Maryland Football aka Alabama North
247 Sports - Maryland has hired Alabama assistant Josh Gattis as its new offensive coordinator, per multiple media reports.
Gattis, whose hire has been expected since December, was on the top of Michael Locksley’s list for the job since the search began and now, three days after the Crimson Tide lost to Clemson in the national title game, it’s become official.
Gattis spent just only season working alongside Locksley as Alabama’s co-offensive coordinator and wide receiver coach, but that was all the time needed for the two to develop a strong bond. Gattis praised Locksley in recent interviews for how well his new boss relates to players, which according to him was a big factor in the Crimson Tide’s historic offensive success this past season.
Gattis, 34, is a highly-regarded recruiter and wide receiver coach. He coached Jerry Jeudy, this year’s Biletnikoff Award winner. Before Alabama, he spent six seasons working under James Franklin as a wide receiver coach and co-recruiting coordinator between stops at Penn State and Vanderbilt. He has never been called his own plays, but he was considered one of the top offensive coordinator candidates on the market and was mentioned as a candidate for the Appalachian State and Temple head coaching jobs. There was also some speculation that he’d replace Locksley at Alabama.
A former Wake Forest safety who played two seasons in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears, Gattis was the lead recruiter for two top-100 recruits in Alabama’s 2019 class. He also recruited Justin Shorter, the nation’s top-rated receiver, to Penn State last year.
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Folks, Maryland football has done it again. First we became Oregon East with our flashy uniforms and state of the art facilities, and now we are Alabama North because we’re taking their entire coaching staff. Doesn’t get much better than that. Plucking Coach Locksley out of Alabama and him bringing Josh Gattis with him pretty much means we’re the team to beat in college football for the foreseeable future. Locks already is the best recruiter Maryland football has ever had. Add in Gattis who is apparently an A+ recruiter and WR guru and before I even finish typing this sentence the rest of the Big 10 is shaking in their boots. Why would you go tread water at Michigan or Wisconsin when you can come to College Park and become a Terp?
Now all we need is one more piece of the puzzle- Jalen Hurts. He’s transferring but the only question is to where. Why not Maryland? Complete the transformation of Alabama North and make the trek up. Imagine if that happened. 5 star recruits would be lining up to play for Maryland. Need it, need it, need it.