DE Terrance Butler releases top six

St. Frances defensive end Terrance Butler releases his top six.

St. Frances weakside defensive end Terrance Butler took the next step in his recruitment after releasing a top six of Florida International, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Syracuse and Tennessee on Wednesday.

"I feel as though all schools are neck and neck right now," Butler told AllTerrapins. "I could focus on the schools that are recruiting me the hardest."

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Baltimore native has had his eye on the hometown program after a handful of visits with teammates in January before he returned back in March. While the appeal to suit up for the hometown team remains a primary factor, the high ceiling prospect is keen on taking more visits once the decision has been made. "I feel very close with the staff, we talk to each other a lot. I’d say that I feel more comfortable with them."

While he has previously said he is looking to return back to College Park once he’s able to do so, it helps the Terps’ chances that wide receiver coach Joker Phillips has landed three prospects from the Baltimore powerhouse in the last two cycles with defensive end Zion Shockley and tight end Joseph Bearns.

As the Terps have replenished their pass-rush with elite defensive linemen in Taizse Johnson, Demeioun Robinson and Shockley, the staff has shifted the message to Butler. "They have Chop on the other side, so they’ve talked about me coming off the other side of the edge."

Michigan State jumped into the mix this spring and their consistency put them in contention for another DMV product. Butler told AllTerrapins that he has a virtual visit with the Spartans set for Friday as they were the first school to inquire about such a visit. The question doesn't lie whether he'll develop as a football player in East Lansing, but the unfamiliarity gives him a perspective he's hoping to learn more of.

"I know that I can develop as a player there. The thing that’s really important to me right now is making sure I have a good mentor at the school and someone I can rely on all the time. It wasn’t easy coming up in my city, so I believe a mentor would be perfect for me in college."

Butler is rated a three-star prospect and an 86 overall, according to 247Sports, and does not have a timetable for a decision.