Hampton favors Terps after official

Hampton (Va.) Phoebus offensive tackle Maurice Hampton took his first official visit of the recruiting season this weekend. The 6-foot-5, 290-pounder headed up to College Park to visit one of his two favorites.

"Actually it was a pretty good visit," he said. "I got a presentation by a professor while I was there. It almost made me want to start taking classes. I wasn't bored at all.

"As far as football, that was good too. I saw the school and weight room and little stuff like that. I watched a film about the team and hung out with some of the players. My host was Dane Randolph and it was cool. We hung out, played cards and a couple games and he and some of the other players talked about how they made their decisions to go to Maryland. Dane was really cool too. He kept things exciting and talked about how the coaching staff was all about the players."

In relation to the coaches, Hampton spent a good amount of time with his recruiter Tom Brattan.

"As always it was really comfortable to be around him," he said. "He along with the rest of the coaches showed me the area and went out to eat. They talked about why they need us and different odds and ends."

The three-star prospect also got some one-on-one time with Ralph Friedgen.

"After the visit with him, I really understand where he's coming from and the program he has," he said. "I have a lot of respect for him."

Hampton rated his trip to Maryland an 8.5 or nine.

"It was a really good first visit," he said. "I had so much fun out there and it wasn't a drag at all. They didn't bog me down with football and why they need me and all that stuff.

"I can tell you. I did consider committing, but I didn't do it. I still have a visit scheduled with Virginia Tech on February 2nd. If I go, I hope they have something better to offer me so I can make my decision after that."

Is there a chance the No. 36 offensive tackle in the country won't make the trip to Blacksburg?

"I don't really know at this time, I am definitely favoring Maryland though."

As far as in-home visits, both Friedgen and Beamer have discussed meeting with Hampton in the near future although neither has scheduled an official date.