Maryland football shuts out Hampton in 2026 season opener

Photo by Gabby Valencia/Maryland Terrapins. Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.

After beginning the 2025-26 season with a 4-0 record, College Park had Maryland football fever. That, sadly, was short-lived, as the Terps wouldn’t win another game for the rest of the year. 

Maryland head coach Mike Locksley is looking for redemption, and his Terps put on a show in their season opener against Hampton, defeating the Pirates with a final score of 62-0. 

Maryland running back Dejuan Williams absolutely stole the show to start the game. Despite his struggles last season, the Sophomore set a freshman record with the most receiving yards by a halfback. That same Dejuan Williams showed up under the lights, taking his first five touches for 156 all-purpose yards and 2 total touchdowns—his first a 94-yard rushing touchdown. 

“He looked fast. He got his burst back. He came off an injury coming to college, and I think this is the first time the country kind of gets to see who Dejuan Williams really is,” Maryland quarterback Malik Washington said.

Williams wasn’t the only Maryland running back to shine — true sophomore Iverson Howard also had 66 rushing yards off 12 attempts. He had two touchdowns of his own.

Maryland tallied 365 rushing yards and scored six touchdowns on the ground. That ties the Terps’ record for most rushing touchdowns in a game, matching Maryland’s 2019 matchup against Syracuse. 

“For us to have any chance of being successful each week is going to start with our ability to run the football. I thought today was a good start,” Locksley said.

The Terps defense also put on a show — recording their first shutout since 2022. Hampton starting quarterback Jalen Woods looked comfortable to start the game, finding TK Paisant for a 30-yard completion early in the first quarter. That completion counted for more yards than Woods would eventually finish the game with. Before getting taken out, he tallied 28 total scrimmage yards. 

Maryland’s DD Holmes and Eyan Thomas both had multiple sacks in the game, contributing to the team’s total of five. This was a great sight to see, especially after the Terps lost star defensive end Zahir Mathis for the season. 

This came on top of eight tackles-for-loss and three forced interceptions. Two of those picks came from sophomore Messiah Delhomme. The Terps led the Big Ten a season ago in interceptions, and this defense picked up right where they left off.

The Terps recently introduced their new name for the stadium student section: The Terp Tank. The impact of the students was felt in the first half, as Hampton was forced to call their first timeout early in the first. On top of that, they tallied five total delay-of-game penalties.

There were 43,421 people in attendance for Maryland’s season opener. 

Malik Washington’s night was over after the first drive of the second half. A season ago, Washington set a freshman record for passing yards with 2,963 yards and 17 touchdowns. 

In his first showing of 2026, there were a few throws that he wanted back. But overall, he finished the night with 186 passing yards and a touchdown. 

The wide receiver position was a clear focus for Maryland in the transfer portal. These improvements were valuable to Washington, as transfers Chris Durr Jr. and Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding led the Terps in receiving yards. 

Durr Jr. finished the game with 44 receiving yards off six catches and 30 rushing yards. Abdul-Rahim Gladding had 57 receiving yards off six catches and was on the receiving end of Washington’s only passing touchdown. 

Even though Washington’s night was over early in the game, senior Cardell Williams took over and picked up right where the offense left off. The mobile quarterback threw for 60 yards, rushed for 49 and scored a passing touchdown of his own. 

“I mean, first I wanna shout out my guy Cardell. He was out there balling, you know, putting his body on the line for the team. I know Cardell was a great player ever since I met him. I’m just glad he got to show the world who he was today,” Washington said. 

In each of their last 27 non-conference games, Maryland Football is yet to commit more than two turnovers in a single game. This record is ranked fifth across the country, and after not giving up a single turnover in tonight’s game, the streak will extend to 28. 

All levels — offense, defense and special teams — of this Maryland squad showed out to extend their win streak in season openers against non-conference teams to 16 games.

 “I thought all three phases kind of held the standard, which is a little different from maybe we’ve been… I’m gonna try and stay as focused as I can on just the next opponent. I’m not going to sit here and talk about down the road, but you know, it’s good to start that way. It’s good to see all three phases, for the most part, play above average the way that they have to play,” Locksley said.

Maryland will travel to Storrs, CT, to take on UCONN on Saturday, September 12.