Maryland football's footprint in 2027 class differs from years past

Jul 12

3 min read

Maryland football is fresh off landing its 21st commitment in the class after edge rusher Dallas Pauldo spurned Arkansas and Missouri, adding to what has materialized into a diverse class under head coach Mike Locksley.

Pauldo became the fourth commitment out of Tennessee in the 2027 cycle, joining high school teammate and DL Jayden Agberodiola, LB ‘Duke’ Clark, edge rusher Zeke Walkup along with his fellow Rockvale teammate. It marked a notable win on the trail given the pair of SEC finalists who rounded out his top group while Missouri was the challenger heading into July, but it also marks a notable commitment in terms of the program’s footprint given the DMV and Florida have traditionally dominated the footprint.

Now? The four commitments from Tennessee are the most from the same state in a cycle since Maryland landed four WRs out of Georgia in the 2017 class – Jalen Browder, Carlos Carriere, Jayden Comma, Sean Nelson. Given Browder never arrived in College Park, Maryland will hope to finalize that haul in December to sign four prospects from the same state outside of Florida and the DMV since the 2012 class – when TE PJ Gallo, QB Perry Hills, LB Brock Dean and WR Anthony Nixon all committed out of Pa.

It marks a notable development for Maryland with defensive backs coach Nick Newsome leading the way with the quartet of commits representing nearly 20% of the class, giving the Tenn. native a chance to break into new territory. Yet it’s also been a complete staff effort this cycle.

Assistants Aazaar Abdul-Rahim and James Thomas teamed up to make Maryland the one to watch for local four-star defensive back Kenaz Sullivan, where he’ll play a feature role in the secondary, have a chance to become a weapon in the return game while also potentially even being featured in packages on offense. The relationship between assistant Kyle Schmitt and WR Myles McAfee always carried weight throughout the pursuit with Maryland officially reeling in the local four-star last week after months of being the program to watch. The trust that safety Charles Roberts’s position coach had with assistant James Thomas allowed Maryland to stay in the mix with former UNC pledge Charles Roberts before flipping after his first full day ever visiting College Park. WR assistant Derek Kief was a huge piece in Maryland topping Alabama for Florida WR Kyren Caldwell, materializing into his July 4 commitment, while assistant Zac Spavital built a strong relationship with WR Davion Vanderbilt in addition to the Texas WR’s connection with Eagles QB and former Alabama QB Jalen Hurts to make him the second commit in the class. Similar could be said for Virginia WR AJ Henderson, who was pursued by WR coach Latrell Scott for nearly the entirety of his high school career to wrap up his recruitment after just one OV. OC Clint Trickett’s relationship with QB Will Jackson’s family set the stage for the Florida product to jump in as the signal caller in the class, while assistant Andre Powell did well to build depth to the relationship with local RB transfer TJ Grant Jr.

Yet the class also lacks a lot of what has been featured in recent years: local talent.

Maryland has landed just two of the nearly 30 in-state prospects who have committed to Power Four schools in McAfee and Grant, the latter only considered after making the cross-country transfer. While Maryland landed Pauldo, the commitment came nearly two hours after local safety James Branch committed to Auburn on Saturday with Maryland a finalist and the last school to host him. DL James Pace, DL Cahron Wheeler, safety Elijah Butler, DB Rico Jackson and DL Cain Van Norden were among the notable local prospects who canceled scheduled official visits to Maryland after landing in the SEC and Big Ten, part of why Maryland’s three commitments currently in the class are the fewest since the staff inked five in-state prospects in 2020 – LB Osita Smith, TE Corey Dyches, safety Beau Brade, OL Tank Green and DL Tre Smith. Whether head coach Mike Locksley and his staff reverse the trend as the 2026 season progresses is the biggest question with less than one month until fall camp kicks off.

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