Randy Edsall
At 9 a.m. yesterday morning — college football’s National Signing Day — the Terrapins football team already had a serviceable 19-player recruiting class. Rivals.com ranked it No. 49 in the nation, not a bad haul for a team that owns a 6-18 record over the past two seasons.
But as the morning went on, the faxes started pouring in to coach Randy Edsall’s office. And by the end of the day, that top-50 class had morphed into a top-35 class.
First, three-star wide receiver Taivon Jacobs, who originally committed to Ohio State, signed with the Terps. Linebacker Yannick Ngakoue, the 2012 D.C. Gatorade Player of the Year, followed suit. And later, three-star athlete Jacquille Veii did the same.
By noon, all three players still considering College Park had picked the Terps. As a result, the recruiting class jumped 18 spots in just three hours, rising all the way up to No. 31 in Rivals’ national rankings.
“We felt good about all three going into it, but you just never know until they call you,” Edsall said yesterday. “To go 3-for-3 on signing day makes a big statement about what we’re doing here and the direction that we’re going.”
Overall, the class consists of 22 total players, including five-star wide receiver Deon Long and six players that Rivals or ESPN rate as four-star prospects.
It was an important recruiting class, too, considering the school is planning to move to the Big Ten in 2014. The Terps used the conference switch as a recruiting tool, and it worked.
The Terps’ class would rank fourth in the Big Ten, according to Rivals, falling behind only powerhouse programs Ohio State, Michigan and Nebraska. It doesn’t hurt that they swiped Jacobs from the Buckeyes, either.
“All the kids we talked to were excited to play in the Big Ten,” Edsall said. “They wanted to partake in the challenge of playing in the conference.”
Regardless of the conference, though, the class was centered on securing local talent. Fourteen of the Terps signees hail from either Maryland or Washington, including all three who made their decisions yesterday.
“The DMV area is huge for us,” recruiting coordinator John Dunn said. “I think that’s where you always build your program, with guys from your home base.”
That held true for the Terps’ two biggest commitments entering yesterday. Long, a junior college transfer who hails from Washington, caught 25 touchdown passes for Iowa Western Community College this season and is the team’s lone five-star recruit.
“Basically, just growing up in the area, and coming up here to watch the games since I was a young kid … I missed home, and I am excited to be back,” Long said. “Also, working out with Vernon Davis and Torrey Smith, and just always knowing I wanted to be a Terp.”
The Terps also stayed local to snag dual-threat quarterback Shane Cockerille from Gilman High School in Baltimore. Yesterday, Edsall praised Cockerille — who Rivals ranks as the nation’s 16th-best quarterback — as a potential leader of the program.
“It looks great; I’m really, really excited to play with all of these guys,” athlete Milan Collins, who signed his letter of intent yesterday, said last week. “It seems like we’re bringing in a lot of talent.”
Still, nabbing Ngakoue, Veii and Jacobs on national signing day makes a big impact.
Ngakoue, who choose the Terps over Florida State and South Carolina, is expected to challenge for playing time at linebacker right away after an accomplished career at Friendship Collegiate Academy.
Meanwhile, Veii chose to come to College Park after considering Nebraska and Iowa, and will likely play cornerback at the college level.
The team’s first of three big signings, though, may have been the most surprising. Jacobs, whose brother LeVern is a sophomore receiver for the Terps, seemed set on going to Ohio State. Even after decommitting from the Buckeyes, the Suitland native was still considering playing in Columbus, Ohio.
But Jacobs ultimately chose the Terps, likely because he wanted to be closer to his 1-year-old daughter.
“I think he really cared about that,” Edsall said. “He wanted to fulfill his obligation as a father, to be there.”
Jacobs’ decision certainly benefits the Terps. He and Long will join a deep receiving corps that already includes sophomore standout Stefon Diggs and junior Marcus Leak.
Just as importantly, though, Jacobs started a wildly successful day for the Terps.
Before yesterday Jacobs, Ngakoue and Veii hadn’t made their college decisions. Now, they’re all preparing to make an impact in College Park.
“It adds depth on the defensive side and the offensive side of the ball,” Dunn said. “And most importantly, those three guys are good athletes and have some real playmaking ability.”
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