Terps still targeting a few more recruits | Terpsfan6's Blog

written by Michael Rubin

Even though the Maryland Terrapin football team has 22 recruits who have verbally committed for 2009, head coach Ralph Friedgen still had his eyes set on bringing in a few others as well. Here is a breakdown of the players that have verbally committed to Maryland so far:

QB: 2 (C.J. Brown, Danny O’Brien)

RB: 2 (D.J. Adams, Caleb Porzel)

OL: 2 (Pete DeSouza, Ryan Schlieper)

DE: 2 (DeOnte Arnett, David MacKall)

DT: 2 (Cody Blue, Zack Kerr)

LB: 7 (Ryan Donohue, Darrin Drakeford, Lorne Goree, Bradley Johnson, Avery Murray, Isiah Ross, Marcus Whitfield)

DB: 3 (Eric Franklin, Avery Graham, Travis Hawkins)

ATH: 1 (Dave Stinebaugh)

K: 1 (Nick Ferrara)

According to Rivals.com’s star rating system, (5-stars being the best) the Terps currently have:

4-stars: 3

3-stars: 14

2-stars: 5

The Terps still have plenty of offers out on the table and we plan to give some insights on who those offers are to and provide updates as they happen.

At the running back position, the Terps are still targeting two high profile players. The first offer is to in-state, all-purpose running back Tavon Austin. Austin, 5′9″ 156lbs, is a product of Dunbar HS in Baltimore, Maryland. Austin holds offers from Boston College, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. It appears that Tavon has narrowed his list down to three schools, West Virginia, Michigan, and North Carolina. Austin is the 13th ranked all-purpose back in the country according to Rivals.com. He is looking for a place where he can feel comfortable and is not worried about distance. Austin leads Dunbar into a first round playoff game against Forestville HS this weekend.

The second running back that the Terrapins have given an offer to is a 5′7″ 185lb back from Woodbridge, Virginia, De’Antwan Williams. Williams is rated 4-stars by Rivals.com. He holds offers from Alabama, Boston College, Illinois, Marshall, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia. Williams has rushed for 1,756 yards this season which is only 442 yards away from tying the Virginia state record and led his team to a 10-0 record and a first round playoff match-up against Hylton High. Currently, Williams says that his favorites are Alabama, West Virginia, Pitt and Maryland. He has two official visits planned so far, Alabama on November 28th and West Virginia on December 5th. Williams is the 13th ranked running back in the nation according to Rivals.com

Three of the Terrapins current starting wide receivers will graduate this year and as of right now there are no commitments at the receiving position for 2009. The Terps have offers on the table with two wide receivers. Lamar Scruggs is a 6′3″ 208lb wide receiver from Jacksonville, Florida holds offers from Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Illinois, LSU, Louisvile, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, South Carolina, South Florida, Tennessee and Virginia. Due to a hectic high school schedule, Suggs has not had time to take any official visits. He was on hand in Columbia, SC to watch the South Carolina Gamecocks (unofficial visit) take on the Arkansas Razorbacks and said that he had a great time. He really enjoyed the atmosphere in Columbia and likes how the ran their offense and how they got the ball to their receivers. As of now, it appears that South Carolina, USF and Tennessee are in the lead for his services.

The other receiving recruit that the Terps are targeting is a teammate of Tavon Austin, Sean Farr. Farr is a 6′2 180lb receiver and is a Rivals.com 3-star recruit. Along with Maryland, Farr has offers from Akron, Eastern Michigan and Virginia. Farr was on campus at College Park to watch the Terps upset California and said he really enjoyed his visit. There really has not been any recent activity on the Farr front as it would appear he is waiting until the end of his high school season to take his visits and make a decision.

The position that the Terps have the most offers still out there is the offensive line. The Terps have an extremely veteran offensive line this year. All five starters are juniors or seniors (1 senior, 4 juniors). The most touted offensive line recruit the Terps are targeting is Morgan Moses (6′7″ 347). Moses is the number one ranked offensive tackle in the nation. Moses, a Richmond, Virginia native holds offers from almost every major program on the East Coast. So far, Moses has only taken one official visit and that was to WVU. He plans to take more visits once his high school season is over and he will announce his decision at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl game January 3rd. Moses is an athletic offensive lineman who can be used as either a guard or a tackle and has great feet and mobility for someone his size. It would appear the Terps are a long shot to land Moses, but we will keep you updated.

Another offensive tackle that the Terps have given an offer to is Oday Aboushi (Brooklyn, New York). This 6′6″ 300lb tackle has offers from Boston College, Iowa, Maryland, Rutgers and Virginia. Aboushi is beginning to schedule his official visits and said that he wants his first two to be to Boston College and Virginia. He was down at Charlottesville, Virginia last year for their lineman camp which allowed him to develop a relationship with offensive line coach Dave Borbely, but has yet to say where he will end up next year.

At the offensive guard position, the Terps have their eyes on a 6′5″ 340lb guard from Washington, DC, Peter White (St. John’s High). White has recently narrowed his list to five and fortunately for the Terps, they made the cut. Maryland joins Florida, Miami, Oregon, and Tennessee in schools that have offered White a scholarship. White only has an official visit set up with Tennesse, however he plans to add some more here shortly once his high school season finishes up.

Another offensive guard the Terps have their eye on is Quinton Washington. Washington is a 6′3″ 315lb guard from St. Stephenson, SC holds offers from Alabama, Clemson, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, N.C. State, South Carolina and Tennessee. Washington has only gone on one official visit and that was to Michigan. He plans to take more visits once his season is over. Rumors are swirling that Washington is leaning towards Michigan but we will see if their dismal season will affect his decision.

The Terps also have given a scholarship offer to guard Justin Hymes. Hymes is from Cumberland, Maryland and is 6′4 261lb. He is a rivals.com 2-star prospect and holds offers from Maryland, Akron and Towson.

In the next post, we will highlight the uncommitted players that the Terps have given scholarship offers to on the defensive side of the ball.