Maryland Terapins 2018 Football Preview

Maryland Terapins 2018 Football Preview

Opening Statement: Maryland was one of the more snake bit teams in the nation in 2017. After an opening road win over Texas, it looked like DJ Durkin had turned the program in the right direction. Injuries at QB then took hold, and Maryland was on their 4th QB of the year by October. Fortunes sagged, and the program skidded to a 4-8 finish, with just 2 wins in the final 10 games of the season. Things could turn right again this fall if the Terps can stay healthy, but health is key once again.

Breakdown Offense: Five different QBs attempted at least one pass last fall, but Kasim Hill and Tyrell Pigrome are back from their knee injuries, and the position looks to become stabilized this fall. Hill played in just 3 games, while Pigrome started the Texas game and was injured in the win. Hill appears to be the starter, but that battle could rage into fall camp, and both could see action in games. Max Bortenschlager, who played in 11 games as a sophomore, will fade back to the 3rd job.

Maryland could end up with one of the deeper RB units in the Big 10 this season. Ty Johnson ran for 875 yards and scored 5 times, while averaging 6.39 yards per carry. Lorenzo Harrison rushed for 622 yards and 3 scores last fall, and returns as the primary backup, and Anthony McFarland returns after missing last fall with a broken leg. Jake Funk played in 12 games last season, and Javon Leake brings additional depth.

DJ Moore is gone at WR, and that will be a solid hole to fill after he posted a line of 80-1033-8 last season. Taivon Jacobs will return after posting 47-553-5, but he averaged just over 11 yards per catch, making him more of a possession receiver type. DJ Turner projects to start as well, but caught just 5 passes last season. Rayshad Lewis also projects as the 3rd receiver, but did not catch a pass last season. This group does not boast much depth, and could be a red flag position for the Terps this season.

Avery Edwards projects as the starter at TE, and will have an expanded role in Matt Canada's offense.

Four starters return on the line in Derwin Gray (LT), Sean Christie (LG), Brendan Moore (C), and Terrance Davis (RG). Sophmore Marcus Minor has an edge at the open RT position heading into fall camp, but Damian Prince could push him for the job. Johnny Jordan and Ellis McKennie are key reserves.

Breakdown Defense: The defense crumbled last fall while the offense withered away, as they allowed 37.1 points per game, 190.8 yards rushing per game, and 226.5 yards passing per game. In all, the Terps ranked 119th in the nation in scoring defense.

A lot will depend on the foot of DE Jessie Aniebonam, as he broke the foot in the opener last season after finishing 2016 with 9 sacks. The rest if the unit could not match his output last fall, and the team crashed around that void defensively. He had a second surgery in the spring, and his status is questionable for fall camp at this time. Byron Cowart is the other DE heading into fall camp, and needs to realize his potential at some point after he came into college ball at Auburn as the top defensive recruit in the nation. Melvin Keihn and Brett Kulka are standing by if neither of those options work out.

Adam McLean projects as the starting NT this fall, but has yet to establish himself on the field. Seun Oluwatimi is another option to push McLean in camp. He finished with 1.5 TFLs in 12 games last fall. Mbi Tanyi starts at DT once again and should have the job locked up. He totaled just 2 TFLs in 12 games last season, so he has to show more this fall. Depth inside is not exactly optimal.

The LB group is looking for a new starter, with one returning. Isaiah Davis returns after a 70 tackle season. He finished with just 2 TFLs last fall, so few of his tackles happened at the initial line or behind it. Jermaine Carter is gone, and that will be a huge hole to fill in the middle of the defense. Tre Watson, a grad transfer from Illinois, will try to fill the hole. Nick Underwood finished with just 7 tackles after transferring from Air Force and Riverside CC in California, and will try to provide some depth, which overall, is minimal.

Three starters return in the five man secondary. Tino Ellis is back at CB to start, and finished with 5 PBUs last fall. He is exepcted to be joined at CB by junior Marcus Lewis. Lewis is a Florida State transfer who should fit right in. If he does not, RaVon Davis is available, as he appeared in 12 games last fall.

Antoine Brooks is back at the Nickel, and finished 2nd on the team with 77 tackles last fall. He added 2 INTs.

Darnell Savage is the starter at FS, and tied for the team lead with 3 INTs, and finished with 59 tackles last season. He also led the team with 8 total PBUs on the season. Antwaine Richardson and Qwuantrezz Knight are in a battle for the SS job heading into fall camp.

Breakdown Special Teams: A 3 way battle looms in camp for the open PK position to replace the departed Henry Darmstadter and Adam Greene. The good news is that it cannot get much worse, as those two combined to hit just 8/15 FG attempts, despite combining for a perfect 37/37 on PATs. Freshman Joseph Petrino has the edge, but Mike Shinsky and Paul Inzerillo are in the mix as well.

Wade Lees is back at Punter as well, but struggled for distance last season, averaging just 39.23 yards per punt.

Ty Johnson will double as the primary KR man as well in 2018, after averaging 24.33 yards per return with one score last fall. The PR job will be open in camp, as DJ Moore left that job open upon his departure.

Final Analysis: The Terps really fell apart under the strain of injuries on both sides of the football last fall, and when the offense fell apart, a weakened defense could not keep up. A change was made at OC, as Matt Canada lands on his feet after the debacle of working with Ed Orgeron at LSU played out, and he has some changes in mind for the offense. If the Terps can stay healthy, you can probably feel pretty good betting on this team to be a squad who did not go bowling last fall, to do so this season. There is plenty of talent on offense, and if the defense can get some help up front, this team could easily swing to 6 or 7 wins with ease. The non con schedule, other than the "home" opener with Texas, is fairly easy, and other than a road trip to Michigan, the first half of the conference schedule is manageable. Durkin cannot be blamed with how last season went, but he will feel some heat if it goes that way again in 2018.