This is the first in a series of in-depth previews of D.C. area Division I teams heading into the 2015 season. Click here for quick capsules on all area teams, and stay tuned for a Week 1 preview Friday.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — When asked what his goals were in this year’s rough-and-tumble Big Ten East last week, Maryland coach Randy Edsall responded as he has often during his tenure in College Park: “You want to finish first.”
Really? In a division that boasts the defending National Champ, a recent regular in the Top 10, and two big-time blue bloods?
“That’s what you’re striving for. That’s what we’re building for. Are we there yet? I don’t know. We’ll find out where we are after we play this year.”
Director of athletics Kevin Anderson brought Edsall over from Connecticut precisely because Edsall had that vision: the vision that Maryland could become a conference contender instead of a program whose ceiling was a treadmill of 8-4 and 7-5 seasons with the occasional trip to second tier bowls in third tier locations. Since taking over in 2011, Edsall’s goal has been to play for conference championships. Now the question is, can he get this program there?
Maryland’s first foray in the Big Ten should be considered a success: a 4-4 conference mark that includes a first-ever win over Penn State in Happy Valley and a first-ever win over Michigan ever, as well as non-conference victories at South Florida and Syracuse. The Terps showed plenty of upside for a team many (myself included) thought would have a tough time scraping together five wins, let alone the six necessary for bowl eligibility.
On the downside, Maryland was exposed by East Division foes Ohio State and Michigan State, while experiencing the rude awakening of a 45-point loss at Wisconsin. That was followed by the Thanksgiving dessert of a home loss to Rutgers, in a game where the Terps led by 25 late in the second quarter. Maryland finished with a less-than-competitive loss to Stanford in the bowl whose name escapes most (Foster Farms, for those scoring at home). While Terp fans saw possibilities of the program moving forward, they were also greeted by the limitations.
Quarterback is the question mark
For the first time since 2008, C.J. Brown will not be a part of the program. Last fall, the sixth-year senior started all 13 games, becoming the first Terps QB to start every game of the season since Sam Hollenbach in 2006. Stability at this position hasn’t been a recent occurrence due to injuries as well as ineffectiveness, and having a healthy and productive signal caller for 12 regular-season games is key to getting a 13th game.
As of the second week of practice, three contenders were taking snaps with the first team offense: senior Caleb Rowe (1768 career yards passing with 12 TD/10 INT), junior Perry Hills (1,422 yards with 9 TD/7 INT in four fewer career games) and transfer Daxx Garman (2,041 career yards with 12 TD/12 INT in nine games at Oklahoma State last fall) will compete for the right to be QB-1 against Richmond September 5. Coach Edsall has been impressed with each during workouts thus far, but nobody has separated themselves from the others.
Other offensive issues
An inexperienced wide receivers corps (Stefon Diggs & Deon Long taking their combined 113 catches & 7 TD’s to the NFL) includes junior Amba Etta-Tawo, the only returning WR with at least 10 receptions in 2014. Good thing the Terps have a recent history of having freshman wideouts produce. Can the running game get the best out of Brandon Ross and Wes Brown? Brown’s been banged up and Ross wasn’t as effective in 2014 as previous seasons. Will an offensive line that has three seniors be able to produce a better running game (12th in the Big Ten) and keep the quarterback safe (12th in sacks allowed)?
Defensively, the Terps move from a 3-4 to a 4-3 front
The reasoning can be seen in Big Ten games where they got bulldozed by Ohio State and Wisconsin, allowing 269 and 311 yards rushing, respectively. Yannick Ngakoue is expected to be the major presence for the front seven while DE Quinton Jefferson comes back from injury. With linebacker Abner Logan’s season done thanks to an ACL injury, more will be expected of Jermaine Carter and Jefferson Ashiru. The secondary should be solid, with lightning rod William Likely in one cornerback position and Sean Davis making the transition from safety to the other corner spot. Likely is also a major force as a kick returner and was one of two players on the team’s preview guide.
The other “face of the program”
The Terps have an unlikely star in Australian kicker Brad Craddock. The reigning Lou Groza Award winner (after making 18-of-19 field goals) returns for his senior year with his eye on more than simply the uprights. When one thinks of kickers, one thinks of foreign, flaky types long on accents and short on credibility in the locker room. Not this kid — Craddock is taking an active role in the leadership of the team while mentoring younger players like Ngakoue.
Maryland’s two-part schedule
The slate begins with a soft September — including home games against Richmond, Bowling Green and South Florida — before the team visits West Virginia, where the Terps haven’t won since 2002. The Big Ten slate begins with a bang — a night game with Michigan (and khakied coach Jim Harbaugh) before a trip to preseason No. 1 Ohio State. A neutral site battle with Penn State wraps up an October that could turn a season from a treat to a trick with ease. Top 20 teams Wisconsin and Michigan State loom in November. Maryland could very well be a better team this fall with a worse record than the one they earned in 2014. The path to a potential Big Ten title, or even bowl eligibility, will not be easy. But ease has never been on the mind of coach Randy Edsall.
