Maryland football Coach DJ Durkin began his news conference on National Signing Day by listing some of the attributes he and his staff value most when assessing players. Among those are effort and a competitive fire, but Durkin indicated his top priority is keeping as many highly regarded local players as possible in their home state.
That’s in large part why the Terrapins’ first-year coach spoke so glowingly about this year’s recruiting class, which in part includes 10 players from Maryland, most notably four-stars Terrance Davis (Temple Hills), Tino Ellis (Reisterstown) and Richard Merritt (Silver Spring).