BREAKING: Damascus running back Jake Funk commits to the University of Maryland
Jake Funk was unsure of where his football career was going. College coaches would contact him, say he’s a well-rounded player with a humble head on his shoulders, but then ended the conversation along the lines of “we just don’t have room for you.”
Funk said his “yes sir’s” and knew it was out of his control – deep down it hurt him – with over 3,000 rushing yards and over 50 total touchdowns in the past 21 games with nothing to show for.
“That hurt, not knowing what the future held,” Funk said. “When people would come up to ask me ‘where are you going to college?’, I literally said back ‘I have no idea’.”
On Tuesday at the 2 o’clock p.m. hour, Funk received a phone call being notified that he’s offered a football scholarship to his hometown school – University of Maryland.
Then on Friday, October 16th at noon, he announced his decision – to stay at home and attend the University of Maryland.
“It’s a huge stress reliever that it’s over,” Funk said.
For Funk, it was an easy decision – saying he made his final choice on Tuesday night at around 9:00 p.m.
“It made a lot of sense to me,” Funk said. “I’m close to home. My friends and family can see me play without having to travel hundreds of miles. Also the running back situation, there’s a very good chance that I play as early as my freshman year. And then “The Movement”. There’s so much hype around that. I take a lot of pride in this area, just couldn’t pass that up.”
Funk becomes the second running back in the class of 2016 to commit to Maryland alongside with DeMatha’s Lorenzo Harrison. The Terrapins currently have eight running back’s under scholarship for 2015 – six are juniors and seniors. Thus potentially opening the door for Funk to get early playing time.
“That was also something I couldn’t pass up on,” Funk said on Maryland wanting him to play running back.
Other offers than Funk received were Air Force, Army, Harvard, Navy, Penn, UNC Charlotte, Ohio, Old Dominion, Towson, Wisconsin as a linebacker and Yale. He also received interest from UNC and Stanford, but Maryland hit home.
‘That put me in a gridlock,” Funk said. “Being a late-bloomer, most Power Five schools have their commits wrapped up before the start of the season. I’m excited to be apart of ‘The Movement’.”
Over the past year and a half, University of Maryland football has pressed the issue on keeping local, homegrown players within the states borders dubbing this act “The Movement”.
Some notable commitments the Terrapins have received from the class of 2015 and 2016 are Quince Orchard defensive tackle Adam McLean, Bullis quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr., Linganore offensive lineman E.J. Donahue, South Carroll safety Silas Kelly, Fort Hill running back Ty Johnson, Middletown offensive lineman Will McClain and Dematha standouts D.J. Turner, Lorenzo Harrison and Tino Ellis.
“You don’t question yourself anymore,” Funk said. “It’s over. I now have a home with the Maryland Terrapins and I couldn’t be more excited.”
You can follow me on Twitter at @k_fadd and follow Maryland Sports Access at @MDSportsAccess.
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