It was a busy weekend in College Park for recruiting with a long list of high school targets making their way in to watch Maryland’s game vs. Michigan State. While the result wasn’t what fans were looking for, there are more developments from the recruiting trail. The latest notes:
’24 target…Maryland hosted a long list of visitors on Sunday, a list that grew from roughly six or seven to nearly 20 visitors in the final 24 hours leading up to tipoff. We’ve had a handful of reactions from 2025 visitors thus: Aydan West, Zymear Smith, Brandon Finney, Yvan Kemajou. One 2024 target who was on campus was St. Frances (MD) fringe four-star cornerback Kevyn Humes, who made it to Maryland for an unofficial visit on Sunday as assistant Aazaar Abdul-Rahim continues to run point in this recruitment. While the Terps have been under consideration since Humes went public with his decision to reclassify from 2025 to 2024, Maryland’s pursuit continues to heat up since Abdul-Rahim joined the fold and continues to trend as the biggest challenger to Syracuse down the stretch. First-year head coach Fran Brown and the new Orange staff have been relentless in their pursuit of DMV targets with Humes a prime target for them in the 2024 cycle, but there’s chatter that the Terps could be the one to dethrone Syracuse. I’m also told that Humes, who was set to officially visit USC beginning Monday, is still in the area with a potential for Maryland to officially host him this upcoming weekend.
TE to track…While he’s currently in the portal, I wouldn’t expect former Michigan TE Matthew Hibner to make his way to College Park soon with him sticking in Ann Arbor to wrap up academics for the spring semester. I could see a path where Hibner decides on his next stop without taking a visit since entering the portal, but nonetheless, the experienced tight end remains a name to track for Maryland. Contact between the two sides remains consistent and I’ve heard that it’s been current QB Billy Edwards Jr., who played with Hibner at Lake Braddock (VA), that’s been leading the way. Hibner confirmed that he’s been primarily in contact with assistant Kevin Sumlin since entering the portal, and I’m keeping Hibner at ‘warm’ on the portal board. The need to add a blocking tight end that can block the C area was evident in 2023 and, regardless of the outcome of the OL, is a focus for the 2024 season to bolster the offensive personnel. Aside from tight end, the needs remain the same: an offensive tackle, a defensive lineman with multiple years of eligibility and potentially a cornerback. Cornerback seems to be the lowest priority among the positions with a desire to evaluate the current room through spring ball.
Portal visitor…head coach Mike Locksley wasn’t the only one who had visitors as head coach Kevin Willard saw 2025 Gonzaga (DC) four-star Christian Gurdak and his parents make their way to campus as assistant Mike Jones leads the way on the top target. Gurdak also made it onto campus back in September where he took in Maryland football’s win over Indiana as the staff works to secure an official visit. Gurdak wasn’t the only visitor for Willard as former Virginia Tech guard Rodney Rice made the solo trip to College Park on Sunday to watch Maryland’s game vs. Michigan State. Rice, a former four-star out of DeMatha (MD), abruptly left Virginia Tech weeks before the season after expecting to be a key piece in the Hokies’ rotation this season. After wrapping up his semester in Blacksburg, I’m told the plan is for Rice to likely sit out the upcoming spring semester and officially enter the portal in March with plans to enroll at his next school in the summer. With his academic requirements now complete in Blacksburg and given he’s away from the program, his transfer pursuit is beginning to take shape and the mutual interest between Rice and Maryland is one that makes the Terps a viable contender. The connection between Maryland and Rice is clear with assistant Mike Jones being the one who coached Rice at DeMatha for three years, while the need for a primary ball handler is apparent with Jahmir Young exhausting his eligibility following the 2023-24 season. Georgetown and Indiana are among the schools that have inquired since Rice left Virginia Tech, but Rice’s situation could evolve over the next seven to ten days with the first tangible portal target surfacing.
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