Following his long-anticipated verbal commitment, and breakout junior season, BJ is a man on a mission.

Sports Club Florida was at Evans High School in Orlando, as four star safety Brandon Jacob announced his intention to play college football for the Coach Mike Locksley at University of Maryland. This, at the expense of every power program in his home state, including his hometown UCF Knights. When we asked him about his thought-process on the eve of the decision, he shared that his rationale boils down two main factors.

“Loyalty, and Legacy”

When you watch the Trojans play this year, you won’t be seeing BJ in his classic number seven. Following the longstanding tradition at Evans, the fabled one jersey has been passed down to him. In Trojan culture, team leaders, and team captains (typically defensive backs) wear number one for their senior campaigns – most recently, BJ’s role model Markeith Williams, who now plays at Miami.

From the outside looking in, this was an obvious conclusion. In reality, Brandon Jacob remaining at Evans for his entire high school career was never a forgone conclusion. During an era of varsity sports that has seen the introduction of transferring , and the impact of name, image, likeness (NIL) in college; many expected BJ to leave Pine Hills for a different school in the area, with bigger budgets, more resources or more recent success.

Despite every other option available, Brandon Jacob stayed home.

hometown hero?? @CoachWilliams_7 @CoachGusMalzahn @CoachDavidGibbs @UCF_CoachMoore pic.twitter.com/oD5xFgPu0O

— Brandon Jacob (@Thereallkingbj_) June 3, 2023

According to the four-star defensive specialist, his senior year is all about legacy.

• ESPN, 11th position, 23rd state
• 24/7, 15th position, 25th state
• Rivals, 24th position, 51st state
• ON3, 13th position, 23rd state

Jacob, starred as a junior last season on defense for Evans, racking up 69 total tackles, ten pass breakups, five interceptions (two of which were returned for touchdowns) and a pair of forced fumbles. He also played on the offensive side of the ball as a wide receiver. He was recently invited to the U.S. Army Bowl.

This season, in addition to his number jersey number, Jacob is learning new skillsets as a weapon in the Trojans’ offensive attack, learning schemes and being featuring in several schemes for the new look, high-speed playbook of second-year offensive coordinator Malcolm Jones.

Breaking: Maryland was first to offer 4-star safety Brandon Jacob and the Terps beat Miami, Texas A&M and UCF for his commitment.

Story: https://t.co/ynjd6rrZMW pic.twitter.com/RwclVRn4Ft

— ChadSimmons (@ChadSimmons_) July 20, 2023

Jacob is the 16th overall commit in the Terps’ 2024 class and the first safety taken. The third player in the class from the Sunshine State, Jacob is currently the No. 51-ranked player in Florida and the 24th-ranked safety nationally according to Rivals. Watch this space for updates.