Caleb Williams, No. 1 quarterback prospect in 2021, lists Maryland in top three schools

The best high school quarterback in the Class of 2021 could choose to stay home.

Caleb Williams, a 5-star quarterback at Gonzaga College High School in the District and a native of Bowie, Maryland, announced Maryland is on his list of top three schools Monday, along with Oklahoma and LSU.

The dual-threat quarterback threw for 19 touchdowns and ran for 18 as a junior against stiff competition in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC), one of the top high school conferences in the country.

Oklahoma and LSU, the defending national champions, are football blue bloods. Maryland is not. But the Terrapins outlasted Clemson and Penn State when Williams trimmed his list from five to three. Could he really choose to stay local instead of going to a program with a bigger national spotlight?

“I’ve known Coach (Mike) Locksley and (offensive coordinator) Scottie Montgomery for years now,” Williams told NBC Sports Washington in March. “I’ve known Coach Scottie since he was at Duke with (David) Cutcliffe, Peyton Manning’s coach, and I’ve known Coach Locksley since he was at Alabama when they were recruiting me.

“Over time, they’ve continued to recruit me and now that Coach Locksley is back home, Maryland is on the list.”

The Terrapins have had no luck at the quarterback position in recent years. Maryland quarterbacks suffered six ACL tears from 2012 to 2018, and since 2006, the program only had one season in which one quarterback started every game.

Maryland also landed a 5-star recruit in its 2020 class: wide receiver Rakim Jarrett, a District native who flipped from LSU to Maryland during December’s early signing period.