Report: South Carolina swipes recruiting staffer from Maryland

Maryland is losing one of its football recruiting staff members to the SEC.

AL.com’s Matt Zenitz is reporting that South Carolina is preparing to hire Taylor Edwards, who is Maryland’s director of recruiting operations. He does have SEC experience, having worked at both Alabama and Arkansas in the past, as well.

Edwards has worked well with head coach Mike Locksley in Maryland, helping land the nation’s No. 18 recruiting class and ranking 4th in the B1G, behind Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Edwards was added to the Maryland recruiting staff in January 2019. In his two seasons in College Park, Edwards has helped the Terrapins land the nation’s No. 31 class in 2020, with the program welcoming in 27 new prospects. Big-time additions for Maryland that year included 5-star wide receiver Rakim Jarrett, 4-star linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II and 4-star running back Peny Boone.

This year, Locksley has been able to land another 5-star prospect, this time from star linebacker Terrence Lewis. The Terps also have pledges from 4-star defensive end Demeioun Robinson, linebacker Branden Jennings, defensive tackle Taizse Johnson and defensive tackle Tommy Akingbesote.

Maryland is coming off a 2-3 campaign in 2020, the second year under Locksley. Over the last two seasons, the Terrapins are 5-12.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB