A few months ago it would have been insane to suggest that Stefon Diggs would even consider the University of Maryland. He is the exact type of elite football talent that can pretty much choose whichever school he wants to go to. Usually when those guys are making choices like that, the Terps don't really factor in; particularly when they're coming off a 2-10 season. But somehow, Mike Locksley worked a little magic, Wes Brown got in his ear, and Stefon Diggs is a Terp.
The impact of Diggs on this program can not be overstated. His impact on the field will be enormous, but that isn't the most important part. It is difficult for one guy to turn a football team around, but Diggs can certainly alter the direction of the program off the field and in recruiting all by himself.
Once Mike Locksley came on board to be the offensive coordinator, we knew that recruiting in the area would take a pretty big upswing, but we didn't know how quickly and drastically that could happen. Fans were hopeful that at some point the elite local talent which always seems to leave the DMV would stick around, but for that to happen the Terps needed to land one big local recruit who could start a trend.
Wes Brown was a huge step in the right direction, but Stefon Diggs could be the first domino in a flood of local talent electing to stay home and play for the Terps. Diggs is also the third player from Good Counsel to commit to Maryland this year, and that could be the foundation of a pipeline which could pay dividends for years. We've already written about the elite talent that is coming out of Good Counsel in 2013. Why wouldn't they consider Maryland, since three of their former teammates (and Zach Dancel, who transferred from New Mexico earlier) are already on the roster? If Diggs and the gang have a good first year on campus, wouldn't they be an incredible recruiting tool for their younger teammates?
I haven't even mentioned what kind of impact Diggs could have on the field. He is an absolute game-breaker at wide receiver and should be able to contribute immediately as a return man. He has been compared to DeSean Jackson and Percy Harvin, and I don't think those comparisons are hyperbole. Maryland simply doesn't get players like this coming out of high school, so we can't even compare him to anyone that we've seen before. Even guys like Torrey Smith, Vernon Davis and Darrius-Heyward-Bey didn't have as much hype or potential coming out of high school.
Throughout his recruitment, I always assumed that Diggs would go somewhere else because he wanted to play in the spotlight. But what spotlight could be bigger than being the biggest fish in a local pond? Stefon Diggs is a Terp, and the future of Maryland football just got a whole lot brighter.