Opponent Check: Maryland
Inside Nebraska’s Opponent Check series rolls on. Up next is a game that has always had intrigue to it since the schedule was released: Maryland.
After a Michigan State game that ends five straight weeks of being home in Lincoln, Nebraska will have its first true road test. And it’s a test that will come 1,200 miles away on the East Coast in College Park.
How will Nebraska react to its first short week of the regular season? It’s first time away from Memorial Stadium since playing Cincinnati on Aug. 28? The game with the Bearcats will be played on a Thursday, but with it being the first game of the season nothing about the prep should be condensed or challenging like a true short week could be.
Nebraska and Maryland share the same bye week of Saturday, Sept. 27. While Nebraska comes out of the bye playing the Spartans, Maryland gets Washington at home before the Huskers arrive a week later.
On paper, Maryland is an opponent some may look past and chalk up as a win without much thought. But In the Big Ten, everyone has players and good coaches. Perhaps more attention should be placed on this tilt.
Mike Locksley needs to respond from four-win 2024 campaign
Head coach Mike Locksley is entering his seventh year at Maryland. A strong response is needed this fall after the disappointing 4-8 record his team ended 2024 with. It was the first time since the 2020 Covid-19-impacted season Locksley didn’t lead Maryland to a bowl game.
Maryland’s non-conference slate includes Florida Atlantic, Northern Illinois and Towson. No-doubt wins for Maryland? Not so fast.
Zach Kittley takes over as head coach at Florida Atlantic. The former Texas Tech offensive coordinator has a solid quarterback in Western Kentucky transfer Caden Veltkamp. In Kittley’s spread pass-heavy attack, Veltkamp could have a big year. Maryland can’t look past the Owls.
Then there’s Northern Illinois. Head coach Thomas Hammock understands what it takes to go into a Power Four opponent’s house and leave with a win. He did it last season by beating Notre Dame 16-14 in South Bend. Two seasons ago the Huskies went to Boston College and beat the Eagles 27-24 in overtime. In 2022, Hammock’s team made Kentucky sweat before falling 31-23.
Power Four teams need to think twice before scheduling Hammock’s Northern Illinois. (Nebraska took care of business against the Huskies with a no-drama 35-11 win in 2023.)
After that proceed-with-caution non-con slate, the Terrapins begin Big Ten play on the road at Wisconsin. The good news for Locksley is he doesn’t have to play Ohio State, Penn State or Oregon this season.
The meeting between Nebraska and Maryland will be the fourth all-time. Nebraska won the first two matchups in 2016 and 2019 by a combined score of 82-14. The Terps, however, left Lincoln in 2023 with a 13-10 win.
Side note: Due to the College Football Playoff, the popularity of bowl games have understandably fallen off. Bowl games are usually full of opt-outs, transfers not playing and, for the most part, teams that are shells of their regular-season selves.
But whenever you see a coach who finds a way to push their team to win a bowl game, where both sides might be without key players, it’s notable and a mark of a good coach. Locksley is 3-0 in bowl games at Maryland.
Previous Opponent Checks:
Week 1: Thursday, Aug. 28: Cincinnati
Week 2: Saturday, Sept. 6: Akron
Week 3: Saturday, Sept. 13: Houston Christian
Week 4: Saturday, Sept. 20: Michigan
Week 5: Saturday, Sept. 27: BYE
Week 6: Saturday, Oct. 4: Michigan State
What Maryland’s offense must replace
Maryland’s offense averaged 23.7 points per game in 2024, ranking 10th in the Big Ten and 100th nationally, just in front of Nebraska’s 23.5 mark. The Terps struggled to run the ball, rushing for only 110.42 yards per game (16th, 116th) and 3.58 yards per carry (15th, 110th).
Locksley made several coaching staff changes this offseason. The most notable on the offensive side is Pep Hamilton taking over for Josh Gattis as the Terps’ new OC.
Led by the now-departed quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., Maryland’s pass offense averaged 275.7 yards per game (3rd, 17th), but its yards per attempt was only at 6.7 (13th, 102nd). Edwards completed 65% of his passes for 2,881 yards and 15 touchdowns against nine interceptions. A dual-threat, Edwards also rushed for 150 yards and five scores.
Of the 19 players who played at least 100 snaps, 13 have left the program while six return.
Notable departures include Edwards (transferred to Wisconsin) and the top three pass catchers, including receivers Tai Felton (96 catches, 1,124 yards, 9 TDs) and Kaden Prather (56, 624, 4 TDs) and tight end Dylan Wade (29 catches, 374 yards, 2 TDs). Also gone is running back Roman Hemby, who transferred to Indiana after rushing for 607 yards and six scores in 2024.
Maryland returns two starters on the offensive line in right tackle Alan Herron and right guard Aliou Bah.
What Maryland’s defense must replace
Maryland hard trouble stopping opponents from getting into the end zone in 2024. The Terps allowed 30.4 points per game (17th, 105th). DC Brian Williams was let go after the season and Locksley hired Ted Monachino to replace him.
Monachino coached North Carolina’s defensive line in 2024. He’s a veteran coach, though his last DC role came with the Indianapolis Colts from 2016-17.
Of the 26 players who played at least 100 snaps on defense last season, 15 have departed the program while 11 return. Nine of the top 10 players in terms of snap count are gone. Four of the top 10 tacklers return.
The quarterback: Malik Washington
For the second time in a four-week stretch, Nebraska’s defense will likely be playing a highly-touted true freshman quarterback.
While five-star Bryce Underwood is probably going to be QB1 at Michigan, four-star Malik Washington seems like he’ll get the keys to Maryland’s offense in Year 1.
No starter has been named in College Park at this point. So right now, you can consider it an open competition between Washington and veteran Justyn Martin. Martin is a transfer who spent the past three seasons at UCLA, where he played in five games.
If Washington does indeed win the job, but he doesn’t work out by the time Nebraska visits, Martin would be the back-up option.
Physically impressive at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, Washington comes to Maryland from Archbishop Spalding, which is just 31 miles from SECU Stadium. Washington was a massive recruiting win for Locksley.
As a senior at Archbishop Spalding, Washington completed 65.3% of his passes for 1,970 yards and 22 touchdowns while adding eight rushing scores.
Top returning players to know
Smith is the leading returning receiver for Maryland. Last season the 6-foot, 182-pounder played in 11 games with 10 starts. He caught 30 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns. Smith will also be an option as a returner on special teams — he brought back seven kicks for 95 yards in 2024.
Ray is the leading returning rusher for Maryland. While getting rotation carries behind starter Roman Hemby, Ray rushed for 374 yards and two touchdowns. He also averaged and 5.0 yards per carry and is the favorite to be RB1.
The 6-2, 200-pound Huskey played the second-most snaps (570) on defense for Maryland last season. The big and lengthy defensive back played in 12 games with 11 starts and finished 2024 with 45 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions and one blocked kick.
Huskey began his career at Bowling Green, where he spent two seasons. In 2023, he earned a first-team All-MAC honor.
Another big DB — Maryland has a lot of them — who stands 6-3, 215 pounds, Scruggs returns after recording 43 tackles and one interception. With guys like Dante Trader Jr. and Glendon Miller leaving the program, Scruggs will have a larger role in the back end in 2025.
Wingate was the third-leading tackler on the defense in 2024. A linebacker in the mold of Nebraska’s Javin Wright, the 6-5, 230-pound Wingate racked up 50 tackles last season.
Harris was a four-star recruit in the 2023 class for Locksley. After playing in eight games and making nine tackles as a true freshman, the Florida native played well in 2024 when given more snaps. The 6-1, 218-pounder recorded 34 tackles and one forced fumble as a sophomore. Now he’s primed to start as a junior this fall.
Top impact transfers to know
Jalil Farooq is back home. After spending the past four seasons at Oklahoma, Farooq, who’s from Lanham, Maryland, is a now a Terp. A big-bodied receiver at 6-2, 213 pounds, Farooq played in 36 career games with 25 starts as a Sooner. For his career, Farooq caught 88 passes for 1,282 yards and seven touchdowns. He only played in two games in 2024 because of a season-ending foot injury. He’ll be a featured piece of Pep Hamilton’s passing offense.
Scott is an interesting player. At 6-7 and 220 pounds, he’s a massive target in the receiver room. And he transferred to Maryland after spending just the winter and spring at Florida State. He’s a junior college product who caught 20 passes for 358 yards and four touchdowns at Southwest Mississippi Community College in 2024. He verbally committed to Arizona State, but FSU wound up flipping him in November.
At 6-5 and 200 pounds, Webb will be another big target for Washington in the pass game. Webb spent the past three seasons at Tennessee, where he played in 23 career games and caught 22 passes for 214 yards and one touchdown. In 2024, he played in seven games but recorded only six catches for 48 yards.
Joyner was a three-star recruit from Florida who showed up at Arkansas State and played from day one. He spent two seasons with the Red Wolves of the Sun Belt Conference before transferring to Maryland, where he’ll be expected to start at cornerback. In those two seasons, the 6-foot, 180-pounder played in 24 games and made 69 tackles. In 2024, he racked up nine pass breakups.
After Maryland’s top pass-catching tight end from last season, Dylan Wade, transferred to UCF to play fro Scott Frost, Locksley went to the Sun Belt to find his replacement in Fleming. The 6-3, 245-pound Fleming spent the past two seasons at Georgia State. After redshirting in 2023, Fleming caught 49 passes for 558 yards and six touchdowns in 2024, which earned him second-team all-conference.
Thomas spent the past two seasons at the FCS level playing at St. Francis (PA), the same program that produced current Nebraska corner Blye Hill. At 6-3, 328 pounds, Thomas is a massive body in the interior of the defensive line. In 2024, Thomas played in 11 games and made 37 tackles with 7.0 TFLs and 3.5 sacks.
The 6-2, 303-pound Rice comes to Maryland after one season in the MAC at Ohio, where he played in 12 games and made 30 tackles, 8.5 TFLs and three sacks. Rice began his career at him hometown school, West Virginia. The Morgantown native only spent one season with the Mountaineers before transferring to West Liberty University (W.V.), and he tore it up at the Division II level. In two seasons at West Liberty, Rice made 89 tackles, 37 TFLs and 14.5 sacks.