Freeing Grandma

In Maryland football’s efforts to secure commitments from D.C., Maryland and Virginia (DMV) recruits, #FreeGrandma gained buzz during the offseason on X, previously known as Twitter.   

Terps fans used the hashtag to celebrate the commitment of several class of 2025 prospects. The hashtag originates from a several-year-old meme on the platform involving a picture of a woman locked in a cage — merely a joke. Many others have also used the meme to create buzz surrounding their favorite team and a top recruit. 

One Maryland football fan reposted the photo, threatening to keep Grandma in the cage unless a prospect stayed home and committed to the University of Maryland. The post poked fun at the highly touted prospect’s recruitment and was designed to capture a Terp fan’s eagerness to land a prospect of his caliber from the DMV. 

The student-athlete committed to Maryland five days after the post, and once he did, he quote tweeted the original post with “#FreeGrandma.” However, the silly interaction developed into something more significant than anticipated. Many student-athletes from the DMV opted to stay local and play ball at Maryland, and Terp fans and the student-athletes themselves continued to support the movement. 

While #FreeGrandma may have helped the Terps attract top recruits in the area, a few deciding factors for Maryland’s wave of commitments were undoubtedly the opportunity to be hometown heroes and play in front of family, friends and a coaching staff that prioritizes player development.   

“The recruiting piece is how important they are to the foundation,” head football coach Michael Locksley said. “The number one reason people choose a school is still proximity to home. … [In the DMV], You have people with tremendous work ethic who understand and embrace hard work. … It's the one place you get to develop a resume as a football player and as a student. This area represents toughness and blue-collar work ethic and values.”

The scenario playing out isn’t by accident. When Locksley took the job in 2018, he envisioned rebuilding Maryland football into a program where student-athletes can stay home, build their brand and develop into star players.

Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, Maryland football’s co-defensive coordinator, associate head coach for defense and cornerbacks coach, was instrumental in making Locksley’s vision a reality. He’s one of the Terps’ assistants who continues to lead the DMV recruiting initiative. 

Abdul-Rahim even tweeted, “What we always talk about is happening,” referring to Lockley and Maryland football’s vision for DMV student-athletes. 

“As a local guy, as a fan of the University of Maryland, as someone who’s followed this program for 30 years, it's been a cloud for a long time,” Abdul-Rahim said in the Spring. “It was probably one of the most heated discussions when I was a high school coach. ‘How come everybody doesn’t just stay home?’”

He continued. “When you look at the scholarship numbers of what this area produces, it's difficult to keep all those guys home. But the players that are deemed in the recruiting world as high profile, we want to get involved in winning that process. I feel like we’re closer to achieving that than not in 2024.”

Locksley had tremendous success as a recruiter in the area during his first and second stints as an assistant at Maryland. He was the mastermind behind Vernon Davis’ and Stefon Diggs’ commitment to Maryland. Both were consensus top players in the state. According to 247Sports, Diggs is also Locksley’s highest all-time recruit. 

Locksley had been recruiting Davis for nearly two years and was adamant about him staying close to home and coming to Maryland. But Davis played in the 2003 U.S. Army All-American Bowl with Chris Leake, a University of Florida commit. The pair developed a great relationship, and Leake convinced Davis to visit Florida’s campus. Suddenly, Florida became the front-runner to land Davis, and Locksley lost communication with his recruit.   

Knowing Davis worked at a Quiznos near Maryland’s campus then, Locksley surprised him with an unexpected visit. He pressed Davis, reminding him he would leave his grandma behind if he didn’t choose Maryland.  

“Right there in Quiznos, Vernon decided to be a Terp over a nice Quiznos sandwich that he made for both of us,” Locksley said. “And he paid for it.”

When Locksley returned to Maryland’s staff in 2012, Diggs had already decided that Maryland was no longer a school he was interested in. However, Locksley had a prior relationship with Diggs and convinced him to wait until after signing day to make a final decision.

As Locksley thought, several major programs recruiting Diggs began taking other players at the wide receiver position, suggesting that those programs weren’t as interested in him as Maryland was. 

Diggs attended a Maryland men’s basketball game against North Carolina on Feb. 2, 2012. Many fans at Xfinity Center knew he would be in attendance and surprised him with posters and cheers. The love he received from Maryland and the fans solidified his decision. Diggs committed to Maryland at Looney’s Pub in College Park. 

“I don’t even know if viral was out back then,” Locksley said. “But it would’ve gone viral, the decision he made right there on the stage at Looney’s. Where else better to do it than your city?”

The D.C. area is home to many of the nation’s top athletes, especially in football. Every year, dozens of DMV athletes are drafted into the pros, and many others sign as free agents.  

Shawne Merriman, a former All-American defensive end for the Terps from 2002-04 and a native of D.C., shared a post on X in late July saying that if all the top players from the DMV stayed home, Maryland football would win a national championship. The claim is bold, but it's undeniable that Maryland would be more successful if more athletes from the area attended the university.

Maryland football recruiting is certainly trending positively, ignited by the #FreeGrandma movement. As Locksley said, D.C. area student-athletes are special, and their presence is essential to the foundation of Terps football. 

“I think it’s great that you’re seeing a rallying cry where we’re not the ones pushing the agenda,” Abdul-Rahim said. “Just like Coach Locks talks about a player-driven program. The recruiting process has to have that same type of feel to it.”