University of Maryland head coach D.J. Durkin recently announced that 22 high school student-athletes have signed national letters of intent to play football for the Terps during the early signing period.
This year marks the first time in school history that Maryland has signed back-to-back Top 25 recruiting classes. The class includes five consensus four-star signees and two members of the ESPN300 – a group ranked No. 18 by Rivals, No. 19 by Scout/247 Sports and No. 21 by ESPN.
Fifteen players attended high school in the DMV; nine players earned All-MET honors. Also, two of the Top 10 players hail from the District. The remainder of Maryland’s 2018 signing class will be announced on February 7. Here’s some information on several local recruits predicted to make an instant impact on the Terrapins’ future success.
Vincent Flythe, defensive back, 6-0, 172, Howard D. Woodson HS, D.C.
Flythe is a consensus three-star recruit across all major recruiting outlets and is rated third overall in D.C. by Rivals. He was a Second Team All-Metro selection as a senior, garnering scholarship offers from the University of Wisconsin, University of Virginia, University of Pittsburgh and Rutgers University.
Maryland Defensive Backs Coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim on Flythe: “Vincent is a student of the game and extremely confident in his ability. He’s a quiet assassin that will fit into our secondary, he’s mentally strong and can pick up everything in a fast manner. He’s long, athletic and can play press and off.”
Dontay Demus Jr., wide receiver, 6-4, 205, Friendship Collegiate Academy, D.C.
Demus was rated the ninth overall player in D.C. by 247sports.com and ESPN and was a Second Team All-Metro selection as a senior who racked up 66 catches for 1,167 yards and 12 touchdowns. His efforts helped lead his team to an 8-4 record and a trip to the DCSAA Class AA championship game in 2017. The highly-touted recruit chose Maryland over Michigan State University and Wisconsin.
Maryland Associate Head Coach/Wide Receivers Coach Chris Beatty on Demus:
“Dontay has huge upside, has great size and length and plays above the rim. I think he’s going to be a monster.”
Comments from other analysts about this class:
“D.J. Durkin is on track to bring Maryland back-to-back top-25 recruiting classes for the first time since ESPN started its class rankings in 2006 which is a pretty remarkable feat,” said ESPN College Football and Recruiting Reporter Tom VanHaaren about Maryland’s recruiting class.
“The staff has reenergized the DMV area, landing 15 of its 22 commitments from the surrounding area,” he said. “Overall, this is a class that should help Maryland fill holes on the roster while adding some future playmakers on both offense and defense.”
“It’s certainly important to build off of last year’s success with this second (full) recruiting class for Coach Durkin and his staff,” Rivals.com Mid-Atlantic Recruiting Analyst Adam Friedman said.
“When you look at this class, there’s a lot of local players which has been a major focus for this coaching staff,” he said. “There are a lot of players with a great deal of potential and that certainly bodes well for a program like Maryland with a good history of player development. When you look at the specific positions that make up this recruiting class, they’re filling a lot of holes and positions of need, while bringing in good size on the offensive and defensive lines.”