Maryland makes the top group for local safety with commitment date set

Shortly after landing an in-state commit, Maryland football will look to reel in a second local target with a commitment date now set.

St. Frances (Md.) three-star safety James Branch is set to announce his commitment on Saturday, July 11 before a final four including Auburn, Maryland, Stanford and Virginia Tech. Miami (FL) was previously included in his top group, but were removed after an official visit did not materialize.

Branch kicked off a busy month with his first trip to Stanford beginning May 29 where the Cardinals drew buzz early in the race as a top contender. Auburn then hosted the three-star the first week of June before visiting Virginia Tech followed by Maryland the weekend of June 19.

Maryland has prioritized Branch throughout the process with assistant Aazaar Abdul-Rahim leading the initial pursuit of the 6-foot-3 athlete while the spring into his official visit gave the three-star a chance to grow his relationship with safeties coach James Thomas. Despite making the switch from wide receiver to safety, Maryland was among the first schools to go all-out for the local athlete with the hometown school a top contender heading into Saturday.

"I really like him. I get along with him really well. It just felt normal. I talk to coach Aazaar more but this whole weekend I was talking with coach JT a lot," Branch told IBG. "I really like what they talk about scheme-wise. That really caught my attention."

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