Maryland football is set to open the 2024 season this weekend with their first of three nonconference matchups in September as the UConn Huskies head to College Park for the first time since 2012. While Maryland's veterans and stars will look to open the ground running, Maryland will also see plenty of familiar faces as Jim Mora looks to turn the page after the program finished 3-9 in his first season as head coach. While UConn is looking for their first winning season since 2010, head coach Jim Mora hammered the transfer portal this past offseason to land 27 players to revamp the roster, part of the roughly 50 new added to the program this offseason. Today we take a deeper dive into who Maryland fans could see on Saturday.
Offense
Key names: LT Valentin Senn, RB Cam Edwards, WR TJ Sheffield
2023 stats
Scoring offense: 19.1 ppg
Rushing yards: 136.6 ypg
Passing yards: 190.3 ypg3rd down offense: 35.3%
Turnovers: 7 interceptions, 10 fumbles lost
Last season, UConn’s offense struggled to ever get anything going as they finished 121st in the country in scoring offense last season. The Huskies lost their starting quarterback as well as their star tight end from last season but were able to land former top recruit Nick Evers in the transfer portal to try and take over the offense in 2024. UConn’s top returner on offense is star running back Edwards, who led the Huskies last season with 618 rushing yards and four touchdowns while also adding 15 receptions for 152 yards and a touchdown. UConn will get most of their offensive production from transfers in 2024. They brought in Durrel Robinson from Charlotte to help take some of the rushing load off of Edwards, as well as Sheffield from Purdue and Skyler Bell from Wisconsin to load up the wide receiver room and give their quarterback more targets.
Senn will anchor down one of the tackle spots for the Huskies as their top lineman. With all the new additions on offense for the Huskies, expect a completely different outlook on how they look in week one this season. Last season, the Huskies did a great job at protecting the quarterback only allowing 12 sacks as a team last season. But due to their lack of weapons, they were just never able to get the passing game going.
Sheffield, who was originally committed to Michigan State out of the portal, gives the passing game a proven weapon after totaling 1,209 yards and 11 touchdowns in 45 games and five seasons. The bulk of his production came in 2021 after finishing with a career-high 46 catches, 480 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
With the Huskies replenishing the wide receiver room and returning most of their offensive line, the Huskies will look to get the passing game established this season. If the Terps want to slow down the UConn offense in week one, getting after the quarterback will be key. UConn hasn't formally announced a starter though former Wisconsin QB Nick Evers has turned heads through fall camp.
Defense
Key names: DL Pryce Yates, LB Jayden McDonald, SAF Malik Dixon-Williams
2023 stats:
Scoring defense: 29.8 ppg
Rushing defense: 147.7 ypg
Passing defense: 258.8 ypg
3rd down defense: 42.6%
Turnovers: 6 interceptions, 7 fumbles
Last season, both sides of the ball were bad for UConn, however, the Huskies landed 13 of their portal commits on the defensive side of the ball to pair alongside their eight returning starters. Yates was the Huskies’ top pass rusher last season leading the team with 4.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss. Sacks as a whole, however, were hard to come by for the Huskies last season. UConn only totaled 16 sacks on the season in 2023. With the Terps replacing a lot of talent on the offensive line, this will be a game that should give them some confidence to start the season.
The strength of the Huskies defense is the safety group. Dixon-Williams and Durante Jones are projected to be the two starting safeties. Jones was second on the team in total tackles last season with 72. Last season, Jones recorded two tackles for loss, a sack, and a fumble recovery as well. Dixon-Williams is however the better of the two. Last season, Dixon-Williams got injured with a concussion and broken arm which caused him to miss four games. However, Dixon-Williams still finished with 43 total tackles which was fifth on the team, as well as a tackle for loss and an interception. The Huskies' defense did not rely much on the safeties getting involved in stopping the run which is something Terps fans have seen plenty of the last couple of seasons with Beau Brade. Look for the Terps to try and get the run game going early to get the UConn safeties to move up to try and open up the passing game.
Another spot UConn has improved on defense is the linebacker position. The Huskies are starting completely fresh at lineback this season with their top three contributors expected to be transfers. The top transfer at linebacker for the Huskies is Jayden McDonald out of Troy. McDonald had 75 total tackles last season as well as a sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Along with McDonald, UConn brought in Julien Simon out of USC and Aaron Key out of Western Kentucky to fill out their linebacker room. The Huskies defense is filled with unknowns this season just like many teams in college football these days thanks to the transfer portal. However the biggest unknown is due to their change at defensive coordinator. UConn hired Matt Brock as their defensive coordinator this offseason after spending the past four seasons at Mississippi State. Brock was a first time defensive coordinator last season after getting promoted after the 2022 season. Under Brock, Mississippi State’s defense allowed 26.6 points per game and 350.6 yards per game last season. Brock and his defense will look to make things difficult for a Terps offense that has a brand new line and quarterback. Look for them to aim to stop the run and force the Terps to have to throw the ball.
The Terps open up their 2024 season in SECU Stadium against UConn with the game broadcast on FS1 and set to kick off at 12 PM EST.
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