The recruiting period is always filled with some surprising decision. The most shocking with this past recruiting cycle was the decision of five-star wide receiver Rakim Jarrett to flip from LSU to Maryland.

While Maryland head coach Mike Locksley is known as an excellent recruiter, there wasn’t much going in favor of the Terrapins. The Tigers were coming off a national championship season and owned the nation’s best passing offense. Surely it would be a wide receiver’s dream to head to Baton Rouge.

Maryland, on the other hand, was limited in its passing attack. And after a 3-9 campaign, it became clear that Locksley had inherited a rebuilding project, one that could take a few years before it’s up and running.

Still, Jarrett opted to flip his commitment from LSU to Maryland. Locksley said that a relationship with former Terrapins wide receiver Stefon Diggs helped Maryland land the five-star talent.

“Somehow [Jarrett] had forged a relationship with Stefon Diggs and I hadn’t been real aware that they had been communicating,” Locksley told 247Sports. “And, I know in the end, Stefon’s conversation with Rakim played a huge part of it.”

Jarrett is a native of Washington DC and is ranked as the No. 27 player in the 2020 class. He was also listed as the fourth-best wide receiver of the cycle and will likely carve out an immediate role at Maryland.

Locksley said that Jarrett’s decision to flip was also a bit of a surprise to him and the staff.

“I can tell you, I was as shocked as everybody when he sent me a text,” Locksley said. “He says, ‘I’m ready to do it now.’ I almost fell out of my chair.”

Below is the full clip from 247Sports: