Randy Edsall's most death-defying recruiting story ever

Maryland football coach Randy Edsall had never been chased out of a neighborhood by multiple people in pickup trucks while on a recruiting trip.

Well, until recently, anyway.

It's probably better to let Edsall take over from here on this tale straight out of "Deliverance" from his home visit to see defensive back Will Likely of Belle Glade, Fla.:

"I'm very, very fortunate to be sitting here after going down to recruit Will. We go down to West Palm Beach and I'm with coach [Brian] Stewart and we're going to drive out to Belle Glade to see Will that night. Brian punches in the address to Will's house.

"Believe me, I've been to Belle Glade many, many times. I've been to Pahokee many, many times out there and everything else. So we're driving. This is always one of those things: You go with an assistant coach and think 'OK, they've been there, they've taken the dry run, they know exactly where they're going.' All the sudden, we're driving and the GPS tells us to take a right here. I know that's not right because I've been down there.

"So we're driving up this road and it's leading us toward Pahokee and I said 'Brian, I've been down here. I'm just telling you, where we're going isn't where we want to be going.' We keep driving and he says 'The GPS says it's right up here in a couple miles.' I said 'OK, I'm just telling you, this isn't the right way.'

"All it is is sugar cane fields. There's no lights. It's dark. It's 7, 8 o'clock at night. It's in December. I'm like 'This isn't right.' There's a railroad track there and alll the sudden there's this development and there's probably 10 houses. It's like 'OK, here it is.' Take a left. Take a right. There's a church and some nice homes there. You go down and take another left and he says 'It's on this street.'

"It's so dark out you can't even see the numbers on the houses and he's going real, real slow. I said 'Brian, I'm telling you, this is not right, you know?' So he gets on the phone --- true story --- and he says 'Will, is your address this?' 'Yeah.' 'Well, we're here. Which one is your house?'

"We're looking and sitting there for probably five, seven minutes and he said 'It's not there,' so we start to go. We're going to take a left and here comes a pickup truck in this development and they're staring at us like 'What the heck are you guys doing in here?' Then we have a car that comes up behind us and I said 'Brian, I think we ought to get out of here.'

"We go and take a left and the next thing you know, we have both of them on our bumper in this little development as we get out on thus highway. Brian says 'Randy, hold on.' So we come flying out of this development and take a right. The pickup truck tries to rear-end us. The other one tries to go outside of us. He says 'Call 911.'

"I'm calling 911 and I'm getting on the phone and I say 'I'm the head coach of the University of Maryland, I'm out here. I know where we're at. We're getting chased. I didn't do anything. We need a police officer to come out here and make sure nothing happens.' We drive two and a half, three miles with these people chasing us and finally we get to this light and Brian outran them a little bit and get to the light and took a right and they stopped following us.

"That's the first time in 30 years I've ever been chased out of a development and chased down a highway trying to recruit somebody."

--- Patrick Stevens

Comments

[Chip]

That's ... pretty insane. Wow.

[Shannon]

Southern Hospitality ...

Only in the inbred South ...

[Lester]

Right, because a gang wouldn't chase (or worse) anyone that wandered into their territory in Chicago, DC, or Philly. Thanks for playing though.

[Steve Wilson]

After all that, it's good to see Mr. Likely decided to become a Terp!

[Chris]

I live in West Palm Beach and drive through Belle Glade and Pahokee regularly. Before you go judging on who may have been chasing him out of the neighborhood, come visit or get some facts straight. That is what Belle Glade and Pahokee is unfortunately. That is why it is so important for these kids to get out. I'm sure those guys would love for any of you to randomly come cruising through their neighborhood with them not knowing who you are and why you're there. That area is no place to get lost and/or piss off the wrong person. Glad everyone was alright.

[Drrrr]

Shannon, if only Pahokee could somehow match the 0% crime rate of every low income community on your wrong side of the Mason-Dixon.

Peckerhead.

[RES]

Agree Chris. Some really nasty neighborhoods in that area where even the police do not venture. Covered up in drugs & gangs, violence, aids (yes aids) Bell Glade was the aids capital of the US a few years back due to unclean needles. Any kid that can get a free ride out of there should take it.

[Ron Johnson]

By the way, any chance that it was Will Muschamp and Jimbo Fisher behind the wheel in the "chase vehicles"?

[Joe]

Did you get the message? Stop recruiting in Florida!

[palm beach]

"Muck City" east of Pahokee on SR 717 seems to fit his description.

[JBogueyman]

What a biggoted and ignorant comment Shannon. Screw you and the Yankee jackass you were bred from

[Terptek]

Bottom Line - Coach Edsall and Coach Stewart "will likely" get it done for the #Terps.

Cover Teez gonna lead the '14 class - #DMV lock down - 1 & 2 this year, 1 and ... in 2014. Let's Roll

[Dr B]

Looks like a couple of the comments just proved Shannon's point. If you are going to counter a statement, do it with facts or a qualified opinion. Not similar name calling like "Yankee Jackass". That makes all of us from the south look the part you are taking exception too.

[macphx]

I love how one person here posted something like:

"Before you go judging, get your facts straight -- that area is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. It's awful and only gangs live there, so dot ever go there or you'll die. But don't judge."

That's hilarious.

[jBogueyman]

Dr B maybe if you have had to deal with as many of these "ignorant bigots" as have I, you wouldn't have such a simplistic attitude. Just what makes your opinion so qualified? And are you so naive that you actually don't think that most true Southerners don't agree with me? You live in a fog my good Dr.