Terps Football: 5 Thoughts Before Maryland/Texas

Opponent: #23 Texas Longhorns (0-0, 0-0 Big 12 Conference)
Location: FedExField (82,000)
Date: Saturday, September 1, 2018
Time: 12:00 PM ET
TV/Radio Broadcasts: FS1, Maryland Sports Radio Network
Series Record: 3-1 Texas

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With everyone’s attention focused on the two investigations surrounding Maryland’s football program, it’s easy to forget that the 2018 college football season begins this weekend. Under the direction of interim head coach Matt Canada, the Terrapins continue to move their way through practices in preparation for their season-opener against the #23 Texas Longhorns at FedExField on Saturday afternoon. Reports out of camp are that the team has been extremely resilient and is bringing excellent energy to practice despite the turmoil within the program.

1. What’s the State of the Program?

Let’s get this out of the way first. Mike Lowe and myself have written about the fallout in the days following ESPN’s bombshell report regarding an alleged “toxic culture” surrounding Maryland’s football program. Most recently, University President Wallace Loh and Athletic Director Damon Evans held a joint press conference to discuss these allegations, as well as the death of Jordan McNair. It was announced later that the program had reached a termination agreement head strength & conditioning coach Rick Court. The University System of Maryland’s Board of Regents also met and took full control and authority over both independent investigations into McNair’s death and into the allegations laid out in ESPN’s report.

Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Matt Canada, who was just added to Maryland’s coaching staff a few months ago, has added interim head coach to his title. This will be Canada’s first head coaching experience at any level, and he’ll also be tasked with calling the offensive plays and working with the team’s quarterbacks on a daily basis. While it’s fortunate for the program to have someone like Canada who they can distance from any sort of “toxic culture” due to his recent arrival, it’s easy to wonder how he’ll manage to do three different jobs at the high level necessary to compete in the Big Ten Conference. With just a few days until the team’s first game, he’ll need to figure things out fairly quickly.

2. Who’s the Quarterback?

Maryland began summer practices a few weeks ago, and finally saw the return of quarterbacks Tyrrell Pigrome and Kasim Hill to the field after both suffered season-ending knee injuries last season. Both players have been competing for the starting job, and all signs point to a game-time decision by Canada and the coaching staff. Smart money seems to be on Hill in Canada’s more diverse, traditional-leaning offense. However, Canada has been a chameleon play-caller during his career, and there’s no doubt that he could design a dynamic offense for either Hill or Pigrome.

3. These Running Backs Will Be Fun

No matter who is behind center, they’ll likely be handing the ball off to one of Maryland’s immensely talented running backs more often than not. Between Ty Johnson, Lorenzo Harrison III, Jake Funk, Anthony McFarland, Tayon Fleet-Davis, and Javon Leake, Canada has a deeper stable of backs than most teams in the country. Look for him to get the ball to this group in a lot of different ways, particularly on his famous fly and jet sweeps. He showcased a number of 3- and 4-running back formations in the team’s Red-White Spring Game, and you can bet he’s looking for any way possible to get these players on the field. With the team’s youth and inexperience at the wide receiver position, he’ll likely use more multiple-back formations and fewer with 3 or more wide receivers.

4. All About the Trenches

Maryland’s biggest weakness defensively in 2017 was their defensive line. After losing Jesse Aniebonam to a season-ending injury in their first game, the team’s defense struggled to muster any sort of pass-rush for the remainder of the year. The interior of the line also struggled against the run, allowing Big Ten running backs to gash them up the middle on a weekly basis.

2018 will see the return of Aniebonam on the weak side, and the addition of Auburn transfer and former 5-star recruit Byron Cowart on the strong side. Adam McLean and Mbi Tanyi have won the two starting defensive tackle jobs, but it’s likely that we see some sort of rotation across the entire defensive line, particularly the interior.

5. Can They Pull This Off…Again?

No one but the players and coaches themselves expected the Terrapins to pull off their upset of the Longhorns last season. However, they came out with an energy unmatched by any Maryland team in recent memory and put up 51 points to spoil Tom Herman’s Texas head coaching debut. Herman’s 2018 squad will be much tougher to knock off, with the preseason hype seemingly more warranted than last year’s. With the Terrapins still reeling from McNair’s death and the program under immense turmoil, the players have an extremely tough task ahead of them.

Last season, it was a stifling pass rush and a big-play offense that spurred the Terrapins to victory. That’s not a bad recipe for success in any game, and this year’s Maryland team looks better on paper than they did in 2017. While he hasn’t been officially named the starter yet, Hill brings a more diverse skill-set to this game than Pigrome did last season. The running back stable is even deeper, and Canada’s offense will look to spread the ball around a lot with plenty of shifts and motion. Defensively, the team looks improved at just about every position despite some turnover among the front seven. As was the case in 2017, if Maryland wants to win this game they’ll need to shoot out of the gate with tremendous energy. Win this thing for Jordan.