Maryland firstyear head coach D.J. Jalen Reagor Jersey Durkin sits in his officeoverlooking an empty Maryland Stadium.Its early Junein College Park andthereis buzz aroundthe program. A$155 million dollar renovation speeds forward atCole Field House.Under Armor swag is everywhere.Afresh coat of paint glistensthe walls.Thirty-eight years old, Durkin isthe youngest coach in the Big 10. His RedBull-like energy level is urgent, for good reason.Maryland's program has seen better days, but it has seen few more interesting times. After a 2-4 start last year, coach Randy Edsall was out. The Terpsfinished 3-9, with a 1-7 conference record. Enter Durkin.The whiz kid whooversaw Jim Harbaughs formidableMichigandefenselast season.Meanwhile, twohundred milesup I-95another first-year head coach is taking the reins at Rutgers.Chris Ash served asCo-Defensive Coordinator for Ohio State last season. WhenRutgers finished4-8 witha1-7 mark in conference, coachKyle Flood was fired and the 42-year-old Ash was hired. It didnt take long for Ash to set a new tone for the program.MORE: | Im very excited about the culture and environment that weve created in our building so far, Ash said at Big Ten Media Day. Weve got a lot of accountability, weve got structure, weve got discipline.Were having a tremendous amount of fun with these players too.Fighting back The Big Ten East is full of sharks.Ohio State, Michigan State,Michigan,Penn State.It's no wonder conference wins have been tough to come by sinceMaryland andRutgers joined as Big 10 expansion newbiesin2014. Brett Toth Jersey But there is a more systemicchallenge undercutting the programs' succe s: recruiting.To win in the Big 10 or any power conference you need to put a fence around your backyard. And you certainly cant letconference bulliescome in uninvited and eat your lunch. More often than not in recent years, bullies have eatenRutgers' andMaryland's lunch.According to 247Sports, there have been 11 five-star prospects from Maryland since 2000. Only four of those prospectssigned with the Terps.Of the15 five-star prospects from the Garden State during that timeframe, a merethreehave suited up for the Scarlet Knights.DwayneJarrett waved goodbye to New Jersey toplay for Michael Vick Jersey USC,Jabrill Peppers and Rashan Gary left for Michigan. Ronald Darby and Kendall Fuller would have made an elite secondary atMaryland.Instead they starred at Florida StateandVirginia Tech.Long with a reputation as an ace recruiter,Durkin knows attracting top-level talent isthe lifeblood of any program.Since he's taken the helm in College Park, hes doubled down on a strategy targeting bluechip area-recruits in DC, Maryland, and Virginia.His pitch is simple Maryland represents you.The people, the coaches, the players, the families in this area they take great pride in being from this area and also the level of football that is played,Durkin told Sporting News. To me, its not a hard sell. Its like listen were the school that represents this area, we are you you are us. Its us. This is our field, this is our stadium. Lets all stay here and represent our area the right way.The pitchis working. 247Sports ranks Marylands cla s No. 22 in the country. Of the Terps'15 commitments, nine are from theWashington metropolitan area includingthree of their four-star pledges.MORE: Ash has also found succe s on the recruiting trail, particularly in New Jersey. Rutgers'cla s sits at No. 26 in the nation. Of the 20 commitments, 14 come from the talent-rich Garden Philadelphia Eagles Jersey State. Ash's recruiting approach starts with ensuring his players are amba sadors for the program.At the end of the day, if your players arent your best recruiters you dont have a chance to recruit at a high-level, Ash said. We have worked hard at building relationships with high school coaches, with recruits in the area.But it really starts with whats going on in your locker room.New Attitude The long road to a Big 10 Championship wont be wonin a single off-season. It takes time, talent, Nakobe Dean Jersey coaching and every now and again a little bit ofserendipity (just ask Michigan State after their victory against Michigan last year).For Maryland and Rutgers, there is a real sense of urgency and opportunity to build something big. Fast starts on the recruiting trail hint at the potential. And now theres a new attitude."Why cant we be succe sful and win here? Durkin said, Theres not a good reason."