COLLEGE PARK, Md. — When you’re a college football head coach taking over a program and looking to build like Mike Locksley is at Maryland, there are two things you need — talented transfers and recruits. The Terps received heavy contributions from both in their 79-0 blowout victory over Howard to open the season Aug. 31.

None more impactful than Terps starting quarterback Josh Jackson, who transferred to College Park from Virginia Tech this offseason and made the most of his Maryland debut, throwing for 245 yards and four touchdowns — in one half.

“Josh [Jackson] kind of showed what we saw in camp,” Locksley said after the game. “He’s really consistent, as we’ve always said. He’s a coach’s kid. I have an affinity for coaches’ kids. He understands football. He’s a guy who’s really cool under pressure. Sometimes to me it’s a little too cool for school because he’s just so — I’d like to see him play a little faster with his feet, be a little faster in his decision making. Some of that can be attributed to the new system. He’s a half second behind on some of the throws. But I was pleased with him. His poise really stands out as a leader. His ability to make short throws. He made some tough throws with people in his face. So I was pleased with Josh.”

Jackson, whose college career got off to a hot start with the Hokies before an injury cut his season short last year, leads a quartet of grad-transfers who came to Maryland this offseason, joining Tyler Mabry (Buffalo), Keandre Jones (Ohio State), and Shaq Smith (Clemson).

All four are expected to make a major impact for the Terps this season, and they wasted no time showing it against the Bison on Saturday.

Mabry — a former All-MAC tight end — was the recipient of one of Jackson’s four touchdown throws. It was his lone catch of the day, nearly hauling in another deep down the sideline if he had kept a foot in bounds, but his performance was enough to impress his head coach.

“Tyler Mabry made a couple of big catches,” Locksley said. “I was pleased with all of the grad-transfers and what they brought to the table.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Terps received a heavy lift from Jones and Smith, who each recorded at least one sack in their Maryland debut — Smith had one and Jones 1.5.

But the impact the two local products had went beyond their ability to get to the quarterback. Their overall presence and leadership seemed to spark Maryland’s defense, which pitched its first shutout since 2013.

“Both of those guys are high-motor, high-effort guys and they’ve improved our defense just with their presence and the habits and behaviors that they have,” Locksley said. “These guys show up to work — Tuesdays and Wednesdays are our big practice days — and they show up ready to go 100 miles per hour. They do things the right way off the field, they take care of their bodies, and their impact has been very meaningful to our team because others have taken notice to how they do business.

“It was great to see because neither one of them played a lot of minutes at other places, but for them to get in games and have the type of game they had today, I thought they both did some great things, as did all of our grad-transfers.”

After the season-opening win, Jones said “it felt amazing” not only to be able to get a sack in his Terps debut, but to get to do it in front of friends and family who will now get to see him play more often than they did when he was suiting up for the Buckeyes.

Jones’ coaches and teammates have praised his leadership since he arrived in College Park, but from his perspective, he sees himself as one of many leaders the Terps have on their roster.

“I see a lot of leaders,” Jones said. “I see a lot of leaders on this team, not just the grad-transfers and seniors; there are a lot of underclassmen stepping up and making plays and contributing to this team, and that’s what it takes to win every game.”

Maryland’s grad-transfers weren’t the only newcomers that made their presence felt against Howard. Several freshmen made plays for the Terps.

Freshmen defensive backs Nick Cross and Lavonte Gater each made big plays on special teams, one resulting in a safety after Gater blocked a punt in the end zone. Freshman linebacker Cortez Andrews was also singled out by Locksley after the game as a newcomer who was seen “flying around” on defense.

“I think overall their execution wasn’t bad because we didn’t go out and have a bunch of sloppy play, a bunch of punts, and a bunch of missed tackles, and that was good to see for a first game,” Locklsey said.