VIP: portal name to track, four-star sets OV, top-five prospect visits Maryland

A new portal name to track, buzz on the high school recruiting trail, four-star is set to officially visit Maryland, and a top-five prospect on campus. The latest:

With offensive tackle the top priority coming out of the spring portal window, I’m hearing that Maryland has been in contact with former Illinois freshman Andrew Dennis, who departed after just one semester with the program. I’m not expecting anything imminent with Dennis as things currently stand with the former four-star prospect wrapping up the semester over the next week before he heads back home. There’s buzz that Dennis is looking to return closer to home and Michigan State was a primary player in his recruitment out of high school, but Dennis is keeping an open door for potential visits with Maryland under consideration. While cornerback is also a need, I don’t expect Maryland to pursue former Oregon CB Collin Gill after entering the portal this week.

Maryland did pick up a portal commitment on Wednesday evening, though, as former Notre Dame punter Bryce McFerson will head to College Park in 2024. Though it wasn’t a top of the line need, Maryland added its potential starting punter with Colton Spangler now with the Baltimore Ravens following the 2024 NFL Draft. Whether he ultimately lands at Maryland as a scholarship player is up in the air, but the allure for the North Carolina native to return to the East Coast loomed large as Maryland capitalized on the chance to upgrade the position.

On the high school side, Maryland landed arguably their biggest commitment of the cycle after DeMatha (MD) three-star Bud Coombs pulled the trigger on his decision. It was an expected outcome for subscribers with the Terps trending over the last two months, but the focus that Maryland put on the in-state athlete throughout the pursuit tipped the scale in Maryland’s favor. Giving the green light to play both football and baseball was the move that sealed the deal. While co-DC Aazaar Abdul-Rahim gets credit for his recruiting efforts during closing efforts, TE coach Kevin Sumlin spearheaded efforts through the fall and made it clear to Coombs that the chance to play both baseball and football was on the table in College Park. Maryland has long viewed Coombs as a priority this cycle with his junior film showing shades of Blake Corum’s elusiveness and vision, and with Colby McDonald and likely Roman Hemby entering their final seasons, replenishing the backfield with at least one of its local targets was a priority.

With Coombs now in the fold and set to officially visit the first weekend in June, Maryland will now turn its attention to its other two local priority targets with Hayfield (VA) three-star Jeff Overton Jr. and Quince Orchard (MD) four-star Iverson Howard still keeping the Terps on their shortlists. Two days after Overton and his dad made the trip to College Park for the spring game, assistant Latrell Scott returned the favor to check on one of his top targets on Monday with Virginia the top competition and Ohio State the wildcard. Howard, meanwhile, is coming off a visit to Michigan with the Wolverines heavily in the mix, but after visiting in mid-April for spring practice, Maryland will get another crack at the local four-star with an official visit to College Park set for the weekend of June 21.

While Maryland was expecting several top targets for this past weekend’s spring game, only a handful arrived but a marquee target was on campus as four-star QB Malik Washington made the short trip to campus where he reconnected with the staff once again. Confidence around Maryland’s chances with Washington remain high coming out of the weekend, with UCF a wildcard in the race as they were in attendance for Wednesday’s practice at Spalding. While Penn State remains involved, the main competition for Maryland is still tracking to be Virginia Tech with the Hokies putting a premium on the DMV this cycle. Maryland is still set to be the last school to host Washington for an official visit in June.

Meanwhile, Alabama verbal Zymear Smith and GC IOL Gavin Crawford did not make their way onto campus for Saturday’s spring game, but Maryland had another big local visitor on campus: 2026 Georgetown Prep (MD) five-star Immanuel ‘Manny’ Iheanacho. Currently ranked a top-five prospect in the 2026, Iheanacho is still very new to the recruiting process while he took in multi-day visits to Alabama, Auburn and Georgia this spring with all the blue-bloods already in heavy pursuit. While Iheanacho made his way to campus last fall for the Illinois game, the five-star was able to connect with the coaching staff including head coach Mike Locksley on Saturday in a productive visit for the early priority. Maryland will have their work cut out for them to land in the final group for both local five-stars – Zion Elee and Iheanacho – but the hometown team could benefit with some close to Iheanacho high on the idea of the blue-chip lineman staying local.

Related Links

Maryland men’s basketball B1G home, away opponents for 2024-25 announced
Four-star Cortez Harris includes Maryland in top ten, adds official visit
Bud Coombs explains when he knew he wanted to be a Terp
DeMatha running back Bud Coombs commits to Maryland
Maryland basketball announces signing of fourth portal addition