4-Star WR Tino Ellis Names Maryland in His Top 6
Nov 15, 2014; College Park, MD, USA; The Maryland Terrapins take the field prior to the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Byrd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Class of 2016 4-star wide receiver Tino Ellis (DeMatha Catholic) has trimmed his list of suitors down to six and the Maryland Terrapins have made the cut. Ellis made the announcement via Twitter.
I have narrowed my list down to 6 schools in no order.........Decision Date July 31st #Final6 pic.twitter.com/ILdOHkGqob
— Tino Ellis (@IamTinoEllis) July 4, 2015
The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder will decide between Maryland, Virginia Tech, Nebraska, Rutgers, Kentucky, and West Virginia.
I recently did an article about how the Terps need to land Trevon Diggs, another 4-star receiver in the Class of 2016. Diggs is the prime target right now, but Ellis is another player who is extremely high on the Maryland coaching staff’s radar.
Ellis is the real deal. He has played his high school ball in one of the toughest conferences in the country, Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, which features powerhouse programs, Good Counsel, Gonzaga and Ellis’ DeMatha Stags. Check out Ellis’ junior season highlight tape here.
The Terps are a team with a depleted receiving corps right now and Diggs and Ellis are rare talents, so the coaching staff should be doing everything in their power to reel both prospects in. One of the contributing factors that could potentially work in the Terps’ favor is the fact that Ellis, like Diggs is a local product.
Ellis is also a close friend of Class of 2016 Maryland commit, 4-star quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr. Ellis spoke last month about the impact of Haskins’ commitment for the Maryland football program.
"“Dwayne Haskins’s commitment to Maryland was huge. It’s a big jump for the Movement. I’m good friends with Dwayne. We have a good relationship; we work out together so this is huge for me.”"
It will be interesting to see how much of an impact the relationship these two players share will have on where Ellis decides to play his college ball.
According to the 247Sports Crystal Ball, Virginia Tech is currently the favorite to land Ellis, but Maryland is not too far behind. The Hokies have also done well recruiting in this area, landing top local prospects like Kyle Fuller (Mount St. Joseph), Kendall Fuller (Good Counsel), Melvin Keihn (Gilman) and Donovan Riley (Baltimore Polytechnic).
Maybe Haskins will be able to get in Ellis’ ear and sway him away from the Hokies.