BREAKING: Maryland 5-star commit Zion Elee shuts down recruitment, will remain a Terrapin
The crown jewel of Maryland Football's 2026 recruiting class made a massive announcement on Friday, indicating that he has shut down his recruitment and will remain a Terrapin. Zion Elee had been committed to Maryland since early December, but some of the top programs in the country continued to pursue. In fact, Elee had recently set up visits to some of those programs - including Ohio State, Auburn, Penn State, and Texas A&M.
But instead of testing the waters elsewhere, Elee said he already knows where home is. "I'm home," Elee told On3. "No need to explore."
BREAKING: Five-Star Maryland EDGE commit Zion Elee has shut down his Recruitment & cancelled his OV’s, he tells me for @on3recruits
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) February 21, 2025
The No. 1 Recruit in the ‘26 Class was set to take visits to Ohio St, Auburn, Penn St, Texas A&M, & South Carolina
“I’m home, no need to explore.”… pic.twitter.com/k3h2cze7vA
Elee is rated as the No. 1 edge rusher in the nation for the 2026 class, and he's already being projected as a guy who could carve out a long career in the NFL. 247Sports analyst Hudson Standish said that his game is similar to Chop Robinson, and that his combination of speed, size, and athleticism will make him a problem at the next level.
"One of the more complete edge prospects in recent memory at this stage of the evaluation process ahead of his junior season. It feels as if he was built in a lab to get after the quarterback, verified hovering around 6-foot-4, 220 pounds with elite length measurements and a combine testing profile that could be mistaken for a field-stretching X receiver. Verified athletic markers are good enough to compare favorably against Top247 caliber senior edge rushers from the past two recruiting cycles. Outside of the athletic traits, has a natural feel for the position that allowed him to rack up 13 sacks in only nine games, even though his bag of pass-rushing moves isn't deep at this stage of his development. Building blocks of his game are his lightning-quick first step, closing burst, and ideal reactionary athleticism. Laterally explosive and can quickly move gap-to-gap or chase down ball carriers from the weak side. Motor consistently runs hot, and there might not be a better edge rusher in the 2026 cycle at quickly redirecting to wrap up evasive quarterbacks."
With Elee locked in to Maryland's 2026 class, head coach Mike Locksley and his staff have a great opportunity to build on the momentum created in 2025 on the recruiting trail. With top targets like Immanuel Iheanacho still in the mix, Maryland's 2026 class could end up being the best in program history.
- Enjoy more Maryland coverage on Maryland Terrapins On SI -
More Maryland News
Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. In January of 2025, he took over as Publisher for Maryland On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.