Credit: 247Sports

One of Maryland's top 2016 football players is now down to a dozen schools.

Trevon Diggs, the nation's No. 5 athlete, announced his top 12 on Twitter Friday afternoon. The schools to make the cut include five teams from the SEC, four from the ACC and three from the Big Ten.

The recruiting process is still young for Diggs, who has 17 reported offers, per 247Sports, but all 12 schools had something in common.

Honesty. Open honesty.

"They all caught my attention. They kept it real with me," Diggs said. "It wasn't tough. I just weighed out my pros and cons and wanted to see which schools would put me in the best position."

That's the first step in Diggs' process. The second step now is to continue building relationships with the coaches from each school. Diggs hasn't visited all 12 schools yet, but he said that's a part of his plan.

Each school has a legitimate shot at landing the 4-star athlete who caught 78 passes for 1,008 yards and 15 touchdowns. Look for Diggs to use the spring and the summer to engage each school and separate the potential finalists from the others.

So far, he's visited Maryland, Penn State and Alabama, and those are three schools that would make great fits. Maryland is the trending school, according to Diggs' 247Sports Crystal Ball, as he lives roughly a half-hour away from the College Park, Maryland, campus. He's also the younger brother of wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who starred at Maryland and is expected to be drafted in two weeks.

Maryland has six commits, but only linebacker Keandre Jones is a 4-star prospect. Diggs is a highly ranked target who could aid Maryland in grabbing other commitments. With him being an in-state prospect, Diggs' pledge could help the Terrapins pick up 4-star quarterback Dwayne Haskins, the state's No. 2 player.

Penn State and Alabama both are potential landing spots as well. Diggs has made several unofficial visits to Penn State since September—as many as he's made to Maryland. Most recently, Diggs visited Alabama two weeks ago and took in the campus experience.

Penn State already has the top-ranked Maryland prospect committed in 4-star defensive end Shane Simmons. Penn State has five commitments so far, but the program's still looking for its first receiver or athlete pledge.

Alabama also has five commitments, and the overall prestige of the program—coupled with the fact that head coach Nick Saban's program is consistently in the running for a national championship—could be enough to sway Diggs.

Two other schools to keep an eye on are LSU and Auburn. Diggs picked up an offer from LSU minutes before announcing his top 12. As for Auburn, he was supposed to take a visit to the campus earlier this spring but had to postpone. A visit to Auburn could be on deck soon.

Trimming the list of 12 to a smaller number will be Diggs' next step, and he's expecting the process to be a lot more difficult than Friday's decision.

And what will determine a winning school?

"It's all about what they can do for me after football and what school is going to put me in the best position to go to the NFL," he said.

Damon Sayles is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand. All player ratings are courtesy of 247Sports' composite ratings. Follow Damon via Twitter: @DamonSayles.