The first domino of the offseason dropped early Friday afternoon as sources confirmed plans to bring back Aazaar Abdul-Rahim to the program as co-defensive coordinator, giving the Terps a proven piece to bolster local recruiting efforts.
Aazaar’s return to College Park has locally been making its rounds with buzz through the fall that a return home wasn’t just a possibility, but an expected move. A source told IBG those plans came to fruition within the last week with a desire for Maryland to add more local recruiting talent to Maryland’s staff, while the chance for Aazaar to return home was something that loomed large. While the hire has yet to be officially announced, he’s expected to join the program late next week as the expected addition to the coaching staff gives Maryland someone who can bolster the staff’s recruiting efforts through PG County and D.C., while also bolstering Baltimore recruiting efforts.
While the timing of the coaching move was a surprise, the emphasis on reinforcing local recruiting efforts is a focus for Maryland and there’s been good buzz from local coaches emphasizing Aazaar’s ability to connect with coaches and players through the area. The reason for the surprise timing is given the nature of the news, with one coming in, one will leave with a source confirming what was mentioned in the forum: cornerback coach Henry Baker is not expected to be retained. While the Maryland grad and New Jersey native is in the mix for jobs elsewhere, Baker was renewed on a one-year contract set to expire on Jan. 31 as the focus shifted to bolstering the local recruiting ammo.
Boston College became selective with their DMV additions in years past, but immediate feedback this afternoon has reiterated that the relationships remained strong given Aazaar’s deep ties in the area. Beyond being a Friendship Collegiate grad, after starting The Positive Choices back in 2003, Abdul-Rahim held his camp in DC last July with over 400 youth in attendance while NFL talent like Nick Cross, Keandre Jones and DJ Turner among others volunteered.
What could be the domino impact on the recruiting locally? Aazaar Abdul-Rahim has longtime ties to Blake Woodby, the St. Frances (MD) four-star cornerback who committed to Ohio State back in mid-October, but the relationships that Aazaar has with those around Woodby would bolster efforts. Maryland would become a more appealing destination with Aazaar in the fold as he’s an early target on the 2025 big board. Defensive coordinator Brian Williams has made strides with St. John’s (DC) four-star Tariq Hayer as he’s a prime target at the position next cycle, but don’t sleep on another WCAC cornerback: Devenchi Arnold. Boston College was the first offer for the 6-foot-1, 170-pound product and he’s another who consistently heard from Maryland before the staff change. I’d expect the WCAC target to remain a prime target even with the coaching turnover.
Onto the portal, it’s more likely that we see concrete developments here next week, but once he became available, I noted that former Alabama DE Monkell Goodwine could be someone that Maryland pursues. Immediate intel continued to point to Maryland being a school that’s under consideration, and heading into the weekend, that continues to be the case. A source told IBG on Friday that assistant Kevin Sumlin was in contact with Goodwine’s on Thursday, but as I noted at last mention, there’s nothing imminent between Goodwine and Maryland just yet. He’s a potential candidate to visit next week once he returns to the area, but he’ll head to another school first.
Goodwine will join Aaryn Parks, a former Oklahoma OL, on an official visit Friday evening to South Carolina. Parks is wrapping up an official visit to Syracuse today and heads straight to Columbia after, while North Carolina is also involved with Parks. Maryland isn’t involved with Parks due to academic reasons, but Goodwine continues to trend as a realistic target as the Terps look for another piece to be the cherry on top for what could be a strong defensive line rotation in 2024. While it isn’t currently a factor for him, the return of Aazaar to Maryland certainly would only boost Maryland’s chances in landing Goodwine. South Carolina was able to jump into the picture with Goodwine after Parks set his visit, giving the Gamecocks a chance to roll out the red carpet for both targets. I’m optimistic that Goodwine comes out of the weekend still uncommitted.
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