Hours before the Maryland football team held its annual spring game on Saturday, coach DJ Durkin gained commitments from two local four-star 2018 recruits.
Defensive tackle Austin Fontaine and offensive lineman Evan Gregory — DeMatha Catholic High School products — pledged to the Terps.
C O M M I T T E D #terpup ???????? pic.twitter.com/allrguUUyY
— Bubba (@fontaine_austin) April 22, 2017
COMMITTED #THE MOVEMENT pic.twitter.com/5800Nkj4QW
— Evan Gregory (@EG1____ERA) April 22, 2017
The duo continues the coaching staff’s push to capitalize on the high school talent in the DMV area. Former coach Randy Edsall struggled to secure DeMatha players, but Durkin has recruited six former Stagsin in his two Maryland recruiting classes.
Fontaine and Gregory are poised to join their former teammates as immediate contributors in College Park.
The 6-foot-2, 312-pound Fontaine is a top-100 player in the nation and the No. 4 overall recruit in Maryland, according to 247sports. The site also ranks Gregory, slated to be a 6-foot-4, 285-pound guard, as the state’s 10th-best player in the class.
They can’t sign with Maryland until after the 2017 season, which starts Sept. 2 against Texas, but their former DeMatha teammates understand the significance of their burgeoning pipeline to Durkin’s program.
“It was a drought before us, but we’re going to keep it going this year,” sophomore offensive lineman Terrance Davis said of encouraging his Stags teammates to College Park. “You don’t know too many people, the workouts are tough, so the guys you’ve been through four years of high school with is really helpful to lean on them when times get tough.”