2016 WR Tino Ellis Writes No Truth to Possible Decommitment

2016 Virginia Tech WR target and Maryland verbal commitment Tino Ellis blogged about his recruitment at Recruit Diaries. Among other things he discussed Randy Edsall's termination, D.J. Durkin's hiring and how he remains committed to Maryland. It's an insightful read (and the website itself is a really cool project started by a 17-year-old).

As most of you know, I committed to Maryland over the summer, just before school started. Since then, a lot has change for the football team. Coach Randy Edsall was relieved of his duties as head coach and left the school, and the school hired DJ Durkin as his replacement. Coach Edsall and I had a great relationship, and I actually spoke to him after his termination. I wanted to wish him well in his future endeavors. As a recruit you have to be prepared for any situation and make sure you commit to a school because it is right for you not because of the coach. I definitely committed to the University of Maryland as an institution to further my education and not just because of the football program. Maryland has one of the top criminal justice and law programs in the country. The school is located in the number one job market in the country, the Washington D.C. metro area, and is forty miles away from the number four job market, which is the Baltimore area. I plan on studying law while in school, and there is no better place then UMD, not to mention the school's alumni is all over the nation and they are leaving their mark in the field I plan to enter after football. I chose Maryland for life after football, and I can honestly say that once I have my degree, I am excited to use it in whatever opportunities that present themselves.

Although I was saddened by the loss of Coach Edsall, I think that Coach Durkin is a great hire for the school. He proved at Michigan that he could handle the pressure of coaching at a big name, Big Ten school. He has begun to breathe new life into the program and has already made a positive impact by hiring amazing new assistant coaches. I have spoken to Coach Durkin on several occasions and each conversation was very upbeat and positive. I have no doubt that he will leave a great mark on the program and will lead us to new heights. Because of the coaching changes and all the speculation that has been around the program, there have been rumors about me looking elsewhere and thinking of decommitting. I want to say right now that there is no truth to those rumors and I couldn't be happier to be committed to my dream school, the University of Maryland. I also want to say that while I cannot wait to get on campus, I will not be enrolling early. I will be part of the class of 2016, a special class that will help contribute to the team from the start. The class overall has a ton of amazing talent, but there is also a lot of talent on the current roster too. It is going to be great to see all us come together and the final product will be something you don't want to miss. We are going to have playmakers on both sides of the ball. I played both ways at DeMatha, and I can't say I haven't thought about playing both ways in college. I would love to play offense, defense, special teams, everything; but wherever I am needed and asked to play, I will be ready contribute and help the team win.