After transfer to Maryland, WR Jalil Farooq "can't wait till we show out"

Ahmed Ghafir
1 day ago
3 min read

It took longer than many had hoped, but at last, Jalil Farooq is a Terp.

A Lanham, MD native and Wise High School graduate, Farooq was a longtime top target for Maryland out of high school before finishing second in his recruitment. Instead, Farooq opted to head to Oklahoma alongside former Gonzaga and current Bears quarterback Caleb Williams during the 2021 cycle, spurning longstanding relationships in hopes of forming a dynamic duo in Norman. But that duo would last just one season after Lincoln Riley accepted the head coaching job at USC, a move that also brought Caleb Williams out of Norman.

Farooq, opting to stay with the Sooners, would go on to amass over 1,100 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on 82 catches over the next two seasons, cementing his own legacy at Oklahoma after starting in 23 games and being named an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection in 2023. “He's a guy that's produced three straight years there in Oklahoma, talented player that we know a lot about it,” head coach Mike Locksley said of the transfer addition.

His 2024 season wouldn’t feature the same level of success after a foot injury sidelined Farooq for all but two games, putting him on the road to recovery that took nearly a year. But now, Farooq is “pretty much 100%” after returning to the field for summer workouts and joining the team for the first practice of fall camp on Wednesday.

“I’m pretty much 100%,” Farooq told IBG. “It took a while to get to this point, but I'm just grateful. Keeping my praise, keeping my faith in God, and just being able to continue to pray and work continuously to make sure everything goes out perfectly.”

After opting to enter the transfer portal in December after four seasons with Oklahoma, it didn’t take long until buzz between Maryland and Farooq materialized as the Terps were the first school to get in contact. And despite others like Georgia showing interest, Maryland would be the only school that Farooq visited as a transfer portal prospect.

“I had a couple lined up but once I took that first official visit here, it was kind of like hard for me to go anywhere,” he added.

“You got a new guy that I have a strong relationship with, have known since he was a eighth, ninth grader playing running back for the Bowie youth football program in Jalil Farooq,” Locksley added.

For Farooq, the relationship between he and head coach Mike Locksley carried weight with Farooq’s family on board with the move back home.

“Coach Locksley, man. Really me and him having that relationship since I've been in high school. Coming down to it, Maryland was one of my top schools to go to. Came down to Maryland, Oklahoma, so I always had a great relationship with him. So once I hit the portal, it was really a no brainer for me, especially coming back home and being able to have my section packed [with] my family there, it's really just like a blessing because unfortunately, I haven't been able to have them come out to Norman in Oklahoma, all my family to watch me play.”

But beyond the hometown reunion, Farooq now heads to College Park as one of two veterans in the room alongside fourth-year receiver Octavian Smith as Maryland looks to elevate its passing attack with a new quarterback in 2025.

“I feel like coach Locksley, I feel like he has a great scheme. I feel like it's gonna set us all up for greatness. And I feel like the pride that we had bringing in, just like everybody's focused. And I feel like we're a young group. We have a lot of transfers, so we had a lot of less chemistry because of that,” Farooq added. “So us just spending time continuously together and just continuing putting work in with the QBs and continue to get on that film, get on that board, get the scheme down. So I feel like we're just gonna all - everything that has been done in the dark is eventually gonna come to the light. I feel like we've been working over and over and over. I just can't wait till we show out.”

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