The early signing period for the 2025 cycle is complete as Maryland football head coach Mike Locksley announced the addition of 20 prospects into the program.
Eleven of the 20 signees are expected to enroll in January of 2025 headlined by four-stars QB Malik Washington, OT Jaylen Gilchrist, RB Iverson Howard, DT Bryce Jenkins and WR Zymear Smith, in addition to QB Jackson Hamilton, DL Dante Recker, ILB CJ Smith, WR Zymear Smith, OLB/DL Sidney Stewart and OLB/DL Nahsir Taylor.
Headlined by seven four-stars, arguably none are bigger than the prized quarterback out of Archbishop Spalding (MD) Malik Washington as he became the third player to officially sign with the program following DeMatha RB Bud Coombs and Spalding DB Jayden Shipps. I say arguably because the Terps’ final signature looms just as large after Salem (VA) OT Jaylen Gilchrist put the finishing touches on the class by becoming the 20th and final pledge this cycle. Gilchrist, a 6-foot-5 lineman, initially committed to Maryland over South Carolina and Georgia as he marks a breakthrough recruiting win for the staff.
Mike Locksley met with the media and broke down his signed class:
Opening statement
“Obviously, the 2025 class for us here at Maryland is a special class, one that I believe will elevate the Maryland football program. A lot of these guys we started recruiting before we started that three-year run. Some of the phone calls I had today are guys that I can remember starting their process as eighth graders. I can remember Bryce Jenkins playing for the White Oak team that went down to Florida to play in the championship game, talking and offering him as an eighth grader. I can remember Malik [Washington] over there with the Maryland Heat as an eighth grader. And so a lot of these guys made a decision to come to Maryland prior to or started the process prior to the three-year run that we had up to this season. And the players that we have here have left a really good runway for our incoming class. When I talk about this class elevating, you can't elevate without separating. And so when you think about separating, you think that the last three, four classes that have come through here have really left a foundation that we are going to be able to build on. And now, with this new college football landscape, we're afforded an opportunity to build on it and this class will give us just that.”
“A few things about this class that I love. Number one, I think four of them have already won state championships or some form of championships and I think six are still competing for a bunch of them. Over the years, we've always talked about owning the DMV and controlling this area. And if you look and see the job that a guy like Coach [Latrell] Scott has done going down into the Virginia area the last couple of years, and being able to take a guy like a Jaylen Gilchrist out of there and Khristian [Martin] a year ago at the quarterback position. We've really been able to do a great job here in DC, Maryland and now down in the Tidewater area that has not been really fruitful for us. But what makes it even better for us is that we also have created this national brand by being a part of the Big Ten. And the way this league has expanded, it's opened up our opportunities throughout the country. We signed, I think, five [defensive] linemen. We went heavy on the [offensive] line a year ago and through the high school ranks. I think 11 of the 20 are scheduled to enroll early, which gives us the opportunity to have them here for spring football and training starting in January, which is huge for us because it allows these players to get acclimated to how we do things. And then lastly, I want to thank all the coaches, the staff, as well as the professors here on campus, our administration over there at Xfinity [Center] – it takes a village to recruit these days and a lot of times I get credit or we get credit as just the coaches that go out and recruit these guys over the years but I can tell you, man, from [Tommy Paolucci] to Merci [Falaise], even to somebody like Brian Griffin, who's come here as our Chief of Staff. There's been a lot of people that have put the effort, energy into it – the back room, Casey Wasserman and Tegan [Engroff] and Marcus Thomas and those guys, the job they've done in the evaluation process. Here at Maryland, when we recruit, especially the high school rankings or the high school area, we typically for every commit, one commit, we gotta recruit eight to ten guys. And so when you think of signing 22 guys, and if it takes ten offers to get a commitment, that's a lot of players to evaluate and make decisions on. Our back room has done a tremendous job. And now we've been able to use a lot of the analytics companies to also give us information in who we sign. And so it takes a village and we have some great staff that have done a tremendous job. The professors on campus from all of our different areas of expertise have all given us their time and energy to recruit these guys and those relationships that we've created here over the years have allowed us to put a historic class like the one that's coming in here in our ‘25 class. And I'm excited about it. After a tough, long year where we didn't meet the standard that we had, it's great to finish the ‘25 cycle with signing these players who have endured this tough year along with us and all along the way, I just kept thinking ‘help is on the way’ and I'm excited with this class that's coming in to represent us and help us build on this runway that the previous guys have left us.”
On whether the change the timing of the early signing period changed recruiting strategy
“I think it's the new landscape. I mean, as I've told our staff we have to adjust how we see and look at the recruiting process nowadays. And we've put a lot of time, energy and effort, and obviously for these guys, it's almost anti-climatic for some of the signing. It used to be a really big deal and I think because of the business side of how a lot of these things are being done or getting done, it's more of a professional deal where a kid makes a decision, we meet and decide kind of what we both are looking for. It felt good for me to not have to really chase guys or the flips that typically have happened around here. I mean, it's a little tougher to do because of there is money involved, there is different things that are involved in this process, especially for the high school kid. Obviously, we, as I've said along the way, we've continued to build this thing with high school players. And now with the new money that will be coming to universities, it gives us a chance. And I've said this before, we've built this thing with the high school kid and now with the resources that we're going to be given going into this next cycle of recruiting, I feel really confident that we'll be able to continue to build through the high school ranks but also add some very valuable pieces through the portal that I expect us to continue to do here once the portal window opens up December 9. So I think this is the new landscape, and this is how I see it moving forward. Even with recruiting in terms of guys, the days of all these taking pictures in front of cars and the boat rides and all those things, those things have kind of gone in a different direction and now it's about the business of football.”
On what impresses him about QB Malik Washington
“He is so relatable. I mean, he is one of those guys that can transcend. I mean, it'd be like, I'm a big music guy. So he's a guy that could be a hip hop artist, an R&B singer, a country singer. He can maybe even be one of those, what do you – folk song singers? I mean, Hootie and the Blowfish. This guy, you can't put him in a box, and that part of it, I mean, the intelligence he brings. I've recruited Malik since he was an eighth grader. I watched how he built this Spalding program with his head coach there and a lot like what we've had to do here at Maryland and it has not been easy. They have not always had all the built-in advantages that some of the other places that they would play had. And he never once wavered, man. And to me, this kid had – the sky is the limit for his talent level. He expects to come in, in the mail room and work his way up. He doesn't want it any other way. He wants to come in and learn and be a sponge. We spent every Sunday for the most part of this season where we’d watch his tape. He'd watch our games. Because after every game, when you got a guy like that committed, people would call and say, ‘Man, you don't want to go there. They suck. They're not this.’ And then he had a chance to watch every play. We didn't hide from what we put on tape and he had a chance to see and learn what this system is about or will and can be about. And I think that in itself showed me who he was. He's a special kid, man, and I'm really excited to have a chance to coach him and he was a guy that we targeted a long time ago – to come in here and help us elevate this program.”
Whether the four-stars can start immediately
“I've never been one of those guys that says whether a kid can start or not start immediately. We recruit and bring kids in with the mentality that we expect them to play early. Because if a kid comes in without the expectation to play early, he will have no chance at this level. With that being said, I’ll also tell you that none of these kids have been brought in told that they are expected to be starters. They have all been told, and I'm on the record here to say that every kid will have an opportunity to come in to compete to start, as we have done with any and every recruit we've signed and what we've done with each and every position every year. That part won't change. And again, all three of those guys that you named – Messiah, Jaylen as well as Bryce – all are big time players that I think, as we've evaluated them over the years, should and will have the opportunity to come in and compete. And so to me, that part, any player that I've recruited has heard me say that, and it's no different for these guys.”
On DL Bryce Jenkins
“I think with Bryce, I think it's the heavy handedness of interior guy that has the twitch. One of the things always say is some big guys are big guys that have big guy skills. He's a big guy with a little guy skillset, meaning he's one of those guys a lot like Warren Sapp. When I do a comparisons, he's a guy that has that twitch inside that most interior defenders don't have. And so to me, that part, with that big body, he could very easily be an All-American left tackle as he can be an All-American interior three technique nose guard guy.”
On OT Jaylen Gilchrist
“He has the body of those guys that I've had a chance to coach at some other places where, Jedrick Wills walks in the door at Alabama, starts as a true freshman. Jonah Williams played a lot as a true freshman. Alex Leatherwood, so I see him being that talent. His size, his athletic ability, his skillset, as well as our need to improve that position. So with that Jaylen’s skillset is a big, athletic guy that has a body and strength that translates to being able to come in and compete early. I just watched a guy like Terez Davis and Michael Hershey as true freshman come in and really do a great job and compete. I see him being in the same mold as those guys. And unlike those guys, he'll have a chance to be here early. He'll be here hopefully in January as he finishes up the work he has to do.”
On SAF Messiah Delhomme
“I throw Messiah almost into the same category. We're getting a great value because he's a four-star that very easily had he played his senior year, he's a guy that has national, had an ability to go nationally anywhere he wanted to go, but his range and losing players like Dante Trader and Glen Miller that have been three-year starters back there on the back end, his range, his length. He has what I call the quarterback-moxie that you look for out of a field general on the defensive side. He has tremendous ball skills, which when you play that position, we see him a guy that has the ability to play the deep part of the field for us and has the range, the length and the ball skills that you want, as well as the physicality man. He missed his senior year, very similar to what Tai Felton went through his senior year, but nobody backed off of recruiting him. And we were very fortunate that coach Latrell and Zac Spavital, all our safeties coach and even coach Aazaar [Abdul-Rahim] who helps there as a co-coordinator, all worked really hard to recruit Messiah and show him that we really do think he has the necessary things to be one of those guys that could come in and lead us on the defensive side of the ball.”
On OL recruiting and how much NIL impacted recruiting in the 2025 cycle
“I would say that they look very similar. I mean, the size and of the of the guys that we've been able to recruit the last couple of years. I mean, we learn very quickly that it's great to have athletes and skill but if you want to win in this league, what we just kind of went through here the last four or five weeks of our season has continued to show us that we have to continue to get bigger, stronger, more heavy-handed there in the trenches – [offensive] line, [defensive] line, tight ends, outside linebackers. And there's no doubt that when we target guys, we're looking for that size. I don't have three years to develop a 270-pound offensive lineman like we used to have, because now, with the financial implications that come with the new landscape, I gotta get guys that can play now. I gotta develop guys to play now. And that's why we even put the resources into the number of [offensive] line coaches that we have working with these guys to try to expedite it. But we've also kind of went and now have been afforded the resources to go get a guy like a Jaylen Gilchrist, who before, I couldn't go get Jaylen a year ago. I can go get Jaylen now. And that's due to, what our administrators have been able to do, what our supporters have been able to do, to give us the resources to go get the type of players we're going to need to compete in the Big Ten and be competitive.”
On what Bud Coombs, Iverson Howard add to the RB room
“The two running backs, I mean, again, losing guys like Roman Hamby and Colby McDonald, I see those two being those type of players in terms of the skill set. When I think of Iverson, I think of that speed and I can remember watching Roman Hemby’s tape and seeing him being able to hit the home run. And Iverson has a nickname – ‘The Rocket’ – and he's one of those low center of gravity, contact-balance guy that that really is a tough tackle because of the leverage he plays with, but he also has that ability as a finisher, a lot like the Ray Rice’s, the Saquon Barkley’s even, I think back to I had a guy here named Bruce Perry. And when I think of Iverson, I think of Bruce Perry-like comp where I saw Bruce as a true freshman, man, come in and make a lot of plays, and as a sophomore, be the ACC Offensive Player of the Year. And I think Iverson has that type of ability. With Bud, I think you see is the change up. I mean, he's the physical, heavy-handed runner, a little bit like the Blake Corum runner that we faced at Michigan. And I've had a chance to recruit Blake out of high school and they both are very similar in that Bud is one of those guys that will consistently make the play, consistently finish falling forward. I see him being a guy that will have the ability to be a short yardage guy as well as catch the ball out of the backfield. Both those two and their skillsets are actually very complimentary, similar to what we saw in Roman and Colby McDonald here the last few years.”
On whether the incoming trench additions fill the portal replacement
“A year ago we built this team, as I say through the draft, is with high school players, which is why we signed the amount of high school players we did a year ago. And from a resource standpoint is who we could afford to be a year ago. And we were really intentional about that. And you look at the O-line class we signed, I feel like we hit home runs on that group of seven, I think eight guys that we brought in here, from the [Trevor] Szymanski to Michael Hershey, to Terez Davis to [Anthony] Robsock – all those guys, those young, O-linemen. And so now, because of the new landscape and the money that is coming from the NCAA, it gives us the ability to go and get some guys to supplement us. I will again say we're going to always base ourselves with signing high school players to create the nucleus of our culture, but we will use the portal to offset it much like we used transfers before. And there's no doubt we have some areas that we have to address, as I'm still in – unfortunately, we ended the season Saturday. Signing Day is on Wednesday, right after. I've been having end of the year meetings with players. I've been recruiting my own roster. Some guys [have] decided maybe to leave the place and so I haven't had a chance to necessarily address some of the issues that we’ve faced this year, but I can tell you that some of the glaring areas of improvement have to be up front on the O-line, which I saw us make strides with by the end of the year. And then the secondary, the corners and now losing two safeties that have been three-year starters, addressing that area. The front we've addressed. And so we'll continue to use the portal to maybe address some of those areas, bring in a couple of linemen, bring in maybe a C-area guy there at tight end, bring in some corners and safeties that have the ability to come in and immediately help us, like we've been able to do with the Jakorian Bennett’s, the Ja’Quan Shepperd’s that have come here the last few years and help us. And I anticipate us doing some of that here once the portal opens and I expect us to be pretty active thanks to the resources that we've been provided this year.”
On DB Jayden Shipps
“I would put him not in a comparison of any of the guys we brought in a year ago, but I see him almost being Deonte Bank-ish in that I think he's undervalued, maybe because of, you know, he plays at a place where they've had a lot of talented players sign division one. But know that he was a guy that we evaluated in camp, that his skill set fit what we were looking for. That his length and size, he kind of reminds me of what Glen Miller was. Glen came in as a corner, had length, size, could play the slot corner star position in our defense and then transition to becoming a safety. Jayden is one of those versatile guys, but he also adds – one of the elements that people lose sight on it, that we really struggled at this year was the special teams value of big-body guys that can cover kicks, that can block people in space, that can get people down on the ground. And you never can have enough of those guys and those bodies. The success we've had recruiting Archbishop Spalding and the type of players that Kyle Schmitt, who's a former Terp, has been able to produce. If you look at across our roster, we have quite a few guys from Spalding and it's because of the value that those guys have created. And Jayden is one of those guys that will come in, in my opinion, and create similar value.”
On recruiting a dual-sport athlete like Bud Coombs
“Me and Coach Swope have been really close for a long time. And I can remember when he came back as an assistant, and I was here as an assistant, and much like me, a guy that grew up loving the Terps and wanting to be a Terp and was a Terp. We worked together on Bud. I mean, Bud is a tremendous baseball player. He's a tremendous football player. He's a tremendous kid, man. His mom, Sadie, and his dad, Buster, both have done a tremendous job, man. I am so excited because this guy can be the face of a program, both programs and there's no doubt we're gonna give him every chance to excel in both sports here. The game of football, I've been at places where we've allowed – I can remember, you know, Daryl Whitmer, back in our Orange Bowl year, was a successful baseball-football guy. And I remember having spring practice and him leaving out of a scrimmage running, and by the time I got in there, he had his baseball uniform heading over to the turtle to go play in games. And I'm looking forward, and I know our team is of supporting Bud to be able to do both and do both very successfully. So excited for what he has done and will be able to do for both our programs, and he wouldn't here if it wasn't as well for our baseball staff and the job they did recruiting him and selling him on how they plan to use them. So we worked really well together to get that one done and we got a great player out of it.”
Related Links