Two days after news broke that defensive coordinator Brian Williams was headed to Jacksonville State for the same position, Maryland football saw one of its first commitments back away from his pledge after Mandarin (FL) three-star DL Brian Harris went public with his decommitment.
Harris, a 6-foot-4, 295-pound defensive end, committed to Maryland back on Aug. 9 and was the lone out-of-state commitment. His decommitment became expected one Williams, the primary recruitment with deep his relationship, initially leading the way. Lance Thompson, Maryland’s former ILB coach, also departed the program to accept a role at UNC.
“Dear University of Maryland football program, first and foremost, I want to sincerely thank the entire Maryland coaching staff and program for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to be a part of something special. I have a great deal of respect for the program and truly appreciate the time and effort you have invested in me throughout this process,” Harris wrote on X.
“After much though and consideration, I have decided to decommit from Maryland. This was not an easy decision, but with two of the major factors in my recruitment now at different programs, I feel it is important for me to step back and fully reassess my options. My goal is to find the best overall fit for me, both athletically and academically, and I want to ensure that every school has a fair opportunity to recruit me.”
“That being said, Maryland is still a school I will be considering and I look forward to continuing my relationship with the program as I go through this process. I truly appreciate everything Maryland has done for me, and I wish the program nothing but success moving forward.”
Harris materialized into a coveted target following his junior season with a long list of Power Four schools working to change his mind, but his visit schedule was set ahead of Williams’ departure.
“The last weekend of May I’m going to Stanford,” Harris previously told IBG. “I’m going to West Virginia the first weekend of June, NC State second then South Carolina the third weekend of June. With the new rules you can take as many as you want so I figured I’d take advantage of it. You only get this recruitment once.”
With the news, Maryland is back to three commitments out of Saint Frances (Md.) this cycle with five-star Zion Elee leading the way.
Brian Harris is rated a three-star and ranked the 721st-best prospect nationally, according to On3’s rankings.
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