Hey everyone,
I wanted to post a few notes from yesterday's Rivals camp in New Jersey. Overall, it was a relatively small showing when it comes to prospects Maryland is seriously pursuing, but I was able to speak with a few guys and watch them perform.
LB Koby Quansah - West Hartford, Conn. - Kingswood Oxford - 2016
Out of the handful of Maryland prospects in attendance yesterday, Quansah was, without a doubt, was the most impressive to me. As I posted yesterday, he took home the MVP award at linebacker.
Now, it is important to note that these events aren't the best place to truly judge a linebacker. We don't have pads, so we can't work on form tackling, shedding blocks, etc. Those are two extremely important traits for a linebacker.
So, for the most part, athleticism is what really stands out in events like this and that was very evident with Koby. From agility workouts to 1-on1's with running backs and even some receivers, Quansah really excelled.
I watched Koby cover top up-and-coming 2017 running back D'Andre Swift probably 4-5 times yesterday. Swift made literally every other linebacker look silly, but not Quansah. Koby was the only one that could consistently keep up with him. He even broke up two of the four or five attempts I saw.
As for what's up with his recruitment, I think there's a solid chance that he'll visit UMD again sometime this summer. He made it clear to me yesterday that he wants to visit Maryland, at least, one more time. He only spent like 4-5 hours on campus when he visited a month or so back.
That would be big for the staff because the Terps have been slipping a bit. His relationship with Keith Dudzinski is excellent, one of the best he's formed with any school, but the academics at Duke, Michigan and Vanderbilt have really caught his eye. In fact, Duke is probably the early leader right now, but I'm also not going to put a ton of stock on where each school specifically ranks in April. He's in no rush, so there's still a long way to go. Maryland is right on the fringe of his top five at the moment, which personally, I think is fine. As long as they can get Quansah back on campus one more time this summer - more specifically, get his mother on campus - that should boast their chances of him returning again in the fall for an official visit.
LB Elias Reynolds - Brooklyn, N.Y. - Poly Prep - 2016
Reynolds wasn't quite as focused as someone like Quansah yesterday, but he showed signs of his potential throughout the day. From watching Reynolds, I kind of got the vibe that he wasn't really in the mood to be working out yesterday, but when the coaches were able to light a fire from under him, Reynolds consistently responded with better reps.
One thing I'll say about Elias is that he's already a man. haha. I watched him repeatedly push around other linebackers during some specific drills. Then, I would watch him not care for a couple reps, too. haha. Personally, I don't look at that stuff as a negative or anything. We all have days that we don't want to be doing whatever it is we're doing.
His strength was the main thing that stood out to me, but like I said, when the coaches really started to push him, he stepped it up to a different level. If he would've been at that level all day, he may have been able to push Quansah more for the MVP trophy.
However, there is one additional thing that really stuck with me from yesterday and that was the conversation I had with his dad. Mr. Reynolds was telling me that Maryland has been on his son harder and harder in recent weeks. In fact, they actually want to visit Maryland next weekend, April 25, but it'll probably have to wait until May. They do have legit plans to get down to College Park though, so that's important. I'll monitor that situation throughout the next few weeks.
DE Josh Kaindoh - Baltimore, Md. - Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - 2017
Kaindoh was recognized as one of the top five defensive lineman in attendance yesterday. I wasn't able to watch as much of him as I would've liked - just so many players, so little time - but I did speak to a D-line coach about Kaindoh and he praised his rip move and overall ability to use his hands.
Kaindoh also admitted that Maryland is recruiting him harder than any other school right now. However, he then called Penn State his early favorite.
Now, personally, that doesn't mean much to me. He just visited PSU a couple weeks ago, so they're still fresh in his mind. He has a long way to go, so I'm not putting a lot of stock into that. I do believe the Nittany Lions will be a serious competitor, one that is likely in his top five throughout his recruitment, but I also think the fact that Maryland is on him very hard right now, should pay some dividends as we head into the summer and so on.
OL Eddy Fish - Groton, Mass. - Lawrence Academy - 2016
Out of all of the Maryland prospects in attendance yesterday, offensive lineman Eddy Fish impressed me the most. For his size - which should be a legit 6-6, 290+. Rivals is yet to post their measurements from yesterday - Fish's feet were impressive. His drop step is consistent. He was rarely beaten because he couldn't get off the snap quick enough. I think his hands can improve, but that's often the case for high school lineman. They're used to letting their size dictate the matchup in high school.
Size and agility are what college coaches are really looking, in addition to be coachable. Fish has all three of those traits. That's the main thing that stood out to me yesterday.
As of now, the Terps are yet to offer, but he's expecting Dudzinski and potentially Studrawa to be at his school on Wednesday, April 22. I don't expect him to instantly pick up an offer that day, but we'll see. It's happened before, albeit rarely. However, if he does perform well, an offer in the following days wouldn't surprise me.
DB Donald Stewart - Paramus, N.J. - Paramus Catholic
Unfortunately for Stewart, he had a nagging knee or ankle injury yesterday - I forget exactly what part he told me. I know he was trying to tough it out and play, but it was evident that Donald wasn't at his best yesterday, so it's tough for me to give you much of a breakdown on Stewart.
When it comes to recruiting, he continues to say that he wants to visit Maryland. I do genuinely believe that he will probably visit at some point this summer. That said, if his interest was serious, I think he would've visited by now. He also just landed an offer from Michigan, which is where his former coach is now a recruiting assistant.
That should only help Michigan, but really, it's their academics that are most appealing to Stewart. We'll see if he makes it down to College Park. I think he probably will, but I think Maryland is also outside of his top five at the moment.
I wanted to post a few notes from yesterday's Rivals camp in New Jersey. Overall, it was a relatively small showing when it comes to prospects Maryland is seriously pursuing, but I was able to speak with a few guys and watch them perform.
LB Koby Quansah - West Hartford, Conn. - Kingswood Oxford - 2016
Out of the handful of Maryland prospects in attendance yesterday, Quansah was, without a doubt, was the most impressive to me. As I posted yesterday, he took home the MVP award at linebacker.
Now, it is important to note that these events aren't the best place to truly judge a linebacker. We don't have pads, so we can't work on form tackling, shedding blocks, etc. Those are two extremely important traits for a linebacker.
So, for the most part, athleticism is what really stands out in events like this and that was very evident with Koby. From agility workouts to 1-on1's with running backs and even some receivers, Quansah really excelled.
I watched Koby cover top up-and-coming 2017 running back D'Andre Swift probably 4-5 times yesterday. Swift made literally every other linebacker look silly, but not Quansah. Koby was the only one that could consistently keep up with him. He even broke up two of the four or five attempts I saw.
As for what's up with his recruitment, I think there's a solid chance that he'll visit UMD again sometime this summer. He made it clear to me yesterday that he wants to visit Maryland, at least, one more time. He only spent like 4-5 hours on campus when he visited a month or so back.
That would be big for the staff because the Terps have been slipping a bit. His relationship with Keith Dudzinski is excellent, one of the best he's formed with any school, but the academics at Duke, Michigan and Vanderbilt have really caught his eye. In fact, Duke is probably the early leader right now, but I'm also not going to put a ton of stock on where each school specifically ranks in April. He's in no rush, so there's still a long way to go. Maryland is right on the fringe of his top five at the moment, which personally, I think is fine. As long as they can get Quansah back on campus one more time this summer - more specifically, get his mother on campus - that should boast their chances of him returning again in the fall for an official visit.
LB Elias Reynolds - Brooklyn, N.Y. - Poly Prep - 2016
Reynolds wasn't quite as focused as someone like Quansah yesterday, but he showed signs of his potential throughout the day. From watching Reynolds, I kind of got the vibe that he wasn't really in the mood to be working out yesterday, but when the coaches were able to light a fire from under him, Reynolds consistently responded with better reps.
One thing I'll say about Elias is that he's already a man. haha. I watched him repeatedly push around other linebackers during some specific drills. Then, I would watch him not care for a couple reps, too. haha. Personally, I don't look at that stuff as a negative or anything. We all have days that we don't want to be doing whatever it is we're doing.
His strength was the main thing that stood out to me, but like I said, when the coaches really started to push him, he stepped it up to a different level. If he would've been at that level all day, he may have been able to push Quansah more for the MVP trophy.
However, there is one additional thing that really stuck with me from yesterday and that was the conversation I had with his dad. Mr. Reynolds was telling me that Maryland has been on his son harder and harder in recent weeks. In fact, they actually want to visit Maryland next weekend, April 25, but it'll probably have to wait until May. They do have legit plans to get down to College Park though, so that's important. I'll monitor that situation throughout the next few weeks.
DE Josh Kaindoh - Baltimore, Md. - Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - 2017
Kaindoh was recognized as one of the top five defensive lineman in attendance yesterday. I wasn't able to watch as much of him as I would've liked - just so many players, so little time - but I did speak to a D-line coach about Kaindoh and he praised his rip move and overall ability to use his hands.
Kaindoh also admitted that Maryland is recruiting him harder than any other school right now. However, he then called Penn State his early favorite.
Now, personally, that doesn't mean much to me. He just visited PSU a couple weeks ago, so they're still fresh in his mind. He has a long way to go, so I'm not putting a lot of stock into that. I do believe the Nittany Lions will be a serious competitor, one that is likely in his top five throughout his recruitment, but I also think the fact that Maryland is on him very hard right now, should pay some dividends as we head into the summer and so on.
OL Eddy Fish - Groton, Mass. - Lawrence Academy - 2016
Out of all of the Maryland prospects in attendance yesterday, offensive lineman Eddy Fish impressed me the most. For his size - which should be a legit 6-6, 290+. Rivals is yet to post their measurements from yesterday - Fish's feet were impressive. His drop step is consistent. He was rarely beaten because he couldn't get off the snap quick enough. I think his hands can improve, but that's often the case for high school lineman. They're used to letting their size dictate the matchup in high school.
Size and agility are what college coaches are really looking, in addition to be coachable. Fish has all three of those traits. That's the main thing that stood out to me yesterday.
As of now, the Terps are yet to offer, but he's expecting Dudzinski and potentially Studrawa to be at his school on Wednesday, April 22. I don't expect him to instantly pick up an offer that day, but we'll see. It's happened before, albeit rarely. However, if he does perform well, an offer in the following days wouldn't surprise me.
DB Donald Stewart - Paramus, N.J. - Paramus Catholic
Unfortunately for Stewart, he had a nagging knee or ankle injury yesterday - I forget exactly what part he told me. I know he was trying to tough it out and play, but it was evident that Donald wasn't at his best yesterday, so it's tough for me to give you much of a breakdown on Stewart.
When it comes to recruiting, he continues to say that he wants to visit Maryland. I do genuinely believe that he will probably visit at some point this summer. That said, if his interest was serious, I think he would've visited by now. He also just landed an offer from Michigan, which is where his former coach is now a recruiting assistant.
That should only help Michigan, but really, it's their academics that are most appealing to Stewart. We'll see if he makes it down to College Park. I think he probably will, but I think Maryland is also outside of his top five at the moment.
