Trio of NFL Receivers Chime in on Terps' Recruiting Efforts for Local Priority
The four-year recruiting process for Wise (MD) wide receiver Jalil Farooq is officially in the home stretch. Farooq is set to announce his commitment on Sunday, September 27 among a top seven of Alabama, Boston College, Clemson, LSU, Maryland, Oklahoma and West Virginia, but for the local 6-foot-1 coveted prospect, a wide range of emotions has set in ahead of a final decision.
“It’s kind of a mixture of a lot of emotions. I’m ready to get it over with but I’m definitely nervous about it,” Farooq told All Terrapins. “I’d say the hardest part is probably narrowing it down to figure out and finding what I want in a school. This is a life decision that I’m making so I don’t want to make any mistakes or have any regrets about my decision, so narrowing it down the best way that I can.”
Farooq saw his recruitment complicated by the extended dead period imposed by the NCAA, muddling his ability to see several of his top suitors ahead of a commitment. The Wise product was slated to visit Oklahoma back in March before basketball derailed those visit plans, but
Oklahoma quarterback commit Caleb Williams organized a ‘Sooner Summit’ for the weekend of August 22-23 to give Farooq a chance to see Norman for himself.
“Going to Oklahoma definitely helped me a lot because I don’t know if I could’ve actually put them all the way in the mix if I didn’t have a time to go see how it was and everything. I hadn’t been there, so it made it harder for me. Got to see a little both the campus and the city itself. It was fun to go down there and enjoy myself.”
The hometown Terps were the first school to extend an offer in Farooq’s recruitment and head coach Mike Locksley has made him a top priority throughout the recruiting process. “I actually talked to Locks a couple of days ago. Me and Locks have a great relationship and he plays a big part in my decision-making. We have a great bond.”
The lineage of elite talent that Locksley has worked with has kept Maryland in the mix, but head coach Mike Locksley connected Farooq with Denver Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy, Las Vegas Raiders receiver Henry Ruggs and Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs to get an added perspective for the Terps’ recruiting efforts.
“Locks is trying to sell his loyalty as in his loyalty with his former players that he coached. He basically had me talk to a lot of players that he coached before, just spreading the knowledge to me that he’s been there for them throughout college and whatever they needed, even after college.” Diggs played a prominent role down the stretch of Rakim Jarrett’s recruitment to keep the local product at home to close the 2020 cycle and for Farooq, the trio of NFL wideouts echoed Locksley’s message.
“They’ve told me he’s a great coach that you want to have in college. They were saying they have a lot of receivers at the school and everything, but he still shows love all around. The relationship after college and during college, he makes sure you’re good.”
While Farooq takes in the final message from several of his top schools before Sunday’s announcement, he explains the most stressful aspect of making his final decision.
“Since I’ve known a lot of schools for so long, me making my decision, I feel like I’ve built a lot of bonds with certain coaches. That’s what makes it harder for me because me having my offers and my relationships with the recruiting process, that’s definitely the hardest part about narrowing it down.”
Farooq does not have a time set for his commitment on Sunday.
