100 Posts of Brilliance

Today marks an important milestone in INRCP history: We now have 100 posts. I couldn't be more proud of the site - it's really come a long way (despite looking mostly the same). Thanks a ton to all our readers for making this a successful venture. October 16th, 2007 seems like quite a long time ago in retrospect.

I'm going right to Tate - Kenny Tate that is. Yesterday, as some of you heard, 4-star recruit Kenny Tate accepted a scholarship at "Maryland University," but thankfully he switched his commit to the University of Maryland a short time later. Tate is big and rangy, at 6'4 and 210 lbs. His stats aren't completely out-of-this world (about 500 yds and 6 TDs), but he's definitely an athlete and a consensus top-five player in Maryland.

It seemed like the deciding factors were location, the opportunity to work with a retooled offense, and just feeling like he fit in. Another bonus was that his parents liked Maryland.

Here's the video:



Also, Matt Bracken did a little interview, and here's the parts I appreciated:

Favorite music: Aaliyah

Favorite movie: The Bodyguard

Favorite TV show: Scooby-Doo, Mickey Mouse, cartoons

Favorite thing about College Park: “Chipotle. That’s the spot.”

Fascinating insights, indeed. Chipotle is probably the No. 1 thing about CP.

Also tomorrow, the Terps men play Georgia Tech tomorrow. The Yellow Jackets are 5th in the conference in offense, but dead last in defense and FG% defense. By contrast, Maryland is No. 1 in both of those categories. GT is a spot below us in the conference standings, so it's important to win to start distancing ourselves from the rest of the mediocre ACC pack.

Let's get a win - Go Terps.

Word on the Street: Tate Coming to Maryland

Josh Barr's Recruiting Insider has UMD fans on alert that sought-after wideout Kenny Tate wants to be a Terp. He has a press conference scheduled for today at 5 p.m. (as if we hadn't said it enough), and is choosing between Maryland and Illinois.

I really shouldn't be making promises, but from what I hear, Maryland is a good environment for Tate and is desirable. He's a local standout at DeMatha, and he was a starter for the East in the Senior Bowl. He would be a huge aquisition for the Terps - a perfect option on the other side of fellow four-star recruit. A while back, Matt Bracken had a conversation with his high school coach: Read it here.

Also, some of you know by know I'm obsessed with Recruiting Report, but I really liked today's "Getting to Know You" feature with Davin Meggett. Here's my personal highlights:

Favorite TV show: The Boondocks on the Cartoon Network

Favorite book: The Bible and Football Physics by Timothy James Gay

Favorite thing about College Park: “The energy of the students and just the livelihood, how real they are.”

Hobbies: Playbooks, making new plays, coming up with blocking schemes and checks

I know he takes football seriously, but I hope he can get some new hobbies - like pottery or Scrabble or something. I feel like one cannot live on sports alone - even me (believe it or not).

UPDATE: We got Tate. He seemed really nervous, but he managed to spit out, "I will be attending Maryland University ... Soon as I sign those papers, I'm a Maryland Terrapin."

More info at Recruiting Insider.

Photo Credit: Washington Post

Recruiting Q&A with Matt Bracken from the Baltimore Sun

Hey all, I've got something I'm really excited to share with you.

As a lot of you frequent readers know, I rave all the time about Recruiting Report, one of my essential reading stops for news on Terrapin recruiting and Maryland recruiting in general. Well a week or two ago, I e-mailed Matt Bracken, the guy who does all this footwork for your benefit, some questions about Maryland recruiting. Between all the holiday madness, he had time to dig up some answers for me and for you.

Ladies and gentlemen, Matt Bracken of The Baltimore Sun. Most of this information can be found on the site itself, by the way. I added the links myself - as in none of these are provided or necessarily advocated by Mr. Bracken.

1) Sean Mosley has performed well in some early games. Do you think that maybe some scouts are thinking his stock is going up?

I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Mosley get a slight bump when the rankings are updated, but I don’t think he’ll make an enormous jump. All the recruiting sites/scouts are pretty much in agreement that Mosley is a top 50ish type talent that excels at the little things, has an unreal work ethic, is a leader on the floor, (insert additional basketball-speak cliché’), etc… The thing that might separate Mosley, from say, a top-25 player, is elite athleticism. He’s a great athlete, of course -- just a notch below the one-and-done-type guys. Nobody works harder than Mosley, though. He should make a significant impact for the Terps right off the bat next season.

2) I heard from your site that Augustus Gilchrist might have to wait another year to suit up for Maryland. Is there any way he can appeal and be on the bench by fall, or even this season?

It looks like the rule forcing Gilchrist to sit out and lose a year of eligibility (thanks to the intra-conference transfer from Virginia Tech to UM) was already in place – Maryland’s appeal to the ACC was rejected. That was the news that broke a couple weeks ago. So it appears that we won’t see Gilchrist on the court for the Terps until December or January of next season. Just like with Mosley, Gilchrist can’t see the floor for the Terps soon enough – I wouldn’t be surprised to see him starting as soon as he’s eligible.

3) I also heard from your site that Maryland lost the commit of (cornerback) Tavon Wilson to Illinois. Combined with the recruiting of star wideout Arrelious Benn and a few other Maryland guys, it seems like they have some connections in the D.C. area. Do you know any reason why they recruit so well out here?

The easy answer to that question is Mike Locksley, the current Illini offensive coordinator. Locksley spent six years as a Terps assistant starting in 1997. Locksley coached the running backs and was Maryland’s recruiting coordinator for five seasons, and evidently made a pretty strong impression on the D.C.-area coaches he came in contact with. I have no idea how he sold some of those players on Champaign with the Illini coming off multiple dreadful seasons, but the team’s quick turnaround and Rose Bowl appearance probably means that Locksley taking D.C. kids from Maryland is something Terps fan can continue to expect in the future. He was already a dynamic recruiter – now he’s got on-field results to point to. That said, the hiring of James Franklin from Kansas State should help stop the bleeding for Maryland. Franklin recruited D.C. and Prince George’s County during his previous stint as a Terps assistant. The Illini will still get the occasional D.C. guy, but Franklin will make things tougher.

4) Any updates on how Maryland's handling the recruiting of Kenny Tate? Is he leaning in any direction?

All is still quiet on the Kenny Tate front. He has officially visited Maryland and Illinois, with trips to Florida and Penn State still on tap. If there’s any recruit that will make an educated, informed decision, it’s Tate. He’s not the type of guy to get caught up in the hype of a single visit, so that’s a good thing for the Terps – the program he’s probably most familiar with. He’s really handled his recruitment in exemplary fashion. But any guess on my part would be pure speculation.

5) Assuming Gilchrist is out another year or so, might that leave open another spot on the roster? Is Maryland basketball recruiting over for 2008?

Gilchrist has a scholarship, so his eligibility status wouldn’t affect that. But with JuCo guard Bobby Maze’s commitment a couple weeks ago, the Terps are all filled up for 2008 – at least on paper. As Maryland fans know all too well, the team has had its fair share of struggles and there are some guys getting very few minutes. You can’t help but wonder if there will be some attrition from the roster. It’s pretty clear that Maryland will continue to recruit select guys. Ater Majok is the one big name remaining for 2008. He’s currently playing for something called the Heat Basketball Academy, which is an academics-optional basketball program based in Martinsville, Va. The Terps discovered Majok (who first committed to Baylor) before a lot of the other big boys, but now everyone is aware of the Sudanese (by way of Australia) big man.

Thanks Matt for helping us out!!!

Go Terps!!!

Photo Credits: The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post