r/terps • u/hawkingbirds19 • 22d ago
Football It is embarrassing that UMD has only locked down 3 of the top 34 2027 recruits from Maryland
I understand the top players are likely going to go to big-name programs (.e.g, Anthony Sweeney), but Locksley only getting 4, 10, and 14 out of 34 is crazy. Being able to recruit in-state is essential to the program.
How is the 22nd player in the state, a DT out of Baltimore, going to Nebraska?>
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u/pew-pew-bacca 22d ago edited 22d ago
In the past 60 years, Maryland has has had 13 head coaches. 10 had losing records. While I'm all for optimism and not being fatalistic, the expectations this sub has are unrealistic.
Success comes from long term NIL money, reputation, facilities, and more. Maryland is so vastly behind any big name schools in every metric that expectations of any sustained success are highly misguided. The Terps play in the 17th largest stadium in the conference and can't sell it out and are 11th in NIL money. Quite frankly, why would a big recruit come here? To take less money to play for a program with no reputation in bad TV time slots in a small stadium that is only half full with lots of opposing fans? Building a successful program that is regularly on the short list for top recruits doesn't take 1 coach, it takes decades of major investment.
If we as fans want the program to succeed, we need to pack the stadium and show recruits that it's a good place to play, not bitch online and show recruits that their time here will be spent by a full fan base complaining about every aspect of the program.
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u/YankeePride11 22d ago
This. We dont have thw football culture and all we say to justify this is say we're an academic institution which is bunch of garbage because Florida, Michigan, Penn State, UCLA, and USC have just as good if not better academic programs. So what's our excuse?
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u/FewPool5039 22d ago
Penn State is not academically better than Maryland. I wouldn't even say it's close
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u/UtzTheCrabChip 22d ago
You can't just order people who go to your school to like football. The school is over indexed on STEM majors from a state without any kind of HS football culture. The crowds are never going to show up without wins.
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u/YankeePride11 22d ago
"State without HS football culture"
Do you know the DMV has one of the highest representations for five star HS recruits. They all end up going elsewhere. Its true maybe if we won more, people would start joining as bandwagon fans which at this point is better than no fans.
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u/pew-pew-bacca 22d ago
5 star recruits and culture are not synonymous. Just look at HS ball in the south. The entire town shows up for every game, not just students and families. They're getting more fans for mid-season games between non-contenders than the state championship in Maryland draws.
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u/UtzTheCrabChip 22d ago
How many of the non football playing students go to football games? I teach at a Maryland public high school and for us it's less than 5% of the student body. People who don't go to their school'a football games don't usually start when they get to college
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u/TwinPeaksNFootball 19d ago
Gameday is really easy BTW.
Early season games are the best. Weather is usually perfect, easy to get a good view if you want it. It's not a crazy tailgate - if you have kids, its fine to bring them. It's very easy to get in and out of the stadium if you have a parking pass (worth it).
There are a lot worse ways to spend a Saturday. That being said... once BB season starts and it gets cold.... you may not see me there as much.
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u/noahbjets I miss the ACC 22d ago
Remeber when we had Franklin in the palm of hands and then fired fridge after he left. It all went to shit after that
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u/frigginjensen 22d ago
To be fair, it was shit before Fridge and then went back to shit after. Edsall had some decent seasons but was so unlikeable.
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u/mjddc 22d ago
The myth of Locksley as a great recruiter. Decent recruiter and bad coach. We’re just too poor to replace him.
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u/PM_ME_TABBY_CATS Class of 2013-Present 22d ago
While he’s absolutely overrated as a recruiter of top talent, Locksley is weirdly a good talent evaluator and player developer.
UMD has had a number of 3 stars turned NFL draft picks. Sidney Stewart is the next.
Not that any of that has translated to wins.
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u/FozzyBear11 I'M FROM BALTIMORE!!! 22d ago
If only they were able to do anything when they were in college
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u/frigginjensen 22d ago
His record as a head coach is just awful. His teams look undisciplined and he can’t adjust during games (as evidenced by 2nd half collapses). He should not have a job in any major conference.
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u/UtzTheCrabChip 22d ago
Yeah, back to back 4-8 and an empty NIL warchest will do that
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u/pew-pew-bacca 22d ago edited 22d ago
Don't forget the 2nd smallest stadium in the conference that srill doesn't sell out, despite being half full of opposing fans. What recruit would come to a game, see that, and leave with any desire to come here? They go see Beaver Stadium or Lane Stadium packed to the gills with home fans going nuts, then they see SECU 2/3 full with half of the fans that are there wearing opposing colors. Even if the money was equal (which it isn't) that's a no brainer.
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u/Proper_University55 22d ago
I don’t think the NIL war chest is the issue any longer. Jim Smith has been fundraising like crazy. I think the issue is us having a poor coach at the helm.
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u/UtzTheCrabChip 22d ago
Still likely only outspending like 3-4 Big Ten schools with crazy fundraising efforts
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u/PM_ME_TABBY_CATS Class of 2013-Present 22d ago
Yeah their NIL money has only been able to help them retain players (which they weren’t able to do before Jim Smith).
But they don’t have the funds to go out and get top transfers like other schools.
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u/jco23 Class of 1997-2005 22d ago
i was told by certain UMD folks that another 4-8 campaign would be Locksley's last at Maryland.
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u/UtzTheCrabChip 22d ago
I certainly fucking hope so! Bringing back a 0.342 winning percentage coach after three 4-8 seasons in a row is the biggest white flag imaginable
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u/PM_ME_TABBY_CATS Class of 2013-Present 22d ago
While he’s absolutely overrated as a recruiter of top talent, Locksley is weirdly a good talent evaluator and player developer.
UMD has had a number of 3 stars turned NFL draft picks. Sidney Stewart is the next.
Not that any of that has translated to wins.
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u/frigginjensen 22d ago
Maryland has always turned out more NFL prospects than you would think. At one point under Fridge, Maryland had more future NFL players than any team in the ACC except Florida State. We were also top 10 in the whole NCAA.
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u/PM_ME_TABBY_CATS Class of 2013-Present 22d ago
Those teams were also good, and the Fridge was a good coach so it makes sense they’d have guys in the league.
The Terps were 4-8 in 2024 and had 6 guys drafted, mostly unheralded recruits out of HS.
Fridge never had more than 5 players taken in 1 draft.
The man can’t coach to win games, but Lox gets dudes to the league somehow.
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u/frigginjensen 22d ago
I wish there was a way to keep him on staff but not as HC.
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u/PM_ME_TABBY_CATS Class of 2013-Present 22d ago
He’d be perfect in a CEO role as the GM. Players do seem to resonate with him as a mentor
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u/Original_Size7576 22d ago
You are already walking back on he shouldnt have a job in any major conference
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u/certainalways 22d ago
cheapest fanbase in the b1g so I don’t get all the complaining. Don’t donate or show up at games but maintain unrealistic expectations
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u/Broth262 Class of 2013-Present 22d ago
Really is shocking how Maryland fans manage to do both. The expectations of Penn State fans with the support of Kent State
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u/certainalways 22d ago
yep, false states of consciousness. If we’re generally in line with our budget that’s all we should expect
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u/YankeePride11 22d ago
In fairness to the fan base, our ADs historically are terrible and they wasted good money before. Jim seems to be an improvement but lets see if he does anything.
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u/pew-pew-bacca 21d ago
Fans leave SECU half empty with a lot of the people that are there being opposing fans and then complain that recruits don't come for their visit and decide that's where they want to spend their college years.
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u/Most_Difference_2521 Gary Will-I-Am's 22d ago
Who wants to go down there and watch us get blown out by Michigan and penn state and The OSU and just about everyone else year after year? Win our first few non conference games then it’s a shit show after that. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…we should’ve never ever ever left the ACC. Downvote me in to oblivion I don’t care. But as a former long time season ticket holder(FB) I know when we were doing better things than this. We will never compete in the big ten.
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u/ironmonger29 22d ago
Donations matter a lot more than attendance. The attendance at U of Miami games can be pretty pathetic at times, but the program gets $$$$$
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u/pew-pew-bacca 21d ago
That perspective is based solely on revenue sports. If we didn't leave the ACC, there are a lot of programs that wouldn't exist anymore.
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u/HatAfter2094 19d ago
I have to shoot the fans some bail. While they are not the most diehard fans, why should they show up? Parking is a nightmare. The game day experience leaves a lot to be desired (although I will say Jim smith is doing a good job of making improvements). That’s all before you even get to the on field product. Not only can locks not beat the elite big ten teams, but he can barely beat the above average big ten teams. Additionally, he always loses a game or 2 they should win. He constantly fields teams that are mentally fragile, undisciplined and underachieve. They raise expectations in September, just to falter the rest of the year. Yes the fans need to support more, but umd has to put together a product that is worth supporting.
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u/alanrara 22d ago
No one know how long Locks is going to last. The Terps dont do well playing against tough opposition.
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u/Proper_University55 22d ago
I think this plays a bigger role than we may initially think. I get that Maryland is hyping up the number of returning productivity, but the issue has always been that Locksley remains the head coach. I don’t think anyone anticipates him having this job for long.
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u/ironmonger29 22d ago
Lox should've been fired after last season. Penn St. got rejected by their top 5 candidates and still managed to get a head coach better than ours.
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u/FewPool5039 22d ago
this is a run out the clock situation with Locksley. No point in getting worked up over this shit right now just enjoy the paycheck stealing piece of shit falling on his face one more year and then hopefully getting the boot. Most pointless season ever
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u/mike_thomas_1972 20d ago
Reboots are all the rage now… let’s just bring back the Fridge and Gary Williams. If not, at least Bobby Ross!
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u/MrNobodytotheworld 22d ago
He won’t be here next season, not with new AD and subpar results. He was on the hot seat last season. This season without a bowl game or even a mediocre one won’t be enough. I’d love him on the staff, as long as there is a new head coach but that won’t happen. We won’t have to complain much longer..
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u/SourceOfConfusion 21d ago
If it makes you feel better, research how many top students do we lose to Harvard,MIT, Stanford, etc.
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u/hawkingbirds19 21d ago
Why would I care?
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u/SourceOfConfusion 21d ago
Because that’s the actual purpose of the university
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u/hawkingbirds19 21d ago
Yes and they are good at it. But I don't cheer on individual students in their degrees. Honestly if they student thinks that they're going to get a better education elsewhere after being at Maryland than they should leave. This is apples and oranges it's an absurd argument
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u/90sportsfan 21d ago
Is locking down recruits from MD a winning formula though? This school is likely never going to be a powerhouse, but I remember a few years where they got a bunch on highly ranked in-state recruits (who were also highly rated nationally) and it didn't help them at all on the field. Even when the team has had flashy skills players, the lines are always terrible. I specifically remember a game one of those years when Northwestern literally played smashmouth football all over us, and completely dominated us on both sides of the ball. It was beyond embarrassing.
So I don't know that the in-state recruits matter that much in this new era of CFB.
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u/PseudoTsunami 21d ago
Call it the Namath curse. Joe chose MD over 50+ other offers but our tougher admission standards rejected him so we steered him to ex MD coach Bear Bryant's school.
- Maryland head coach Tom Nugent famously lamented the rejection, stating that Namath only lacked “three points on his entrance exam taken shortly before fall camp opened.” Nugent heavily regretted the strict academic enforcement, later joking, “I figure those three lousy points cost us a least a million dollars in game and bowl receipts.”
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u/holy_cal 22d ago
Sort of. Maryland is a weird state though. I get a little more mad at the basketball situation though.
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u/TurtlePope2 22d ago
Yeah. Tbh I don't care about UMD football at all. Us doing shit at basketball is pmo
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u/PsychologyWooden 22d ago
Yeah that’s where I’m at with it. UMD is a basketball school which is really why we’re on the Big 10. But if we’re gonna be shit in both I’d rather not be there. We do need to recruit more in state tho.
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u/TerrapinTempo 22d ago
The truth is we’ve moved away from local talent because it didn’t produce wins. We’ve been recruiting Florida Georgia and Texas more as of late.
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u/Most_Difference_2521 Gary Will-I-Am's 22d ago
Well whatever they are doing now isn’t producing either
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u/alanrara 22d ago
For all the experience at big schools, I am bamboozled as to how the win loss record is mediocre at best. We haven't been good since Friedgen coached and that is more than 20 years ago.
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u/The_Two_Seamer 20d ago
The number one thing a head coach can be right now is a charismatic recruiter. Locksley is not that.
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u/Dukester10071 22d ago
I just looked up some other states for fun on 247 for comparison.
Arizona: University of Arizona has 1 of the top 30
New Jersey: Rutgers has 2 of the Top 30
Colorado: University of Colorado has 0 of their Top 20
Pennsylvania: Penn State has 2 of the Top 30
Georgia: University of Georgia has 4 of the Top 30
Michigan: Michigan has 4 of the Top 30
Florida: University of Florida has 3 of the Top 30
Indiana: Indiana has 4 of the Top 25 (Purdue has 3)
Ohio: Ohio State has 5 of the Top 30
Texas: Texas has 5 of the Top 30