent time with these recruits on campus for the job they did. It’s truly a national class. Anyone who knows me, knows that if we’re going to recruit here at theUniversity of Maryland, it’s going to start right here in the DMV. That won’t change. But what we’ve shown is that we have the ability to recruit nationally, and go wherever we need to go to get players to help us make this program great. We have four guys from the DMV that have signed already. I think we have seven guys from Florida, a couple from Texas, some from NewJersey. 11 different states make up this class. For me, it shows the power of what the University of Maryland is about.

“We have some highly talented skill position guys, but if you look at this class as a whole, the premium for us was getting in the trenches on the offensive and defensive line. We still have some scholarships left, so we’re going to continue to try to build the offensive line and defensive line. We feel really good about the kids that we’ve been able to bring in, and that’s a huge need for us, especially with depth. I’m excited about competition. This program is going to be all about competition and the way to get better is when you create competition at every position.

“Again, we’ve been able to add some really good players to a foundation of good players we have coming back. 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.”

On signing seven players from Florida:

“The big thing is we go where we have familiarity. I’ve spent a lot of time in the SEC. I’ve recruited in Florida for about as long as the DMV. We have coaches on our staff, Brian Williams[outside linebackers coach] who hails from the Miami area, Mike Miller [tight ends coach] from the Palm Beach area. We have some guys with familiar ties from down there. Our staff as a group did a tremendous job, whether it was co-recruiting with the position coach and recruiting coach of trying to meet the needs. If you look at the group of guys we have, I think we have about 13 state champions in this group. 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.”

On Rakim Jarrett:

“Rakim has made the recruiting process very unique. He’s a guy that throughout the process has been very consistent with who he is as a person. I’ve known him since he was in eighth grade. One of the unique things about him, 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.

“His process was all over the place from our standpoint because we didn't have information.Even the way he signed and committed today. We had no idea he was signing today. We had no idea that he was even coming us and then all of a sudden he puts out a tweet that said committed. And we were like, “what is this?” So he’s really unique. But, nothing happens by accident. Our staff, as a whole and collectively, did a really good job of being consistent with him, giving him enough space, and showing him the things that Maryland could do for his program.

“He's a kid that grew up watching and rooting for Stefon Diggs. I think the effect of seeing what Stefon was able to do here, played heavily in it. Again, he's another one of these local guys and there’s challenges that come with that. We have really good players in this area. We've got three of the top high schools in the country located right here. If a guy like Rakim Jarrett thinksMaryland is good enough to help him develop on and off the field, the challenge is for other guys to believe the same thing. It has shown with the type of character Rakim has.”

On talking to Jarrett:

“We've talked to him 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.”

On signing a five-star and the possible future effect:

“The five stars, for us, don't matter. I think it goes along the lines that peer pressure still runs recruiting. When players that respect Rakim Jarrett as a football player see him sign and come to a place like Maryland, I think it opens up eyes and doors that Maryland could possibly be thetype of program that has the ability to develop you. We've had back to back first round draft picks, from Darnell Savage a year ago to two years ago with DJ Moore. There's no doubt in my mind that when you sign a guy like Jarrett, very similar to when we signed Stefon Diggs andVernon Davis back in the day, it opens up some eyes that we hope to maybe benefit from.Because if a guy like him thinks our program is good enough, people that respect who he is as a player, it will maybe open up some of their eyes as well.”

On the approach to getting Jarrett:

“Well I think it starts with people. This is still a people driven business and when you go out and recruit you sell who you are. When you look at the investment that's been made in facilities around here, and the type of coaching staff that we've brought here to Maryland, these all play a major factor. When you talk about building resumes both on and off the field, because of our location, being in one of the best cities in the world, on tne of the most powerful cities in the world. These are all things that we sell, and fortunately for us we recruited smart, tough and reliable players that understand what it's all about. We've got a great academic institution that really supports our players and what is there not to like about Maryland?”

On the potential for incoming linemen to contribute immediately, especially with the JUCO signees:

“I think the big thing is that when you sign high school guys, especially on the O-line, it takes a little more time there, and that’s why you see us with a few more junior college prospects on both sides of the line. When you look at the junior college O-linemen, these are guys that we’re bringing in to have the opportunity to compete. One of the things that opens up doors is when you have opportunities. The thing we’re always going to do here is try to create the competition to where we’re going to recruit the best players we can possibly bring in, and every year guys have to compete at a high level to maintain their role with the team. 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. 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.”

On the addition of Jarrett and how that helps attract other high-level recruits:

“The recruiting cycle – from the day I got here – the 2021 class is kind of the one that we’ve really put a lot of emphasis on because that gives us two years of a recruiting cycle to where these kids know who we are, the stability of the program with the same head coach, the same assistant coaches for the most part, that’s what kids are looking for. The last few years, we’ve had three head coaches in five years, and we all have different recruiting philosophies, different structures and different systems that we operate in. Now, the big thing is that the stability is here now and we’ve got two years of recruiting guys and those relationships are the things that get you the players more than wins and losses, in my opinion. Obviously wins help, but relationships are the big piece.”

On what stood out from the players from Independence CC and if Hutchinson CC and if he’s ever seen them on the show “Last Chance U”:

“I have not watched Last Chance U... at least this year I haven’t. The thing that stood out is the characteristics we look for in terms of height, speed, size and then the characteristics that welook for by position when we evaluate them. Obviously all the guys from Independence andHutchinson 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.”

On if there was a different approach to recruiting this class of recruits and his evaluation of the cycle:

“We don’t necessarily take a different approach, I think when I talk about targeting the 2021class, it’s getting in on them early, getting them here to games, getting them on campus. The more often the guys get on campus, the better chance you have to recruit them to come here.With this class, we’ve had one year. The 2021 class we’ll have two years of doing that, which really gives them a good idea of who we are as a program, and what our values and principles are. You don’t change your philosophy. We have some really great unique things about theUniversity of Maryland that we sell, and so to me, the more and the longer you can do it, the more the messaging remains consistent, the easier the close is for us.”

On this being the first year a quarterback hasn’t been signed and if the team is exploring high school players or graduate transfers at the position:

“Yet... a little bit of both. We’re going to try to find the best players we can possibly find, whether it’s quarterback, D-line, O-line. We still have some work to do in recruiting with the transfer portal, graduate transfers, opportunities are there. We’ve got another month after this signing day to go out and see what’s out there, but we’re not going to be afraid to go recruit every position we possibly can to make us a better team overall.”On if signing high-level skill players like Jarrett is a draw to attract quarterbacks:“Well one thing I’ve learned in this business is that good players like to play with good players.Having guys like Rakim Jarrett, DeaJaun McDougle, and Nick DeGennaro – who is one of myfavorites of this class. We signed three really good receivers that we feel will improve that room.”

On the pillars of Smart, Tough, and Reliable and how he looks for those characteristics inevaluating who will play:

“Those are paramount to play and be a contributor for us. 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.”

On how helpful it is to have the recruits generate buzz on social media to attract other potential commits:

“It takes everybody to finish the process. Peer pressure still runs recruiting, and the more our commitments and the guys that really believe in the vision that we’ve set for the program sell it, I still believe our players are the best advocates we have. Our players did a tremendous job in this recruiting cycle – when kids were on campus – really doing a good job of ensuring top layers that what we say we do as coaches and as a program – that we actually do it. Third party validation is critical and our players have done a tremendous job again with our coaches, the wives, everybody selling the program and it’s really helped us.”

On what’s been different about getting recruits from non-traditional recruiting areas:

“I think the big thing is the relationship piece. When you look at our staff, we have guys that have recruited all of these areas. Cory Robinson has been up in the Detroit metro area along with Scottie Montgomery. A bunch of us... Joker Phillips, Scottie Montgomery, Brian Williams...have recruited that south Florida area. Texas... John Reagan has spent a great deal of his career in the state of Texas. We have really strong, meaningful relationships in these areas and we’ve been able to nurture them, keep them, and it’s really helped us to expand our net. If we can get to where we control the DMV, we probably don’t have to go out as far, but we’re a national brand and if these local guys don’t think our program is good enough, we’ll go find them somewhere else. I’m hoping they understand that you can come to Maryland, earn a strong degree, and have opportunities to go on to play at the next level. We’ve had a ton of players that have done it and I’m hoping that we can continue to take some ownership here in the DMV andget some of these top players to believe in the vision that we’ve said and I think that we can really become the program we all want us to be.”

On being able to recruit competitively in Big Ten country, specifically the recruitment of Peny Boone:

“With Peny, he’s the Detroit Metro player of the year... a big, strong, physical runner that has the ability to play in space, he catches the ball well, plays with a little chip on his shoulder and is really physical without the football. To be able to go into Detroit and get a guy like Peny Boone I think will enable us to go back there in years to come because he’s a guy – like Rakim Jarrett is here, how DeaJaun McDougle is in South Florida – that other guys know about and all of a sudden he’s going to a place like Maryland and having great success, that’s how you open the door. It’s great to get a guy like Peny Boone signed up.”