Fall Camp Preview: Offensive Line
Graduated: Joe Marchese, Michael Dunn, Maurice Shelton, Mike Minter
Returning: Derwin Gray, Richard Merritt, Damian Prince, Brendan Moore, Ellis McKennie, Sean Christie, Brian Plummer, Terrance Davis, Will McLain
Incoming: Tyran Hunt, Marcus Minor, Johnny Jordan, Jordan McNair
As good as Maryland’s run blocking was last season, the pass blocking in College Park was equally as bad. The Terps offensive line helped Maryland average nearly 200 yards on the ground per game in 2016, good for fourth in the Big Ten. But that same unit allowed a conference-worst 49 sacks.
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The Terps will hope to keep things rolling in the run game and vastly improve in pass protection in 2017 behind a group of blockers that gained valuable experience as young players last season.
Tackle Damian Prince and center Brendan Moore were the only offensive linemen to start all 13 games for the Terps last year and are nice cornerstones for the unit to build around. There should be some solid competition in fall camp for the other three spots on the Terps line, but sophomore guard Terrance Davis and junior tackle Derwin Gray are expected to have the inside track to win starting jobs.
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Maryland’s quartet of incoming freshman offensive linemen is quite impressive. Tyran Hunt, Marcus Minor, Johnny Jordan and Jordan McNair all are talented, have great size, and will likely see significant playing time in College Park throughout their careers. Some of them might even crack the lineup as rookies.
Top Storyline:
Could this be the best Maryland offensive front in years?
The bar isn’t set extremely high for this unit if you’re just looking at recent history, but Maryland’s offensive front legitimately has a chance to be one of the team’s biggest strengths in 2017.
With added size, strength and experience, the Terps are poised to have several breakout performers on the offensive line. Fall camp will be the first glance at the improvement this unit has made and include plenty of competition for playing time. But there hasn’t been this much solid competition along the offensive line in College Park for quite some depth, so regardless of who wins the starting spots, Maryland should have some depth in the trenches.
The development of the incoming freshmen and Davis should be interesting to watch, as well as whether or not this is the year Gray turns the corner and lives up to his former four-star billing.
Prediction:
Maryland’s pass protection will improve by at least 1.5 sacks per game. Last year the Terps offensive line let opposing defenses get to their quarterback 3.8 times per game, nearly a whole sack more than the next-worst team in the conference.
Shaving a decent amount off of that number isn’t unreasonable and should be expected because of several factors. For starters, the Terps have revamped their offensive front since last season with a new position coach--Tyler Bowen--and several talented new additions via recruiting. Also, the experience gained by Moore and Prince in 13 starts last year should help them take the next step in their games as juniors.
If a consistent group of starting blockers can emerge from fall camp, the chemistry of the unit should be better and therefore improve Maryland’s pass protection and blocking as a whole.