For the second day in a row Maryland flipped a target from a nearby school.
On signing day it was offensive tackle Andre Roye, who flipped from Penn State and signed with Maryland.
The 6-foot-6, 309-pound Roye made an official visit to campus in June and was long linked to the Terps. However, he made an official visit to USC during the weekend and the Trojans were also pushing hard to get him.
It is the third commitment for the Terps in the last 13 hours as coach Mike Locksley continues to live up to his reputation as a strong closer. The Terps flipped four-star running back Ramon Brown of Midlothian (Va.) Manchester Tuesday evening, and grabbed a commitment from receiver Leon Haughton Jr. of Richmond (Va.) Benedictine shortly thereafter.
When Roye left USC on Sunday, he said he still planned on signing with the school he committed to a few months prior.
“I am probably going to still going to sign with Penn State, but if something changes I will let y’all know,” he said a few days ago.
Roye has been unpredictable throughout his recruitment, including committing to Penn State in September, just a day after he said he was going to wait a bit before making a choice.
He spoke highly of the Terps prior to that decision, and he tracked the program closely.
“I ‘ve been to two Maryland games before and I never knew they could have a packed stadium,” he said in September after visting campus. “It was cool stadium with their fans packed in like that. It was new, different. It means a lot knowing where they came from. …They are moving in the right direction.”
He also glowed about Locksley, who has worked hard to recruit St. Frances.
“Coach Locks (Mike Locksley) is a cool dude,” Roye said in the fall. “African-American head coach, that is always a plus. Coach Bras (offensive line coach Brian Braswell), he’s cool. He’s an NFL coach, so getting coached by a former NFL coach is different than getting coached by a college coach or a high school coach. The way he sees the game is different than someone else because he’s been at the highest level.”
Roye made official visits to USC, Arizona State, Penn State, Maryland and Rutgers. The final four were made in June, and Roye had those as his top four leading into the fall.
“It’s the hometown team,” he said at the time. “The new facility is cool, but I am not into glamour stuff. I just like football but it’s good. It’s nice.”
