College Football

Maryland Football: 2017 National Signing Day Tracker

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:07 a.m. ET

Fansided, Chris Bengel/FanSided via Terrapin Station

The Maryland football program was in a much different place one year ago.

Coach D.J. Durkin had just taken the job and was scrambling to try and round out his 2016 class. The Terrapins didn’t have a bad class by any stretch, but it wasn’t lighting the world on fire due to Durkin having limited time to get it together.

Flip the switch to a year later and Maryland is in a great position as National Signing Day approaches.

According to 247Sports’ composite rankings, the Terps have the 17th-best class and the fourth-best in the Big Ten. They only trail Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State within the conference.

Maryland also has eight four-star recruits currently in their class.

Maryland currently has seven recruits that have enrolled early as they arrived on campus last week. Among the group is Potomac (Md.) star cornerback Deon Jones and Bridgeton (NJ) athlete Markquese Bell.

National Signing Day could produce a few more pledges depending on how things go. We’ll have all the latest as the action unfolds.

Above this text, we’ll be running our live blog throughout the day.

Here’s all of the current members of Maryland’s 2017 class:

Anthony McFarland Jr.

5-9, 203 lbs (Hyattsville, MD), ★★★★

McFarland was arguably the biggest fish on Maryland’s wish list in the 2017 class. On Friday, Durkin and his staff landed a pledge from the DeMatha star, who is one of the top players in the class regardless of position. 247 Composite rating: No. 100 overall/No. 3 APB/No. 2 in MDCB

Deon Jones

6-1, 180 lbs (Oxon Hill, MD), ★★★★

Jones is arguably the most talented defensive player in this class for Maryland. He’ll help stabilize a secondary that lost star cornerback Will Likely. 247 Composite rating: No. 175 overall/No. 22 CB/No. 3 in MDATH

Markquese Bell

6-3, 194 lbs (Bridgeton, NJ), ★★★★

Bell played a multitude of positions in high school and is as quick as they come. However, the secondary could be the perfect spot for him. 247 Composite rating: No. 191 overall/No. 7 ATH/No. 3 in NJ[/OG

Marcus Minor

6-5, 290 lbs (Hyattsville, MD), ★★★★

Maryland continues to strike gold on the offensive line in the DMV. Minor is another very talented piece that can be added to an offensive line that could use some work. 247 Composite rating: No. 225 overall/No. 16 OG/No. 5 in MDQB

Kasim Hill

6-3, 215 lbs (Washington, D.C.), ★★★★

Hill is one of the crown jewels of this class. While Tyrrell Pigrome was a nice get in 2016, Hill is the future of the program and could compete for the starting job right away. 247 Composite rating: No. 240 overall/No. 10 QB/No. 2 in D.C.OT

Jordan McNair

6-5, 290 lbs (Owings Mills, MD), ★★★★

Even when Randy Edsall has around, the Terps really tapped into the area’s heavy offensive line trough. McNair is a mammoth offensive tackle that can eat defensive ends alive. 247 Composite rating: No. 285 overall/No. 29 OT/No. 7 in MDDT

Cam Spence

6-3, 315 lbs (Washington, D.C.), ★★★★

Spence was one of the early gets for Durkin and his staff and it was much needed. Maryland is losing Roman Braglio and Azubuike Ukandu off the defensive line, so Spence could see the field early on. 247 Composite rating: No. 325 overall/No. 20 DT/No. 3 in D.C.DT

Breyon Gaddy

6-5, 335 lbs (Virginia Beach, VA), ★★★★

Breyon Gaddy is the higher-rated of the Gaddy brothers and both have affirmed their commitment to the Terps. Again, defensive tackle is a position of need. Kingsley Opara is back, but depth is never a bad thing. 247 Composite rating: No. 329 overall/No. 21 DT/No. 14 in VALB

Ayinde Eley

6-5, 205 lbs (Olney, MD), ★★★

The linebacker position is going to need retooling after Jermaine Carter Jr. and Jalen Brooks graduate next season. Eley is a sound tackler and very solid in pass coverage. He’ll fit in Andy Buh’s defense nicely. 247 Composite rating: No. 405 overall/No. 24 LB/No. 10 in MDRB

Javon Leake

6-1, 195 lbs (Greensboro, NC), ★★★

The rich get richer. Maryland already has Ty Johnson in the fold for the next two seasons and Lorenzo Harrison for the next three. Oh and the Terps added McFarland too. Leake is a very talented back that is very shifty in the open field. He could be a big-time producer down the road. 247 Composite rating: No. 566 overall/No. 9 APB/No. 21 in NCWR

Sean Nelson

6-2, 180 lbs (Fairburn, GA), ★★★

Maryland is desperate needs of wideouts after the graduation of Levern Jacobs and Teldrick Morgan. Nelson is a burner whose commitment was up in the air after a weekend visit to Virginia Tech. He tweeted that he plans on signing with the Terps on Wednesday. 247 Composite rating: No. 640 overall/No. 92 WR/No. 65 in GADT

Brandon Gaddy

6-5, 289 lbs (Virginia Beach, VA), ★★★

Much like his brother, Brandon Gaddy is a big addition to the defensive line. David Shaw has also left the program, so these two could see the field pretty early on. 247 Composite rating: No. 659 overall/No. 52 DT/No. 18 in VAWR

Jayden Comma

6-2, 205 lbs (Roswell, GA), ★★★

Again, wide receiver depth is very much needed for Maryland. Comma runs a lot of inside routes and has great footwork, so he could be used in the slot in College Park. 247 Composite rating: No. 673 overall/No. 96 WR/No. 67 in GACB

Fofie Bazzie

6-1, 180 lbs (Gaithersburg, MD), ★★★

Bazzie is another early enrollee, so he’s already learning the college game. He’s a very sound tackler and is one of the top defensive players in the state of Maryland. This could be a very underrated pickup. 247 Composite rating: No. 707 overall/No. 70 CB/No. 13 in MDATH

Jalen Browder

6-3, 185 lbs (Dallas, GA), ★★★

Browder is one of those athletes that could line up at a few different positions. He did the majority of his damage at wideout during his high school career. If that’s where Maryland chooses to use him, then they really addressed that need in this class. 247 Composite rating: No. 729 overall/No. 55 ATH/No. 73 in GAWR

Carlos Carriere

6-5, 170 lbs (Alpharetta, GA), ★★★

Carriere isn’t the quickest wideout, but his large frame could be huge for Maryland. This is a guy that can flat-out go get the football and his 13 touchdowns as a senior back up that fact. 247 Composite rating: No. 752 overall/No. 108 WR/No. 78 in GARB

Tayon Fleet-Davis

6-0, 211 lbs (Oxon Hill, MD), ★★★

Stop if you’ve heard this before: Maryland has an insane amount of depth at running back. Fleet-Davis adds to an already stacked group and he’s no slouch. He has a nose for the end zone and is as dangerous as they come in the open field. 247 Composite rating: No. 841 overall/No. 44 RB/No. 14 in MDOC

Johnny Jordan

6-2, 290 lbs (Washington D.C.), ★★★

Jordan lined up at center, guard, and tackle during his senior season. He’s got great instincts and can really move well at the line of scrimmage. He could be the heir apparent to current center Brendan Moore. 247 Composite rating: No. 854 overall/No. 10 OC/No. 7 in MDCB

Kenny Bennett

6-2, 196 lbs (Philadelphia, PA), ★★★

The last time the Terps dipped into the City of Brotherly Love, it was a rousing success with wideout D.J. Moore. Bennett is a very underrated defensive back that makes great breaks on the ball and doesn’t make many mistakes in coverage. 247 Composite rating: No. 911 overall/No. 99 CB/No. 15 in PAILB

Bryce Brand

6-1, 235 lbs (Concord, CA), ★★★

As wsa mentioned earlier, linebacker is a need with Brooks and Carter on their way out after the 2017 campaign. Brand is a hard-hitting inside linebacker that was a former Arizona commit. He could easily be Carter’s replacement in the middle. 247 Composite rating: No. 46 ILB/No. 91 in CAWDE

Kofi Wardlow

6-3.5, 230 lbs (Washington D.C.), ★★★

If there’s a Maryland commit that’s likely to flip, it’s likely Wardlow. He had official visits to Notre Dame and Virginia Tech the past two weekends and the Fighting Irish offered on Jan. 18. The Terps already lost kicker Jonathan Doerer to Notre Dame over the weekend. 247 Composite rating: No. 56 WDE/No. 8 in D.C.TE

Andrew Park

6-5, 245 lbs (Burke, VA), ★★★

Tight end hasn’t exactly been a position that Maryland has used much in recent years. Still, Park has good hands and should be a capable blocker at the next level. 247 Composite rating: No. 49 TE/No. 31 in VASDE

Tyran Hunt

6-7, 280 lbs (Courtland, VA), ★★★

Hunt was another Virginia recruit that was brought Maryland’s way thanks to former defensive line coach Mike London. It appears that he’s still bound for College Park. He’s a monster of a lineman that could develop into a solid pass rusher. 247 Composite rating: No. 53 SDE/No. 32 in VAWR

MJ Jarrell

6-2, 183 lbs (Orlando, FL), ★★★

Durkin certainly realized that he had a deficiency at receiver heading into 2017. Jarrell is a playmaker with a ton of speed that was used in the wildcat formation quite a bit in high school. That could pique the interest of offensive coordinator Walt Bell. 247 Composite rating: No. 165 WR/No. 171 in FLSDE

Lawtez Rogers

6-4, 235 lbs (Greenbelt, MD), ★★★

Rogers’ pledge to Maryland seemed inevitable despite an offer from Wake Forest. He’s a talented pass rusher that even stood up when he rushed off the edge. The Eleanor Roosevelt standout could be a candidate for the “BUCK” linebacker spot down the road at Maryland. 247 Composite rating: No. 68 SDE/No. 25 in MDSDE

B'Ahmad Miller

6-3, 235 lbs (Baltimore, MD), ★★★

Maryland went just as heavy on the defensive line as they did at wide receiver. Miller may not be the quickest defensive end, but he certainly wreaks havoc at the line of scrimmage. 247 Composite rating: No. 72 SDE/No. 26 in MDNext: Terps fend off Ohio StateILB

Nick Underwood

6-2, 230 lbs (Riverside, CA), ★★★

Underwood hails from the same junior college that cornerback J.C. Jackson reestablished himself at. He was originally an Air Force commit in 2014. Underwood averaged 7.1 tackles-per-game and was named the National Central Conference Player of the Year in 2016. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if he had playing time this fall. 247 Composite rating: No. 103 overall (JuCo)/No. 7 ILB/No. 21 in CA