What’s The Next Step For Terps Football?

Rebuilding the football program to prominence is what Mike Locksley was brought back to College Park to do. And the Washington, D.C. native has done just that.  

The Terps’ 8-5 record last season marked the best so far in the Locksley era. The upward trajectory of his tenure mixed with back-to-back bowl wins and the return of star quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa have Maryland followers and college football fans alike wondering the same thing: What’s the next step in the progression for the Terps? 

Maryland has gotten more talented and competitive each and every year since Locksley’s arrival. Entering his fifth season as head coach, he’s coming off back-to-back winning seasons and is hoping to build off that momentum to deliver his best product yet. Getting his record-setting quarterback back should help, but losing five studs to the NFL draft shouldn’t be overlooked. 

There’s no doubt that the Terps set the bar high with eight wins last year. It’s quite the feat any year in the competitive Big Ten, particularly the Big Ten East. Getting back there or surpassing their success with nine wins or more won’t be easy for the Terps. But there are several college football analysts who have high hopes the Terps in 2023 and believe they can get there, including ESPN’s Chris Low, who chose Maryland as his breakout team for next season. 

“Two of Maryland’s five losses last season in the Big Ten were by a touchdown or less,” Low explains. “With a quarterback the caliber of Tagovailoa returning and a defense that should be improved, the Terps will be better positioned to finish some of those close games and make a run at their first nine-win season or better in more than a decade.” 

Even with some serious attrition on offense (four-fifths of the offensive line and three of the top six receivers from last year), the consensus seems to be that the Terps will still be explosive on that side of the ball because of the presence of Tagovailoa. I would say to be cautious of this narrative because chemistry between a quarterback and new wideouts can take time and we’re going to have to make sure his new offensive line can keep him upright first. But that’s not to say they won’t figure it out and an extra year of experience for Tagovailoa won’t help balance out some of the roster turnover.  

It’s probably safe to say Maryland’s offense will be about as good as it was last year or close to it. But better than last year’s offense that averaged 401.5 yards per game could be a stretch. If it is better, it would likely be because of a monstrous season from the backfield that is returning all of its top rushers. 

A combination of Roman Hemby, Antwain Littleton II, and Colby McDonald might be Tagovailoa’s greatest asset next season. Their presence will allow Maryland to go run-heavy in certain games, which, in turn, should help preserve Tagovailoa’s health and keep him ready for when the Terps need to take their shots through the air.  

The redshirt senior’s health has been a bit of a concern throughout his career at Maryland. While he hasn’t missed any large chunks of time in either of the last two seasons, Tagovailoa did miss one game last year and sat out parts of others. He has been hampered by a banged up knee for most of his college career and wears a brace now, but he is a smart quarterback — knowing when to escape the pocket and, more importantly, knowing when to get down or out of bounds. 

His health with be paramount to any Maryland success in 2023. Although backup quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. proved to be serviceable in his limited action last year, he doesn’t have the experience or raw talent that Tagovailoa has. And while Edwards could help the Terps contend against or possibly beat the Big Ten’s bottom-dwellers, it’s hard to see him giving them a chance against the blue bloods of the conference. 

Luckily for Maryland, two of those blue bloods — Michigan and Penn State — have to come to College Park this season. Their toughest road games will be Michigan State and a trip to the Horseshoe to take on Ohio State. 

But you know what they say travels with you on the road? Defense. So let’s touch on that since that unit has been basically rebuilt. 

Besides getting lit up by a high-powered SMU offense last year, Maryland’s defense was pretty solid. Michigan, Penn State, and Ohio State were also able to move the ball against the Terps, but that’s to be expected from a talent standpoint. Maryland’s defense controlled the games it was supposed to. 

This year, the Terps hope to take the next step on defense and actually be able to cause havoc on that side of the ball. While last year was serviceable, it wasn’t dynamic. The amount of sacks and momentum-changing plays left a lot of be desired. These are the areas where Maryland has to improve in 2023 to progress forward. 

The Terps are hoping Tennessee transfer Jordan Phillips can make up for a lot of the turnover up front. He’s a large nose tackle that eats up blockers and will help immensely in stopping the run. St. Francis (Pa.) transfer Donnell Brown is also a new face that will be expected to have a big impact right away. The junior edge rusher had 10.5 sacks in three years with his FCS school and was the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year last season. 

But while the defensive line is probably the biggest concern on that side of the ball because of the turnover from last year, the linebacking corps and secondary could certainly be strong suits of this team. Jaishawn Braham and Ruben Hypppolite return to lead the linebackers in what should be a reliable unit with plenty of experience. Likewise, Tarheeb Still and Beau Brade are the stalwarts in the secondary that will try to mesh in with newcomers Avantae Williams (Miami transfer) and Ja’Quan Sheppard (Cincinnati transfer). 

With any football team at any level, there are a lot of moving parts that have to fall into place in order for goals to be met and success to be achieved. The parts are certainly there for Maryland to have its first 10-win season in 20 years, but the safest bet is that the Big Ten won’t make it easy. It will be crucial for the Terps to win all of their swing games with no lapses like last year against Purdue and to steal a win or two from one of the conference’s perennial contenders in order to surpass last year’s progress. But all of that is certainly doable and right in front of Mike Locksley’s team for the taking.