Maryland Secures First Commitment of Fall With Three Star Athlete Franklin Richard

Maryland football has earned its 22nd recruit in the Class of 2027, as three-star athlete Franklin Richardson of Sumter, South Carolina verbally committed to the Terrapins on Friday.

The 6'1", 220 lbs. prospect is the Terps' first recruit in the class from the Carolinas and 15th from outside the DMV.

In addition to Maryland, Richardson received eight other Division 1 FBS offers: East Carolina, Duke, Coastal Carolina, South Carolina, UConn, Virginia, Georgia Southern, and Stanford.

He took official visits to Duke and Virginia in the spring before doing the same at Maryland, and after thinking about it over the summer, he decided on College Park as his future home. Franklin made his official announcement through his Instagram account:

Richardson is in his third season as Sumter High's starting quarterback, but he projects as a running back at the collegiate level. His Terps offer came from a phone call with current RBs coach Andre Powell in April.

As a sophomore, Richardson threw for 1,209 yards, 15 touchdowns, and three interceptions while also rushing for 984 yards and 11 TDs.

He followed that up with a very run-heavy junior campaign, where he dashed for 1,424 yards and a remarkable 31 touchdowns. Franklin also had 651 passing yards and four TDs.

Here are highlights from one of Richardson's recent games, where he showed off his legs in both short-yardage situations and in the open field:

Week 5 vs Dutch fork @yourNFLAgent @CoachAPowell @StanDrayton_ @CoachFree1906 @Coach_Gaither @M_80lane @ZachPropp pic.twitter.com/SaRBICb8Pr
— Franklin Richardson (@showtime_frank2) September 21, 2026

With Richardson's inclusion, the Terps now have the No. 34 Class of 2027 according to 247 Sports. There are currently two RBs in the Class: Mehki Graham from Penn State territory and Las Vegas transplant Terrance Grant Jr.

The group, which also features four-star WR Myles McAfee and defensive back Kenaz Sullivan, is ranked 12th among Big Ten programs. Oregon is at the top with the No. 3 class, followed by Ohio State at 7, USC at 16, and Nebraska at 17.

It's a slight increase from this year’s freshman class, which even with five-star edge Zion Elee ranked 40th.

It would also be tied for the fifth best rating since Mike Locksley took over the program in 2019... but with his future leading the Terps pending the results of this season, that number could easily fluxuate in either direction.

Check back On SI as more commitments are made throughout the fall.

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