With Rivals100 safety Nick Cross officially in the fold, it's time to turn our attention to the Class of 2020...well, maybe not quite.
First off, it was great to see Nick Cross with Josh Wilson at the basketball game. There's just a different kind of buzz when Locksley makes an entrance, especially with just-signed Nick Cross and former Terp Josh Wilson in toe. Cross got a huge ovation when they mentioned his name and showed him on the jumbotron as they did a football marketing plug. That's how you sell tickets.
Now to really get into it...someone had asked in a post yesterday about any possible transfers on the horizon. I had responded by saying nothing appeared to be imminent at this time.
I might have spoken too soon.
I had a chance to speak with someone plugged in with Virginia Tech grad transfer QB Josh Jackson's camp last night after the game and after originally being told the Terps would have a shot, then probably not, the latest intel I got is very positive for Maryland.
According to a source within Jackson's camp, the former Hokie has narrowed things down to Maryland and Bowling Green and could very likely be visiting Maryland this weekend, although nothing is set in stone just quite yet. In fact, while it does not appear to be a done deal just yet, the source said they believe the Terps have the upper hand and they expect Jackson will enroll at Maryland.
Jackson started all 13 games for the Hokies in 2017 as a redshirt freshman, throwing for 2,991 yards and 20 touchdowns. He also ran for 324 yards and 6 more scores on the ground. Things didn't go so smoothly in 2018, as Jackson broke his left leg versus Old Dominion in just the third game of the season. Still, he managed to throw for 575 yards and 5 TDs versus just one interception.
At 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, Jackson checks a lot of boxes. He has good size, a strong arm, can run as well as throw and most importantly, he has meaningful P5 experience.
Maryland was one of the first schools to reach out to Jackson after he announced he was going to transfer. Other schools that reached out included Florida State and Utah.
As for Bowling Green, there is a lot of history there with Jackson and new head coach Scot Loeffler. Josh's father, Fred Jackson, was the running backs coach at Michigan while Loeffler was the QB coach under Lloyd Carr. Among those Loeffler worked with include six-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady. Loeffler also recruited Jackson to Virginia Tech while he was serving as Frank Beamer's offensive coordinator and QB coach. Loeffler never got to actually coach Jackson, however, as Beamer and staff were let go and Fuente took over Jackson's freshman year.
Bowling Green has a major need at quarterback, but so too do the Terps. Even with the addition of Legendre, Maryland is just one big hit to Piggy away from having to possibly rely on a true freshman with no real option behind him. As for Jackson being worried about the recent late addition of Legendre, it sounds like he isn't the least bit worried about competing with a true freshman.
According to my source, while the familiarity of Loeffler and Bowling Green's need at QB are tough to ignore, the appeal of stepping right in at a P5 program like Maryland and learning under Mike Locksley, who most recently worked with Tua Tagovailoa, is the more appealing option of the two as a dual-threat QB.
Perhaps what makes Jackson most appealing is that he would arrive with not one, but two years of eligibility remaining with the ability to play immediately. So while it isn't a done deal just yet, don't be surprised if you hear about Jackson on Maryland's campus this weekend with him committing shortly after.
One other transfer that Maryland could possibly be hosting very soon is Rutgers grad transfer tight end Nakia Griffin-Stewart.
Griffin-Stewart told me that Terps cornerbacks coach Cory Robinson reached out to him immediately after he announced he would be transferring, saying he had a great relationship with Robinson while he was still at Rutgers. He also recently met with Locksley and new tight ends coach Mike Miller to discuss the Maryland program and how they would use him. Griffin-Stewart said he really appreciated the Maryland staff’s approach in that they treated him like a mature adult and not a typical high school recruit.
The other school heavily involved with Griffin-Stewart is Pitt. They hosted him for a visit last weekend. It sounds like it went well and they might be the team to beat at this time. That said, he told me that he hoped to visit both Pitt and Maryland, although he still hadn't set up an exact date for when he'd visit Maryland as of last weekend.
Griffin-Stewart has excellent size at 6-foot-5, 255 pounds and also good hands. He's big enough to stay down on the line and help as an extra blocker and he also runs good enough routes to split out wide and be a pass-catching threat. Although he only caught two passes last season, he had 11 catches for 87 yards and a TD in 2017. If Maryland can get him on campus soon, they have an excellent shot of landing his services.
But for those wondering, those are two grad transfers that the Terps are in pretty good shape with and it would not be a surprise to see them land commitments from in the next week or so.
First off, it was great to see Nick Cross with Josh Wilson at the basketball game. There's just a different kind of buzz when Locksley makes an entrance, especially with just-signed Nick Cross and former Terp Josh Wilson in toe. Cross got a huge ovation when they mentioned his name and showed him on the jumbotron as they did a football marketing plug. That's how you sell tickets.
Now to really get into it...someone had asked in a post yesterday about any possible transfers on the horizon. I had responded by saying nothing appeared to be imminent at this time.
I might have spoken too soon.
I had a chance to speak with someone plugged in with Virginia Tech grad transfer QB Josh Jackson's camp last night after the game and after originally being told the Terps would have a shot, then probably not, the latest intel I got is very positive for Maryland.
According to a source within Jackson's camp, the former Hokie has narrowed things down to Maryland and Bowling Green and could very likely be visiting Maryland this weekend, although nothing is set in stone just quite yet. In fact, while it does not appear to be a done deal just yet, the source said they believe the Terps have the upper hand and they expect Jackson will enroll at Maryland.
Jackson started all 13 games for the Hokies in 2017 as a redshirt freshman, throwing for 2,991 yards and 20 touchdowns. He also ran for 324 yards and 6 more scores on the ground. Things didn't go so smoothly in 2018, as Jackson broke his left leg versus Old Dominion in just the third game of the season. Still, he managed to throw for 575 yards and 5 TDs versus just one interception.
At 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, Jackson checks a lot of boxes. He has good size, a strong arm, can run as well as throw and most importantly, he has meaningful P5 experience.
Maryland was one of the first schools to reach out to Jackson after he announced he was going to transfer. Other schools that reached out included Florida State and Utah.
As for Bowling Green, there is a lot of history there with Jackson and new head coach Scot Loeffler. Josh's father, Fred Jackson, was the running backs coach at Michigan while Loeffler was the QB coach under Lloyd Carr. Among those Loeffler worked with include six-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady. Loeffler also recruited Jackson to Virginia Tech while he was serving as Frank Beamer's offensive coordinator and QB coach. Loeffler never got to actually coach Jackson, however, as Beamer and staff were let go and Fuente took over Jackson's freshman year.
Bowling Green has a major need at quarterback, but so too do the Terps. Even with the addition of Legendre, Maryland is just one big hit to Piggy away from having to possibly rely on a true freshman with no real option behind him. As for Jackson being worried about the recent late addition of Legendre, it sounds like he isn't the least bit worried about competing with a true freshman.
According to my source, while the familiarity of Loeffler and Bowling Green's need at QB are tough to ignore, the appeal of stepping right in at a P5 program like Maryland and learning under Mike Locksley, who most recently worked with Tua Tagovailoa, is the more appealing option of the two as a dual-threat QB.
Perhaps what makes Jackson most appealing is that he would arrive with not one, but two years of eligibility remaining with the ability to play immediately. So while it isn't a done deal just yet, don't be surprised if you hear about Jackson on Maryland's campus this weekend with him committing shortly after.
One other transfer that Maryland could possibly be hosting very soon is Rutgers grad transfer tight end Nakia Griffin-Stewart.
Griffin-Stewart told me that Terps cornerbacks coach Cory Robinson reached out to him immediately after he announced he would be transferring, saying he had a great relationship with Robinson while he was still at Rutgers. He also recently met with Locksley and new tight ends coach Mike Miller to discuss the Maryland program and how they would use him. Griffin-Stewart said he really appreciated the Maryland staff’s approach in that they treated him like a mature adult and not a typical high school recruit.
The other school heavily involved with Griffin-Stewart is Pitt. They hosted him for a visit last weekend. It sounds like it went well and they might be the team to beat at this time. That said, he told me that he hoped to visit both Pitt and Maryland, although he still hadn't set up an exact date for when he'd visit Maryland as of last weekend.
Griffin-Stewart has excellent size at 6-foot-5, 255 pounds and also good hands. He's big enough to stay down on the line and help as an extra blocker and he also runs good enough routes to split out wide and be a pass-catching threat. Although he only caught two passes last season, he had 11 catches for 87 yards and a TD in 2017. If Maryland can get him on campus soon, they have an excellent shot of landing his services.
But for those wondering, those are two grad transfers that the Terps are in pretty good shape with and it would not be a surprise to see them land commitments from in the next week or so.
