Three storylines for Maryland football during 2023 Big Ten Media Days
Big Ten Media Days are upon us, as the league congregates at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for its annual media event.
The Terps are set to meet with the media on Thursday, as Mike Locksley, Taulia Tagovailoa, Tarheeb Still and Roman Hemby will represent the Maryland football program.
With the Terrapins coming off of back-to-back bowl wins for the first time since 2002-2003 and Tagovailoa returning as the team’s starting quarterback, expectations have never been higher under Locksley as he enters his sixth season at the helm.
Below are three storylines to watch during Thursday’s Big Ten Media Days.
1. Can the Terps continue to build upon the momentum of the past two seasons?
The Terps have been on an upward trajectory the past two seasons, winning seven games in 2021 and surpassing that with eight wins last season, the first time the program has won that many games since Ralph Friedgen’s final season in 2010.
Maryland saw five players taken in this year’s NFL Draft, but the cupboard is anything but bare heading into the upcoming season.
On offense, the Terps return a record-setting quarterback in Tagovailoa as well as the team’s two leading receivers from a season ago, wideout Jeshaun Jones and tight end Corey Dyches. Additional weapons have also arrived via the transfer portal in former All-CUSA wideout Tyrese Chambers and former West Virginia starting wideout Kaden Prather.
The Terps also return starting running back Roman Hemby, who racked up over 1,200 yards from scrimmage and 11 touchdowns last season as a freshman.
On defense, the Terps return their leading tackler from a season ago, safety Beau Brade, as well as linebacker Jaishawn Barham, who looked like a budding star as a true freshman.
Like the offense, the defense also brings in several key newcomers via the transfer portal, including former All-AAC cornerback Ja’Quan Sheppard from Cincinnati, who should man one of the starting spots opposite Tarheeb Still and former FCS All-American pass rusher Donnell Brown.
The schedule sets up nicely for Maryland to potentially start the season 5-0 and really build some momentum as games at Michigan State and Nebraska likely present the biggest obstacles standing between the Terps and nine wins.
2. Can the Terps improve in the trenches on both sides of the ball?
Maryland saw a pair of starting offensive linemen from a season ago, left tackle Jaelyn Duncan and interior lineman Spencer Anderson, both selected in this year’s NFL Draft.
Redshirt junior offensive tackle Delmar Glaze is in line to start on the left hand side and be the next Maryland lineman drafted. He will be joined this year by newcomers Gottlieb Ayedze (Frostburg) and Corey Bullock (North Carolina Central) who started at right tackle and right guard respectively in the Terps’ spring game.
Both Ayedze and Bullock are moving up multiple levels, while last season’s starting left guard, Mason Lunsford, is now at LSU.
The Terps will need the offensive line to gel quickly and give Tagovailoa the time in the pocket necessary to find all of the weapons this team will feature at the skill positions.
Maryland finished dead last in the Big Ten in sacks allowed last season and will almost certainly need to improve on that if they want to also improve on last season’s eight wins. They will also need to limit the false start penalties, which occurred much too frequently last season, often stalling drives and killing momentum.
Along the defensive line, the Terps lost starter Mo Nasili-Kite to Auburn via the transfer portal, but they are hoping FCS transfer Donnell Brown can improve a pass rush that ranked in the bottom half of the league.
3. Can the Terps finally break through and beat one of the division Blue Bloods?
Ok, so technically the Terps have already beaten a blue blood, having knocked off Michigan in Ann Arbor back in 2014, Maryland’s first season as a member of the Big Ten. But that was before Jim Harbaugh took over the Maize and Blue and the Terps are winless against Ohio State and Michigan since, with plenty of lopsided losses during that stretch.
That's not to say the Terps haven't had close calls over the years. In 2018, the Terps took the No. 9 Buckeyes to overtime in College Park before ultimately falling by a final score of 52-51.
Last season, the Terps went on the road and hung with the No. 4-ranked Wolverines for four quarters before ultimately falling by a final score of 34-27.
The Buckeyes and Wolverines should once again both be ranked inside the top-10 nationally to start the 2023 season and the Terps will likely be big underdogs when they play both.
A win over a top-10 Ohio State or Michigan team would likely create the kind of buzz both locally and nationally to put additional butts in the seats and get national pundits talking about the Terps on a weekly basis.
This year’s home meeting with Michigan on Nov. 13 might be the Terps’ best chance yet to pull an improbable upset and really put Maryland football back on the national map.