The dead period ends in less than one week and Maryland will host a group of prospects on the first day possible.
Good Counsel (MD) four-star Aaron Chiles tells IBG that he’ll be on campus on March 1. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound linebacker has been a top target on the defensive side of the ball and has been a frequent visitor through the years, including a trip back in November for the season-finale win over Rutgers. Chiles has schools like Michigan, Notre Dame and Florida high on his list but early intel has pointed to Maryland able to challenge the heavy hitters. Don’t count out James Thomas, who landed three four-star prospects including a pair of former Falcons last cycle. Head coach Mike Locksley has played a hand in Chiles’ recruitment as the staff prioritzes him as an inside linebacker target. “Before the game I talked to coach Locks with my family. We just talked about how far I lived away, that was the first thing he asked when I walked in. I told him 15 minutes, and he said ‘exactly.’ He just talked about how convenient it’d be for me and my family to, on the business side, the deals I’d be able to get being from Maryland,” Chiles said following his last visit.
Baltimore City (MD) wide receiver Jahmari Powell-Wonson also set his visit to campus last week, making March 9 his first trip with an offer in hand. The staff offered this offseason as inside linebacker coach Lance Thompson has led the recruitment so far as the area recruiter. Powell-Wonson has also told IBG that he will also visit Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh, but knows that Maryland will receive an official visit in June. “Maryland has been recruiting me for quite a while now. I have a strong relationship with every position coach on the offensive side, so it’s a blessing that I received this offer,” he told IBG. Maryland has several receiver targets sitting high on the board, but the in-state target stands out as an early take
Maryland will also host Archbishop Spalding (MD) three-star linebacker Keyshawn Flowers that same day. The staff jumped into the mix for the fast-rising local linebacker back in January, joining a long list of Power Five schools, as inside linebacker coach Lance Thompson initiated contact while defensive coordinator Brian Williams has picked it up since. Notre Dame and Oklahoma became the latest schools to offer this week and while several Power Five schools are working to get him on campus, Maryland has emerged as a player for the local product. “He’s telling me a lot about why Maryland when we talk on the phone,” Williams said of his growing relationship with Brian Williams. “He’s just saying how I’d be in the program, being so close it’d be a good fit for me. They’ve been telling me what they like about me, my size, my speed and how I work inside.” Chiles and Kris Jones sit high on the board, but Flowers is an undoubted name to know as the staff works to replenish the room this cycle.
It won’t just be local kids on day one with a handful of prospects making it in from Clearwater. That includes defensive lineman Sean Sevillano, linebacker Keyari James and tight end Ludovic Martin. Both Sevillano and James picked up offers as Lance Thompson, the area recruiter and position coach for James, trekked through the school last month and begins building the relationship. Martin, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound prospect, doesn’t hold an offer yet but will get a chance to impress new tight ends coach Kevin Sumlin as he works to build the recruiting board.
Maryland will look to host several more prospects with spring practice set to begin on March 28. Oakdale (MD) four-star edge rusher Dom Nichols will look to return to campus for a practice, but for now, he’s focused on visiting Kentucky and North Carolina. Four-star linebacker Kris Jones added the lone visit on the books is for Florida in mid-March. Meanwhile, cross-country four-star tackle Manasse Itete tells IBG he’s also in the process of planning a visit to Maryland in March with an official visit in June on the table.
Stay tuned to Inside the Black and Gold for new visits set with the dead period winding down.
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