The long-awaited return of Maryland Terrapins football finally came to an end on Saturday; where head coach Mike Locksley’s squad started with a bang, defeating FBS opponent UConn 50-7. While not the toughest foe Maryland will face this season, it provided a tune up for Locksley’s team and to get the season on the right track. While it wasn’t perfect, the Terrapins started to answer a lot of questions that loomed over the offseason. While not all of them are answered, Maryland fans have reason to be optimistic headed into the rest of the season. We will take a look at the ups and downs of Saturday’s victory.
UP
Billy Edwards Jr.
The biggest question this offseason was obvious: who is going to be starting quarterback? As the game drew near, the noise was that Edwards had gained the locker room’s trust. As Saturday hit, Edwards was the first one to trot on the field as the signal caller. Fans were skeptical of his ceiling and his ability to throw down the field as despite his Music City Bowl MVP, he struggled to push the ball down field with accuracy. Edwards started to answer critics as he threw 311 yards and 2 touchdowns on 74% completion percentage. Edwards was keeping it simple with a lot of throws in the short to immediate area but also impressed me with some down the field throws. The first drive of the second half saw two of Edwards best plays. On a second and long, Edwards held his ground in the pocket and bought time scrambling to the left but kept his eyes down field to deliver a strike to Tai Felton for 40 yards. Billy displayed the ability to throw on the run and across his body on the play. Later that same drive he found Felton again over the middle on a beautiful pass. Edwards’ ability to run the ball was also evident as he ran for 39 yards on the ground as the threat of him pulling the ball was still there. Overall, Billy’s performance extended the trust from inside Jones-Hill House to the rest of the Maryland fanbase. Establishing more verticality in the offense is still a need, but a perfect start to his season as a starter.
WR Tai Felton
Felton was one of the proven alpha dogs in the wide receiver room coming into the season. Felton took little time to prove the pundits correct and show why he is on his way to be the next great Terrapin receiver. While Prather may have the higher NFL upside, the speed and big play ability from Felton is hard to miss. Felton finished with a career high 178 yards receiving and added two touchdowns on seven catches. Felton scored the latter of his touchdowns on a 75-yard score where he spun out of two Husky tacklers and turned off the afterburners for six. There is no denying that Felton is Edwards’ favorite target and is a big play waiting to happen. Every time you looked up, he was making a play and I do not see him slowing down.
Running Game and Offensive Line
Head coach Mike Locksley repeatedly echoed throughout the offseason that he wanted to improve the run game. In total, the Terrapins ran for 257 yards on the ground and 5.7 yards per carry. Hemby led the room with 14 carries and 66 yards (4.7 ypc), but it was Nolan Ray who stole the show with a highlight reel 48-yard score. Ray made two of the best cuts I have ever seen in a Maryland uniform and was one of the more impressive long runs for Maryland in recent memory. The aforementioned Hemby and Ray had scores and true freshman DeJuan Williams also added one on the ground. A big part of the run game’s success was the emergence of the offensive line. With all 5 players being new starters, the offensive line was very impressive. They were constantly picking up blocks and creating lanes for Hemby and Ray to burst through. I was particularly impressed with Alan Herron, who was getting good push all day, and Josh Kaltenberger is a mainstay in the center. Pass protection was also good for the most part as Edwards had time to move around and keep his eyes down field. Now the competition was not the toughest, so it is important for the offensive line to continue to improve to get a push against the big boys.
The Safety Room
Two known commodities on the defense entering the season were returning safeties, Dante Trader Jr. and Glen Miller. The two showed why they are some of the best players on the team. Watching the defense play, there is an argument that Miller is the best player on that side of the ball. He obviously had the interception but was flying all over the field and was a stalwart in stopping any possible early Husky momentum. Not to mention, Miller led the team with 6 total tackles and Trader was noticeable with 4 tackles including a great one early in the game. Trader also added a pass breakup. These two are going to be a great safety duo and got off to a great start Saturday.
Special Teams
Special teams had a great start Saturday with Jack Howes hitting all three field goals, which were all under 35 yards. However, Howes did miss one of 5 of his extra point attempts. The real star of special teams was Notre Dame punter transfer, Bryce McFerson. McFerson pinned UConn inside the 20 on 5 of his 6 punts and did not kick any touchbacks. McFerson was an underrated signings for the Terrapins this offseason and having a punter that has the ability to flip the field consistently is such a commodity (see Michigan last year). Special teams were also able to get a turnover as Riccardo Cooper was able to pick up a fumble as UConn had some communication issues.
Down
QB MJ Morris
Many fans wanted Morris to be the guy that Maryland rode with as the starting signal caller heading into week one Morris showed a lot of promise at North Carolina State and his remaining 3 years of eligibility is attractive to the fanbase. Although Morris did not get the start on Saturday, he did get some game action. Morris came into the game in the second quarter and finished 3 for 4 passing with 13 yards. While he wasn't terrible, he did not flash any real wow factor and did not infuse the fanbase with confidence. He was hesitant with releasing the ball and held it too long and took some quarterback hits. The offense did not score any points with him as the quarterback and it just was not running as fluid as when Billy, or even Cam was in there. Not the end of the world for Morris but he did not take advantage of his opportunities.
The Front Seven
The front-seven was seen as the strength of the defense heading into the year. I still believe it is but it wasn’t the best start based on expectations of the group. Early on, UConn was able to get push and gain yards on the ground. It improved as the game went on as the Huskies ended with 115 yards on the ground and only averaged 2.9 yards per carry. Phillips had a few good interior stops but only finished with two tackles, Hyppolite had one tackle, Donnell Brown had one tackle, as well as Wheatland and Wyatt. Maryland was rotating heavily on the defense but more production is needed from this talented front seven. The unit also failed to get a sack. UConn’s style of bootleg flood patterns and quick passes did not help the Maryland unit to get pressure, however; you would like the unit to get in there more often. It is worth noting that Caleb Wheatland was the only player to get any quarterback hits with two. Not the worst performance, but left wanting more pop from this group and to meet preseason expectations.
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