Football News

It was a big week for the football team as Coach Friedgen and staff as the Terps picked up their 8th, 9th, and 10th verbal commitments for the Class of '08. First, on Thursday, WR Kerry Boykins chose the Terps over ACC rivals Virginia and North Carolina. Rivals.com rate Boykins quite highly, tabbing him not only as a four-star prospect, but also as the #22 WR in the country and the #5 prospect in the state of Virginia.

Later that night OL RJ Dill officially chose the Terps over Connecticut. Rivals rated the three-star prospect as the #61 OT in college and the #28 in Pennsylvania. And finally, another three star player joined the Terps today. Gary Douglas, the #21 player in North Carolina as well as the #50 RB in the country joined the Terps as their first running back commitment in the class of '08.

The Terps '08 recruiting class is still very much a work in progress, but with about half the class filled, it looks very promising. The coaching staff has already locked up 3 four-star players plus two more three-star prospects. After getting their first six recruits from Maryland or DC, the staff has collected the following four prospect from other states along the East Coast. With many promising prospects still looking at the Terps the best might be yet to come.

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The ACC had their media day for football this week. The preseason rankings and all-ACC teams were released. Maryland was picked to finish 5th in the ACC Atlantic, ahead of only North Carolina State. The Terps' two representatives on the all-conference teams are Darius Heyward-Bey and Andrew Crummey.

While it would have been nice to see the team ranked a bit higher, it's understandable that with so many questions the media isn't looking too favorably on the Terps just yet. In reality, Maryland could finish fifth. But the Atlantic should be wide open, and any of the top five teams could finish in any order without qualifying as too much of a surprise. As the time draws nearer I'll like a little more in depth at the conference and where Maryland fits into the picture. Camp opens on August 6th.

Gaither to the Ravens

Former Terps OT Jared Gaither was selected in the NFL supplemental draft this week by the Baltimore Ravens with a fifth round selection. It's sad to see a guy who was projected by some to be an eventual first round pick taken in the Supplemental Draft, but after all of the turmoil it's good to see Gaither is going to get his shot in the NFL. And as a Ravens fan, it sure is nice to see another great move by the Front Office. Newsome and Co. get a possible first round talent in exchange for a second day draft pick. Not a bad transaction!

2008/2009 Basketball Recruiting

2008

C:

Terrence Jennings (Mount Zion Prep/Play Hard Play Smart) : COMMITTED TO MARYLAND

Ralph Sampson III (Northview/Georgia Stars): California, Georgia Tech, Minnesota, UNLV

Maurice Sutton (Largo/Maryland Spurs): Kentucky, Miami, Clemson, Marquette, Tulane, Duquense

Frank Ben-Eze (Bishop O'Connell/DC Blue Devils): Marquette, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Harvard, Colorado, Pittsburgh, Virginia, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame

Mike Davis (TC Williams/Team STAT): committed to Illinois

Henry Sims (Mount Saint Joseph/Baltimore Stars) : committed to Georgetown (OFFER)

PF:

Quintrell Thomas (Saint Patrick's): Maryland, Marquette, Rutgers, Miami, Seton Hall, Pittsburgh, Houston, Virginia Commonwealth (OFFER)

Steve Tchiengang (Monteverde Academy): Baylor, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Boston College, Texas A&M (OFFER)

Teeng Akol (Our Savior New American/NY Elite): Pittsburgh, Saint John's, Depaul, Kentucky

Laron Dendy (Hope Christian Academy/Team Georgia Elite):

Rodrigo Peggau (Calverton School/Triple Threat): --

Roscoe Davis (Wise/DC Assault): --

Chris Braswell (Dematha Catholic/Triple Threat): committed to Georgetown (OFFER)

SF:

Ray Willis (Westlake/Georgia Stars):

Renaldo Woolridge (Harvard-Westlake HS): Pepperdine, Arizona State

Kris Joseph (Archbishop Carroll): committed to Syracuse

SG:

Sean Mosley (Saint Frances Academy/Team Melo): COMMITTED TO MARYLAND

Willie Warren (North Crowley/Team Texas): Texas, Kansas, Maryland, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, UCLA, Indiana, Kentucky (OFFER)

Chris Turner (Winchendon School/D-One Sports): Maryland, Xavier, Florida State, George Mason

Jason Clark (Bishop O'Connell ): committed to Georgetown (OFFER)
Ashton Gibbs (Seton Hall Prep): committed to Pittsburgh
Brian Walsh (Moon/Pittsburgh Storm) : committed to Xavier (OFFER)

PG:

Terrell Holloway (Hempstead HS):

Andre Young: Clemson, Wichita State, Butler, College of Charleston

Darius Gabriel (Notre Dame Prep/Long Island Lightning):

Andre Cornelius (Victory Christian Center HS): George Mason, East Carolina, Charlotte, Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi State

Verdell Jones (Central/Fort Sooy No Limit): Depaul, Southern Illinois, Xavier

Miguel Paul (Saint Benedict Prep): committed to Missouri

2009

C:

Greg Echenique (Saint Benedict Prep/NY-NJ MetroHawks)

Andrew Fitzgerald (Towson Catholic/Team Melo): Maryland, George Mason (OFFER)

PF:

Isaiah Armwood (Montrose Christian/Baltimore Stars): Villanova, Maryland

Donte Taylor (National Christian/DC Assault):

Wally Judge (Bladensburg HS/DC Assault): Georgetown, Ohio State, Virginia, Akron, Maryland (OFFER)

Karron Johnson (Mount Zion Academy/Richmond Squires)

Deshawn Painter (Booker T Washington/Boo Williams): Florida, Louisville, Virginia, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Ohio State

Daniel Orton (Bishop McGuiness/Athlete's First): Florida, Ohio State, Maryland, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M, Kansas (OFFER)

SF:

Terrell Vinson (Montrose Christian/Baltimore Stars): Maryland (OFFER)

Tristan Spurlock (Montrose Christian):

Brian Oliver (William Penn/Playaz): Pittsburgh, Rutgers, West Virginia

Isaiah Philmore (John Carroll/Delaware Sharpshooters): Miami, Delaware

SG:

Kenny Boynton (Blanche Ely/Team Breakdown): Louisville, Duke, Florida, Miami, Florida State, Ohio State, Villanova

Naji Hibbert (Dematha/Team Melo): Maryland, Clemson, Miami, Marist (OFFER)

Maurice Creek (Oxon Hill HS/Triple Threat): Maryland, Marquette (OFFER)

Dominic Cheek (Saint Anthony/Playaz):

Akeem Richmond (Southern Lee HS): --

Leshon Edwards (Towson Catholic/Team Melo): --

PG:

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