Maryland’s ability to scour local talent before the rest of the nation has long allowed the staff to be among the first offers for prospects within the DMV and in regards to 2025 St. John’s offensive lineman Jayvon McFadden, there’s a question as to who was truly first to pull the trigger.
“Ole Miss said they already offered but my coach said just wait to talk with them again. So Maryland was first, then it was Ole Miss,” McFadden told Inside the Black and Gold. Either way, the 2025 starting left guard for the Cadets already holds his first two verbal offers and was able to visit College Park for the Iowa game. “It went really good. I met some of the coaches and players, so things were good. It wasn’t my first time meeting coach [Elijah] Brooks, I met Dontay [Demus], I met Rak [Jarrett], I met Tai [Felton] and [Tarheeb] Still,” he added. McFadden is familiar with Brooks through his ties in youth football and was pleased he got the news the local school pulled the trigger.
“I wasn’t really told about it until coach Brooks FaceTimed coach Mike [Ward] and told coach that he offered me.” Although Friday night didn’t go as expected, McFadden will keep tabs on the Terps long-term. “I know last Friday wasn’t their best but I still think Maryland is a pretty good school.” He said he got a chance to connect with the staff prior to the game, as well. “It’s just like a brotherhood and they’re showing me that’s good and when I was there, they just told me to go to the best place for you so it was really good.”
McFadden did not travel to Penn State on Saturday with several other Cadets, but he’ll be making several trips with 2024 top-100 prospect Jordan Seaton. Until then, he’s embracing the early stages of the high school grind.
“It’s a different pace than middle school ball but I feel like I’ve picked it up.”