Jerome Larue chose to decommit from Maryland after Mike Locksley was fired as the college football coach. He claims his viral quote — which I am not so sure was even his quote to begin with — was taken out of context.
It did not come off as he had intended.
Whoever allowed Larue to go live with this specific choice of words completely failed him. They had to backtrack.
Who is Jerome Larue?
At 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, Jerome Larue is ranked as one of the top-20 running backs in the recruiting Class of 2028 out of Central York High School in Pennsylvania. His rating, however, is up for debate.
247 Sports lists Larue as the No. 19-ranked player at his position, No. 10-ranked player in the state, and No. 412-ranked player overall as a three-star prospect. Rivals and On3 (owned by the same parent company) agree that Larue is the No. 19-ranked player at his position and No. 10-ranked player in the state, but they rank him as the No. 287 player overall as a four-star prospect.
That will be important later on.
Larue ran for 678 yards and 10 touchdowns on 103 carries as a sophomore in 2025. He is currently averaging more than 10 yards per carry as a junior in 2026.
There is a long way to go between now and signing day in 2028. Larue currently holds 14 scholarship offers from schools like Cincinnati, Arizona State, Virginia Tech, Baylor, Indiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Memphis, among others. That list will only continue to grow if he continues to play well over the next few weeks and into next season.
Larue had previously committed the University of Maryland back in April. And then Mike Locksley was fired as the head coach earlier this week. The Terrapins’ top-ranked recruit in the Class of 2028 chose to decommit. The Hokies are now the favorites.
Maryland’s 4-star running back recruit decided to decommit.
Jerome Larue announced his decision to bail on Maryland on the same day that Locksley was fired. He released the following statement:
“I just spoke to my agents, and since I’m listed as a 4-star and the reason we committed is now out the door, we are going to decommit from Maryland.”
I don’t know whether Larue wrote his own statement, or if it was written by his agent or a parent/legal guardian. If it was Larue who wrote the statement, his agent or a parent/legal guardian should’ve helped him to rewrite it. If it was his agent or a parent who wrote the statement, he or she failed Larue. The choice of words was poor.
After widespread backlash to his comment about being listed as a 4-star, Larue later clarified that his statement did not come across how he wanted. It was twisted in a way that was not intended.
“I would like everyone to know this was completely taking the wrong way, and completely taking out of context, and no I don’t think I’m bigger than any program. I am truly blessed and thankful to be in this position that I’m in. My coaches, teammates, family and friends know me and know how humble of a player I am.”
He also doubled down that being a 4-star had nothing to do with his decision to decommit.
“Has nothing to do with it, loved Maryland university and they treated me like family. I do believe this is getting took out of context.”
That settles that. Larue decided to bail on Maryland because Maryland bailed on Locksley. His statement was misconstrued!