Maryland football spring ball buzz, rising interest from four-stars (+)

The latest notes from spring ball and the recruiting trail:

Maryland is one week into spring ball and there’s been good buzz on the offensive side of the ball. The offensive line will still look to add another tackle from the portal once the second wave opens, but when it comes to the current room, the portal additions have stood out in practice. I’ve heard former Purdue IOL Josh Kaltenberger and Georgia IOL Aliou Bah have looked as advertised through the first week and have done well to take over at center and guard. Kaltenberger made an effort to get early work on his QB-center exchanges ahead of spring ball and he’s made a seamless transition in College Park. Andre Roye has done well adding more size into year three and continuing to do so remains a focus, but so far, former D2 tackle Alan Herron has shown the potential to be the next lineman out of Maryland to hear his name called in the NFL Draft. Herron joins the program with two years of eligibility and I’d expect him to be here for both 2024 and 2025 as of now, but he’s drawn rave reviews on transitioning to the Power Five speed through the first week.

Maryland did see one early portal target head elsewhere on Tuesday after former Michigan TE Matthew Hibner committed. to SMU, a surprising move. I’d still expect Maryland to look for an in-line blocker to provide the final piece in the TE room. As for the current room, TE AJ Syzmanski looks great after making major strides to bulk up his 6-foot-5 frame heading into his second year. Preston Howard and Dylan Wade have been able to validate the potential of the room, and now its about giving them more reps to season themselves as dependable pass catchers in Maryland’s offense. Adding a vet to shore up the C-area would complete the room heading into the season, addressing an underrated weakness from last year’s team.

But as expected, the defense has been flying around with the returning experience giving them a leg up into the spring. The front seven has been dominant through the first week, giving Maryland arguably its most talented group over the last ten years, while Glen Miller has made a seamless transition to fill the void left by Beau Brade at strong safety. The cornerback room remains a mystery– partly because the full freshmen class hasn’t arrived on campus yet. The one thing that is clear in the cornerback room: Jalen Huskey has lived up to the billing as a clear CB1 and a cut above the room, flashing as arguably the best defensive player on the field at times. Adding another portal Huskey-level cornerback remains a likely need heading into the next window, but if there’s a freshman to look forward to in the summer, it’s St. Frances (MD) fringe four-star Kevyn “Kerm” Humes.

On the recruiting trail, all eyes are on DeMatha (MD) three-star running back Bud Coombs as he works on finalizing a visit to campus while the Terps are back in the running for Alabama verbal Zymear Smith, but they aren’t the only recruits Maryland has made a move on. There’s increased optimism on Maryland’s ultimate chances with both St. John’s (DC) four-star CB Tariq Hayer and Good Counsel (MD) four-star safety Faheem Delane. I’ve mentioned that Delane made his way back to College Park last Thursday, but I’ve heard that both have made themselves frequent visitors in College Park this calendar year. One contact added it’s similar to how frequently Braydon Lee and Lloyd Irvin visited last cycle. The Terps have made both a priority with an official visit already set with Hayer for the June 21 weekend while Delane finalizes his visit schedule. Ohio State remains full steam ahead on Delane, but the weekend commitment from four-star DeShawn Stewart could impact both Delane and four-star Messiah Delhomme heading into summer.

Maryland will also get another local target on campus for official visit season: Calvert Hall (MD) three-star tight end JT Taggart. The 6-foot-6 top target made his way back to campus where he got a chance to take in position meetings before watching practice and connecting with the coaching staff. Taggart will take his official visit to Maryland the weekend of June 7 with West Virginia shaping up to be the biggest early competitor, while Colorado is also in the mix. We’ll have more from Taggart on Wednesday. I’ve also bumped local DL Nahsir Taylor to ‘warm’ on the big board as the three-star target made his way to campus Tuesday and stayed into Tuesday evening. Defensive GA David Brownlee has helped efforts with the local target, but Taylor is high on the idea of staying close to home and has family support doing so after his junior film caught the Terps’ attention.

VIP: Maryland football spring ball buzz, rising interest from four-star targets

Ahmed Ghafir