Maryland football will turn to youth movement this season after forgettable 2024 campaign

Maryland football head coach Mike Locksley doesn’t want to look back on Maryland Football’s 2024 season. 

“Anything and everything that took place a year ago, we’ve ripped off the rear view mirror,” Locksley said. “It’s moving forward only.”

The Terps went 4-8 and won only one Big Ten game — a 29-28 victory against USC that involved the Trojans squandering a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter. It was a step back under Locksley after leading the Terps to three consecutive bowl games in the prior seasons. 

Many of the issues stemmed from inexperience. Maryland had a starting quarterback — Billy Edwards Jr. —  who had only three career starts coming into the season and a makeshift offensive line composed of transfers and players with limited starts. That line gave up 22 sacks over the conference schedule, and Edwards finished the season with a 57.9 QBR – a bottom-five mark in the conference. 

The Terps have a new look this year at both positions. 

At quarterback, there’s a capable group of options headlined by freshman Malik Washington, a four-star recruit who led local high school Archbishop Spalding to a top-10 national ranking. Eight offensive linemen from last year’s group transferred, and the Terps will only have two returning starters — senior Alan Herron and redshirt junior Aliou Bah. 

Strong play up front will be essential for Maryland’s run game. Last year, the Terps were only able to muster 1,327 total rushing yards as a team – the fewest in a full season under Locksley.. Nolan Ray — Maryland’s projected starting running back — averaged five yards per carry last season with limited room to work. Creating more space for him will take pressure off whoever Maryland opts to start under center. 

New Offensive Coordinator Pep Hamilton should also help strengthen Maryland’s rushing attack. In his first season as the OC at Stanford, the Cardinal was one of the best rushing teams in the Pac-12, with a top-20 finish in total rushing yards nationally in 2011. 

“With coach Pep coming in, we’ll run the ball a lot. It’s downfield running. We pound the ball every practice,” Herron said. “I love that about Pep. He focuses on the run game – we love running the ball.”

Being a senior, Herron is in the minority on Maryland’s roster. The Terps have eight players older than juniors – five seniors, two redshirt seniors, and a graduate student – little more than half of last year’s total, which speaks to Locksley’s infusion of youth into the program. 

Freshman Sidney Stewart is one of the many underclassmen who will be in a position to make an impact this season. The defensive end was recently named to 247Sports’ 2025 Freshman All-American Team and has received praise from Locksley on his work ethic, maturity, and leadership. 

Stewart sees Maryland’s youth as a strength, bringing a different and unique energy to the program.

“I feel the creativity,” Stewart said. “I feel like, because we’re younger, we’re not really stuck in our ways. Kind of play with this freshness. It’s like a cool drink. It’s just cool to see.”

That energy will be on display Saturday in Maryland’s season opener against Florida Atlantic Union. The Owls finished last season with a 3-9 record and 1-7 conference mark. They’re another program that’s undergone massive roster turnover, with a new head coach, Zach Kittley, and numerous players from the portal. 

Quarterback Caden Veltkamp, a Western Kentucky transfer, is the focal point in Kittley’s air-raid offensive scheme. The talented redshirt junior was last season’s Conference USA Player of the Year, throwing for 3,108 yards and 25 touchdowns. He’ll need to do a lot for FAU to have a chance – Maryland has won 15 straight non-conference bouts heading into Saturday, the longest streak in the nation.