Terps fans got their first look at what 2019 Maryland football will look last Saturday with the annual Red-White Spring Game taking place in College Park.
Spring ball has answered some of our initial questions about the Michael Locksley era, but many specifics will continue to take shape throughout the summer and in August during fall camp once the incoming freshmen and transfers join the team.
With spring camp now in the books, it’s time to take a step back and break down the state of affairs in Maryland football position by position. Next up, the defense and special teams.
Defensive Line
Like the offensive front, scrimmages don’t really lend themselves to evaluating defensive line play. One thing that did stand out from this unit during the spring game though is that Maryland isn’t lacking size in the middle.
The Gaddy brothers, Breyon and Brandon, are both 300-plus pounds, as is senior Adam McLean. Redshirt freshman Jalen Alexander is a big boy, too, at 6-foot-4, 300 pounds. They’re not the biggest of the bunch, but seniors Oluwaseun Oluwatimi and Keiron Howard are also effective working the interior of the defensive line.
What the Terps really need is more explosion off the edge. The spring game obviously didn’t show Maryland’s full arsenal of blitz packages or pressure schemes, but it’s pretty clear that Maryland is missing that dominant athlete to rush the passer. That sort of player doesn’t seem to be coming to College Park in the fall either as of now. But Locksley and his staff could still look to add another DE/OLB this summer.
Linebacker
With Maryland going with a 3-4 scheme as its base defense next season, linebacker play will be at a premium for the Terps. Ohio State grad-transfer Keandre Jones made his debut in front of Terps fans last Saturday and he is expected to take on a leadership role on the defensive side of the ball. Many were also eager to see the play of local product Chance Campbell. Jones and Campbell each recorded two tackles.
The story of the spring at linebacker is sophomore Ayinde Eley, who appears ready to take a big step in his second season in College Park. Eley has been a standout throughout spring because of his ability to lay the wood on big hits but also drop back and cover when needed. Eley led the White Team with eight tackles and looks to be the makings of a ball hawk for the Terps.
The Good Counsel (Onley, Md.) product will need some help though during the season from the likes of Jones, Campbell, and senior Isaiah Davis. No immediate playmakers are joining this room in the fall, so the combination of seniors, grad-transfers and up-and-comers will have to do for now.
Cornerback
Maryland’s cornerbacks--and secondary as a whole for that matter--looked questionable during the spring game. Continuously getting roasted by Bortenschlager and DeSue, the Terps’ cornerbacks were getting beat regularly by pass catchers.
Seniors Tino Ellis and Marcus Lewis are the presumed starters, but neither looked particularly strong last Saturday. But in all fairness to them, playing corner is a nearly impossible task when a defense isn’t bringing the amount of pressure it normally would.
It’s not time to hit the panic button here because Ellis and Lewis are experienced and talented. Converted wide receiver Sean Savoy and redshirt freshman Vincent Flythe had their moments, but neither necessarily looked ready to be a starter. Flythe could get there eventually though. Regardless of who starts at corner for the Terps, they’ll need a solid pass rush in front of them to reach their fullest potential next season.
Safety
Safety is a position that is still being hashed out in College Park. Antoine Brooks, who typically roams around the field between safety and linebacker as one of Maryland’s best playmakers on the defensive side of the ball, will see plenty of playing time at one of the spots on the backend of the defense, but the second spot is wide open as of now, especially with senior Antwaine Richardson being lost for the season with a torn ACL this spring.
Blue-chip freshman Nick Cross joins the safeties room later this summer and will likely make a strong push to start in year one of his college career. But in the spring game it was sophomores Deon Jones and Fofie Bazzie, as well as redshirt freshmen Raymond Boone and Fa’Najae Gotay, who saw most of the action at safety. Former linebacker Jordan Mosely is also being worked into the mix.
Baffie and Boone each led the Red Team in tackles with six a piece, while Jones led all defenders with eight. All of the aforementioned names will make for one of the tighter position battles come fall camp, and it will be interesting to see who prevails.
Special Teams
To put it simply, the current state of Maryland’s special teams is not good, at least from a kicking standpoint. The punt and field goal attempts that took place last Saturday were ugly, but those attempting them likely are not who will be doing so come fall.
Junior Paul Inzerillo was the only Terps kicker to attempt a field goal in the game, going 1-for-3 on his attempts. The two misses were not from an easy distance, but they were missed badly. He did, however, convert on a 24-yard chip shot. Sophomore Bentley Faulkner and senior Mike Shinsky attempted the only punts of the game, but both averaged under 26 yards per punt. The Terps did not do live kick and punt returns for the spring game, so there is still very little indication of who is emerging in that area.
But Maryland’s special teams should be bolstered in the fall by the return of sophomore kicker Joseph Petrino, who hit the first 11 attempts of his career last year and finished 12-for-14 on field goal tries last season. Punter is a bigger question mark for the Terps at the moment with last year’s leg Wade Lees no longer with the team. It looks like Maryland can do better than Shinsky and Faulkner in that area, so expect incoming freshman Anthony Pecorella to make a strong push for the job in fall camp.
