Elite St. Frances Lineman Impressed Early with Terps

Junior defensive end Aaron Wilson already holds a double-digit offer list as the coveted prospect will be a hot name on September 1.

The prospects in class of 2022 will begin fielding calls from college coaches starting on Tuesday, September 1, as the next phase of the recruiting cycle officially begins. Coaches across the country spent the summer months building out their 2022 recruiting boards as they leaned on relationships to guide them through offers. One prospect that was already a known commodity is elite St. Frances (MD) defensive end Aaron Wilson as the 6-foot-2, 235-pound defensive end already holds a double-digit offer list.

The Florida native added his first offer back in May of 2019 and since then, Florida, Florida State, Penn State, South Carolina and UCF have extended offers. The dynamic pass-rusher missed a pair of games during his sophomore year where he showed off his pure athleticism and speed off the edge, but announced his decision to transfer from Ocoee High School (FL) to St. Frances following his sophomore year. Wilson told All Terrapins his conditioning and strength remain the focus as he prepares as an upperclassman, but he has taken the recruiting process in stride.

“I just took it as it came, basically,” Wilson told All Terrapins. While the large bulk of the 2022 class suffers from the inability to take visits this summer, that is not the case for Wilson as his visit tour as a sophomore helped expand his horizon.

“During the season I went to Rutgers and Maryland but the summer before that, I went to Miami, Louisville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Troy. It was mostly planned so we got to see a lot of the schools and what they had to offer, so they were good. The only game visits I went to were USF and Florida State.”

His older brother, Brandon Wilson, graduated from UCF a season ago as a grad transfer while Aaron is already familiar with the campus and facilities of the in-state Seminoles. “I’ve got to talk to the new coaching staff but I haven’t had face-to-face interaction.”

Maryland has continued to prioritize St. Frances under Locksley as the staff signed Ja’Khi Green a cycle ago and hold three commitments in the 2021 class. While Wilson remains a coveted target by many of the national elites, the Terps took advantage of the distance to get him on campus and familiar with the program under the new direction.

“I had been there three or four other times and every time I went there, they always gave me good vibes. Every time they came to St. Frances, they always showed interest.”

Wilson agreed that the early visits help with the recruiting process despite the inability to take visits since mid-March, but for now, he’s taking it in as he joins his classmates counting down the days until September 1. He has an early idea of what will be a determining factor in his evaluation.

“I just want to go to see if they really want me or not and if it’ll be the best position for me.”