Saturday yielded a smaller crew of local visitors for the Terps’ 37-16 win over Kent State but one prospect who took his first-ever college game visit was 2024 St. Paul’s (MD) defensive end Ernest Willor. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound prospect had visited Maryland’s campus in the past for basketball tournaments and games, but Saturday’s first visit as a gameday recruit didn’t disappoint.
“It was a lot of fun, I enjoyed it. It was the first time going up for a football game,” Willor told Inside the Black and Gold. “I liked it. Y’all put it on them. It was fun sitting down and watching the whole student section, that was nice.” The defensive end had his eye on his position group, a unit that accounted for one of the five sacks. “I was watching the [defensive] line, really. They played great, the whole front seven played amazing.”
Willor also got a chance to connect with the coaching staff both before and after the game. “I talked to [offensive line coach] Brian Braswell and [running backs coach] Elijah Brooks and coach [Scott] Chadwick.” His conversation after the game is when Willor picked up his second verbal offer, just days after Virginia Tech became the first school to pull the trigger. “I kind of hand an idea because I’m a sophomore and they don’t really bring out sophomores to stuff like this so I thought maybe there’s a chance. He just said they liked my film and watched my film. They didn’t say too much.”
Willor also got a chance to check out the indoor facility, “had lunch and all that,” as he has a favorite part. “I like the indoor turf field and I like the new gym.” With his first gameday visit in the rear-view mirror, Willor talks about what Maryland offers the in-state product.
“I think Maryland offers me an option to stay home, the chance to have all my people come down and watch my game. It’s real accessible. Also I like their coaching staff, how they have cultured people and people of color in top spots and big spots which is very rare at the Division I level.”
Willor is currently unrated by both 247Sports and Rivals.