When it comes to college football coaches on the hot seat this season, some of the names that popped up include a handful of ACC coaches. Mike Norvell of Florida State and Bill O'Brien at Boston College are some of the often-mentioned names. However, one name in the Big Ten that gets mentioned a lot is Mike Locksley at Maryland.
The Terrapins were 2-0 when James Franklin and Virginia Tech visited last month. The Hokies won the matchup of unbeaten teams, 35-26. Since that game, Maryland has gone winless, losing their next four games to sit at 2-5. Locksley's seat was getting hotter by the week, and on Wednesday, his hot seat was too hot, and he was fired. Now, there is going to be some pushes made to committed and decommitted players, and the Hokies targeting running back Jerome Larue is a no-brainer.
Virginia Tech has Maryland commit to target in RB Jerome Larue after Mike Locksley was fired
Locksley parted ways with Maryland on Wednesday, which seems like an odd time of the week to do it, but the Terrapins are on a bye week and it makes sense that it happened before they take the field again next weekend.
Usually, when a coach gets fired, it's the beginning of some recruiting news where players who are committed to that school all of a sudden decommit or get contacted by other schools. A four-star Class of 2028 running back, Larue, who committed to Locksley and Maryland back in May, is decommitting from the Terrapins following the school's move, and now he should become a quick target for James Franklin and Virginia Tech.
“I just spoke to my agents and since I’m listed as a four-star and the reason we committed is now out the door, we are going to decommit from Maryland University,” Larue said, per Rivals.
It's still weird that a junior in high school starts a quote about speaking with his agents, but here we are, college football in 2026. Anyway, Larue picked Locksley and Maryland over West Virginia, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech, among others, when he committed back in the spring.
The Bishop McDevitt High School is back from York, PA. He is the 287th-ranked prospect in his class and now becomes one of the top targets of teams looking to land a running back. This is something that is right up Franklin's alley: a four-star running back from Pennsylvania looking for a new home.
It would be stunning if Franklin and position coach Morvell McKenzie don't get into the mix for Larue when all is said and done, but in the overall big picture, Locksley getting fired is a significant move in terms of recruiting in the DMV. Franklin and Locksley have been battling for players in the area going back to Franklin's days at Penn State, and it was going to get even more heated after Franklin moved to Blacksburg.
It wouldn't be surprising if Larue isn't the only player from Maryland who decommits whom the Hokies target. They might even make a move for an undecided player. Locksley's firing is a big move in the bigger picture, and recruiting could get interesting in the future in the DMV.
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