Maryland football got its season off to a near-perfect start, trouncing UConn, 50-7. The Terps fired on all cylinders in all three phases of the game.
A blowout of Saturday’s magnitude also meant the team’s depth got valuable in-game experience. Head coach Mike Locksley said 72 players saw the field against the Huskies.
In grading positional groups, I’ll weigh starter and primary backup performances stronger than performances by the myriad of freshmen and other players unlikely to see the field against top-tier opponents.
Quarterbacks
Billy Edwards Jr. was handed the keys to the offense after a months-long competition to replace Taulia Tagovailoa. In the season opener, he blew past expectations set for a player with just two career starts.
The 6-foot-3, 222-pound redshirt junior completed 20 of 27 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns, also adding 39 yards on the ground. He put up those numbers despite playing just 65% of the team’s offensive snaps. Edwards was poised and decisive, delivering surprising velocity on his throws.
MJ Morris was underwhelming in his planned relief of Edwards, going 3-for-4 for 13 yards through the air and carrying the ball five times for another 13 yards.
A late hit to the head knocked Morris out of the game early in the fourth quarter. Cameron Edge came in to replace him, completing four of six passes for 57 yards and a score.
Grade: A-
Running backs
The Terps’ backfield duo of Roman Hemby and Nolan Ray could be a special one as the season progresses.
Hemby showed that he’s ready for an increased role in 2024, carrying the ball 14 times for an efficient 66 yards and a touchdown. He also led the running back group with three catches out of the backfield.
Ray was the primary change-of-pace back behind Hemby, and he shined in the first extended action of his career. On his first carry, he cut between two linebackers after taking an inside handoff, burst into the second level and eluded two more defenders on his way to a 48-yard touchdown.
He finished with six carries for 60 yards and a score, also catching one pass for two yards.
Colby McDonald also saw plenty of action, but primarily once the game was already out of hand. He racked up 44 yards on eight carries.
Freshmen Josiah McLaurin and DeJuan Williams also impressed in limited action. McLaurin took a swing pass 24 yards for a touchdown, while Williams ran for 13 yards and a score on four carries, all in garbage time.
Grade: A
Wide receivers
Tai Felton was the story of this unit on Saturday. He was a big play machine against the Huskies, bringing in four catches of 15 yards or more — including a 75-yard scamper for a score — on his way to a seven-catch, 178-yard, two-touchdown performance.
UConn was schematically taking Kaden Prather out of the game with double teams and coverage rotations, Edwards said after the game. But the big receiver still had a productive outing in his own right, bringing in six catches for 60 yards.
It was unclear whether Octavian Smith Jr. or Shaleak Knotts would slot into the No. 3 receiver role. Smith appeared to have won that battle, seeing 35 snaps compared to Knotts’ 18. Smith had only two catches, but one of them was an 18-yard completion to extend the Terps’ second drive. Knotts was a nonfactor, with one reception for one yard.
Redshirt freshman Ryan Manning was the biggest star once backups entered the game. The 5-foot-9, 184-pound receiver impressed in the second half, garnering two catches for 23 yards.
Grade: B+
Tight ends
Preston Howard started the game and is expected to be the primary contributor from this group. But he played just eight snaps before spending the rest of the game on the sideline without his helmet. It’s unclear whether he was injured or otherwise removed from the game.
Dylan Wade was the primary tight end in Howard’s absence. He played both in-line and split out wide, showcasing the ability to both block effectively and stretch the field as a receiver.
He brought in two catches for 38 yards, coming on back-to-back plays in the second quarter. The first was a 25-yard strike down the seam and the second was a catch-and-run from the flat for 13 yards.
Leron Husbands and Leon Haughton Jr. also saw extended playing time. Neither caught a pass, but Husbands was targeted in the end zone on a pass from Edwards. An underthrown ball slipped out of Husbands’ hands.
Grade: B-
Offensive line
No one expected a group featuring five new starters to be playing its best football immediately. The unit had ups and downs during its first game together.
Edwards, Morris and Edge were all well-protected throughout the game. UConn only recorded one sack, which came on Morris and can be blamed on excellent downfield coverage and poor pocket awareness.
Run blocking left more to be desired, though. Hemby had some big holes to run through early on, but the running backs were largely left to create for themselves against the Huskies. Ray’s long touchdown was the result of two excellent cuts to evade defenders. More than half of the Terps’ rushing yards came in the first half.
Isaac Bunyun, who played left guard in his first game since transitioning from defensive tackle, was Maryland’s highest-graded lineman by PFF (Pro Football Focus), earning a 70.4 overall grade.
Grade: C+
Defensive line
It’s hard to penalize a unit that helped limit the Huskies to 103 first-half yards too much. But Maryland’s defensive line relied on a massive physical advantage in Saturday’s win. That won’t be enough against Big Ten competition.
The Terps didn’t record a sack against UConn and had just one tackle for loss. They won at the line of scrimmage largely because they were bigger than the Huskies.
Maryland will need to generate splash plays going forward to be effective stopping the run and rushing the passer. Against UConn — a lackluster opponent — that didn’t happen.
Quashon Fuller, who was third on the team in sacks in 2023, missed the contest with an injury. If he’s back soon, he could help solve the splash-play problem.
Jordan Phillips, Tommy Akingbesote and Dillan Fontus started along the line, with Donnell Brown on the edge as a linebacker.
Grade: C-
Linebackers
This unit was the best on Maryland’s defense Saturday.
Ruben Hyppolite II rebounded from a weak first half with an interception in the third quarter, the first of his career. Caleb Wheatland was a force hunting down the quarterback outside the pocket, recording three pressures and two quarterback hits, according to PFF.
Brown and DJ Samuels both played the hybrid edge-linebacker role that Brown primarily manned in 2023, and both were steady contributors.
Michael Harris was an early substitution, indicating he’ll have a bigger role as the year progresses. He recorded two tackles.
Freshmen Trey Reddick, Keyari James and Keyshawn Flowers all saw extended playing time.
Grade: B
Defensive backs
The secondary came into Saturday with a lot of unknowns following the losses of Beau Brade, Tarheeb Still and Ja’Quan Sheppard to the NFL. The starters against UConn were Jalen Huskey and Perry Fisher at cornerback, Dante Trader Jr. at safety and Glendon Miller in his hybrid “star” role.
That quartet turned out strong performances overall. Miller recorded six tackles and an interception near the end of the first half, Trader had four tackles and Huskey allowed just one catch on five targets, according to PFF.
But they benefited heavily from poor quarterback play from UConn’s Nick Evers, who routinely missed open receivers in the first half before an injury took him out for most of the second half.
Lavain Scruggs played a ton, primarily at high safety, and excelled in his first extended action in a regular season game. His 75.2 PFF grade was the highest among Maryland defensive backs.
A few long passing plays knock the secondary down a bit. Skyler Bell secured five catches for 141 yards, while busted coverage allowed TJ Sheffield to come wide open for a 27-yard touchdown, UConn’s only score of the game. But overall, the unit had more positives than negatives.
Grade: B-
Special teams
Punter Bryce McFerson was the standout of Maryland’s special teams. The redshirt sophomore transferred from Notre Dame this offseason and immediately proved why he was the No. 1 punter in his high school class.
He averaged 44.8 yards on six punts, two of which went for more than 50 yards, including a 64-yard bomb in the fourth quarter.
Jack Howes was 3-for-3 on field goals, but his longest came from just 33 yards. He was 4-for-5 on extra points.
The Terps didn’t return a kick and their three punt returns combined for just two yards. Braeden Wisloski was the starting kick and punt returner.
Grade: B+
