TerpFan Posted July 17, 2008 Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 Howdy Zips fans,Maryland Terrapins fan here writing you from the nation's capital. I have been wondering for a while why in Rivals and Scout.com articles it frequently says that a kid from Maryland who committed somewhere had offers from Maryland and Akron. It's crazy, like every single time I look at a recruit who we have offered, it looks like you guys have offered too. Is there a reason for Akron's recruiting heavily in the DC/MD area? I noticed in recent years that you guys have had a lot of players from my area commit: Eric Lively from DeMatha HS in 2004Jermaine Lindsay from Forestville HS in 2005Mike Ward from St Johns College HS in 2006Blake Smith from Roosevelt HS in 2006Aaris Reed from Westlake HS in 2006Vince Hill from Friendly HS in 2007Plus plenty more kids with Akron offers who went somewhere else, especially when the BCS boys came knocking. So what's the reason? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted July 17, 2008 Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 Hi TerpFan! I'm sure there are many folks here who follow the recruiting scene more than I do, but I have also noticed this trend. I can't really give a reason for it, but I would take a guess that one or more of our recruiters has strong ties to the area. Our main recruiting base appears to be western Pennsylvania, and Florida before that.It may also have to do with having previous recruits from the area. It's easier to convinve a kid to leave home to come to your school when others in the area have done it successfully.I hope some of the more knowledgeable posters here can shed some light on this for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerpFan Posted July 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 Hi TerpFan! I'm sure there are many folks here who follow the recruiting scene more than I do, but I have also noticed this trend. I can't really give a reason for it, but I would take a guess that one or more of our recruiters has strong ties to the area. Our main recruiting base appears to be western Pennsylvania, and Florida before that.It may also have to do with having previous recruits from the area. It's easier to convinve a kid to leave home to come to your school when others in the area have done it successfully.I hope some of the more knowledgeable posters here can shed some light on this for you.Right, I figured that there must've been a former HS coach from the DC/MD area or something who came on as an assistant to Akron. It's a pretty fertile recruiting area so that would be pretty valuable, especially if that coach excelled in his coaching position. Illinois has done a great job recruiting the DC/MD area with Mike Locksley, a former Maryland assistant who has ushered several kids to DC. Now when kids want to get away from home they have their choice between Penn State, Virginia and Illinois, it seems. Thanks for the quick reply. Hopefully somebody knows something more exact about WHICH assistant has ties to DC and HOW they came about! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziplock Posted July 17, 2008 Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 I agree with your assessment uakronkid.Take a look at Pitt's recruiting "domain". Typically, they are heavily into Md, Virginia, etc, and see those areas as ripe for potential student-athletes. Since JD was the offfensive coordinator at Pitt, he undoubtedly cultivated some relationships in those circles, which continue today. Several of JD's coaches (now and in the past) have Pitt ties and those relationships in Maryland and Virginia have continued to be fruitful.It was a reasonably short trip for those recruits up I-70 from Md to Breezewood, PA and the PA. Turnpike into Pittsburgh. Only another 1/3 of a tank of gas to our "house". I would surmise that the advent of the new stadium and the major campus improvements/expansion will put us in a position to attract more talent from Maryland and beyond.Go Zips!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerpFan Posted July 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 I agree with your assessment uakronkid.Take a look at Pitt's recruiting "domain". Typically, they are heavily into Md, Virginia, etc, and see those areas as ripe for potential student-athletes. Since JD was the offfensive coordinator at Pitt, he undoubtedly cultivated some relationships in those circles, which continue today. Several of JD's coaches (now and in the past) have Pitt ties and those relationships in Maryland and Virginia have continued to be fruitful.It was a reasonably short trip for those recruits up I-70 from Md to Breezewood, PA and the PA. Turnpike into Pittsburgh. Only another 1/3 of a tank of gas to our "house". I would surmise that the advent of the new stadium and the major campus improvements/expansion will put us in a position to attract more talent from Maryland and beyond.Go Zips!!That makes sense. Former Pitt assistant turned Akron coach, his former post at Pittsburgh dealt a lot with Maryland recruiting (as it still does), so he brought those relationships with him to Akron. Great, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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