Not a whole lot of new info today, but after talking to a few folks last night and this morning, I have a little bit of new info, including two new names as possible defensive coaches, both with deep SEC ties. So here goes...
Offensive staff
- On the offensive coordinator front, the hold up still appears to be whether Josh Gattis gets the Appalachian St. job. Tee Martin is still in the mix as well, but it remains to be seen who would coach what positions and whether they could coexist as co-coordinators, possibly. It would seem that if Gattis does not get the App. St. job and is in play for Maryland, Chris Beatty is 100% out, as they both have co-OC/WR roles, respectively. If Gattis is not in play, it is possible that Tee Martin comes aboard and Beatty stays on staff, with Martin as OC and QB coach. Some of this is speculation, but the hold up does appear to be the status of Josh Gattis and Tee Martin is still in play.
UPDATE: So since I started writing this, NC State offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz has been named App. St. head coach. Would think we could see some movement with regards to OC very soon.
- With regards to Butch Jones, as has been repeated her numerous times now, Butch was in Maryland with Locksley helping out his friend much of this week. But again, as of this minute, they still do not have an agreement in place for him to come on board as associate head coach. An agreement could be reached at any moment, but for now, nothing is done.
Defensive staff
- Defensive line coach remains one of the biggest mysteries on Locksley's staff. Again, as we have previously mentioned, we have heard that is possibly because Locksley will let the defensive coordinator make this pick. One new name we have heard in the past 24 hours is South Carolina assistant head coach and defensive line coach Lance Thompson.
Thompson, who is in his third year at South Carolina, has had multiple stints and with Nick Saban both at Alabama and LSU, most recently coaching at Alabama from 2012-2014. He also spent a decade at Georgia Tech, working alongside former Terps head coach Ralph Friedgen.
Thompson is also known as a BIG TIME recruiter. He has been named national recruiter of the year by both Rivals and ESPN. During his most recent stint at Alabama, he was the lead recruiter for Northern Virginia natives DaShawn Hand and Jonathan Allen. He also helped the Tide land All-Pro wideout Julio Jones.
- As for defensive coordinator, we continue to hear Dennard Wilson is the most likely to join Locksley in College Park, but we have also heard the name of another former Tide assistant who could also be in the mix. That is current Oakland Raiders defensive backs coach Derrick Ansley.
Prior to joining John Gruden's staff this season, Ansley spent the past two years with Mike Locksley at Alabama, serving as Nick Saban's defensive backs coach. Prior to that, he had stints at Kentucky and Tennessee.
Like, Wilson, sources believe Ansley is a rising star in the coaching profession and it is just a matter of time before he gets a defensive coordinator job, whether it be in the college or NFL ranks. And while Ansley and Thompson have never actually been on the same staff (both had stints at Alabama and Tennessee right around the same time), they have both coached in the SEC for a number of years and are likely very familiar with one another. So it makes sense both of their names are popping up now.
So what's the hold up at defensive coordinator? The holdup appears to be the fact that there are still three weeks left in the NFL season. So if you are expecting an announcement soon, might want to hold tight, we might not know anything until after the new year.
Recruiting
- As you have likely learned from this morning's update on Mason Lunsford, he looks extremely likely to be joining Maryland's 2019 class in the not-too-distant future.
- Nick Cross visited Maryland last night but is keeping things close to the vest at the moment. He doesn't seem thrilled with the fact folks have been rather presumptuous about him likely flipping to Maryland soon. That said, we still expect him to end up a Terp, although it might not be official until the late signing period.
- Continue to hear from sources close to the situation this morning that landing DeMarcco Hellams is going to be extremely tough. We aren't ready to write him off by any means, but this is anything but a sure thing.
- One other name as a possible flip candidate I forgot to mention the other day is that of Adrian Cole, a two-star CB out of Plantation, Fla. who is currently committed to Syracuse. Maryland offered him the other day and Cory Robinson had been recruiting him at Rutgers. With Maryland's past recent success with undersized Florida DBs, they could have a real shot at flipping him if they are able to get him on campus.
- Finally, no big recruiting weekend starting tomorrow. Instead, look for a huge weekend to come right after the dead period. That said, Maryland will have some St. John's studs on campus this weekend.
Offensive staff
- On the offensive coordinator front, the hold up still appears to be whether Josh Gattis gets the Appalachian St. job. Tee Martin is still in the mix as well, but it remains to be seen who would coach what positions and whether they could coexist as co-coordinators, possibly. It would seem that if Gattis does not get the App. St. job and is in play for Maryland, Chris Beatty is 100% out, as they both have co-OC/WR roles, respectively. If Gattis is not in play, it is possible that Tee Martin comes aboard and Beatty stays on staff, with Martin as OC and QB coach. Some of this is speculation, but the hold up does appear to be the status of Josh Gattis and Tee Martin is still in play.
UPDATE: So since I started writing this, NC State offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz has been named App. St. head coach. Would think we could see some movement with regards to OC very soon.
- With regards to Butch Jones, as has been repeated her numerous times now, Butch was in Maryland with Locksley helping out his friend much of this week. But again, as of this minute, they still do not have an agreement in place for him to come on board as associate head coach. An agreement could be reached at any moment, but for now, nothing is done.
Defensive staff
- Defensive line coach remains one of the biggest mysteries on Locksley's staff. Again, as we have previously mentioned, we have heard that is possibly because Locksley will let the defensive coordinator make this pick. One new name we have heard in the past 24 hours is South Carolina assistant head coach and defensive line coach Lance Thompson.
Thompson, who is in his third year at South Carolina, has had multiple stints and with Nick Saban both at Alabama and LSU, most recently coaching at Alabama from 2012-2014. He also spent a decade at Georgia Tech, working alongside former Terps head coach Ralph Friedgen.
Thompson is also known as a BIG TIME recruiter. He has been named national recruiter of the year by both Rivals and ESPN. During his most recent stint at Alabama, he was the lead recruiter for Northern Virginia natives DaShawn Hand and Jonathan Allen. He also helped the Tide land All-Pro wideout Julio Jones.
- As for defensive coordinator, we continue to hear Dennard Wilson is the most likely to join Locksley in College Park, but we have also heard the name of another former Tide assistant who could also be in the mix. That is current Oakland Raiders defensive backs coach Derrick Ansley.
Prior to joining John Gruden's staff this season, Ansley spent the past two years with Mike Locksley at Alabama, serving as Nick Saban's defensive backs coach. Prior to that, he had stints at Kentucky and Tennessee.
Like, Wilson, sources believe Ansley is a rising star in the coaching profession and it is just a matter of time before he gets a defensive coordinator job, whether it be in the college or NFL ranks. And while Ansley and Thompson have never actually been on the same staff (both had stints at Alabama and Tennessee right around the same time), they have both coached in the SEC for a number of years and are likely very familiar with one another. So it makes sense both of their names are popping up now.
So what's the hold up at defensive coordinator? The holdup appears to be the fact that there are still three weeks left in the NFL season. So if you are expecting an announcement soon, might want to hold tight, we might not know anything until after the new year.
Recruiting
- As you have likely learned from this morning's update on Mason Lunsford, he looks extremely likely to be joining Maryland's 2019 class in the not-too-distant future.
- Nick Cross visited Maryland last night but is keeping things close to the vest at the moment. He doesn't seem thrilled with the fact folks have been rather presumptuous about him likely flipping to Maryland soon. That said, we still expect him to end up a Terp, although it might not be official until the late signing period.
- Continue to hear from sources close to the situation this morning that landing DeMarcco Hellams is going to be extremely tough. We aren't ready to write him off by any means, but this is anything but a sure thing.
- One other name as a possible flip candidate I forgot to mention the other day is that of Adrian Cole, a two-star CB out of Plantation, Fla. who is currently committed to Syracuse. Maryland offered him the other day and Cory Robinson had been recruiting him at Rutgers. With Maryland's past recent success with undersized Florida DBs, they could have a real shot at flipping him if they are able to get him on campus.
- Finally, no big recruiting weekend starting tomorrow. Instead, look for a huge weekend to come right after the dead period. That said, Maryland will have some St. John's studs on campus this weekend.
