Maryland football begins its 2021 season by renewing an old rivalry and hosting West Virginia at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 4.
The Terps will feature a plethora of familiar faces, returning 86 and 85 percent of their offensive and defensive production, respectively, from last season. Headlining those returners is junior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa.
“Taulia is a champion, he was born and raised to be a champion,” head coach Michael Locksley said during his Aug. 31 press conference. “This guy gets it. He loves the game of football.”
The former Alabama quarterback enters his second season with Locksley and familiarity with new offensive coordinator Dan Enos. Enos worked with Tagovailoa, Locksley and Tagovailoa’s brother Tua as the quarterbacks coach at Alabama in 2018.
Beyond his knowledge of the system, Tagovailoa has several explosive weapons at wide receiver to throw to, including senior Dontay Demus and sophomore Rakim Jarrett. Both Demus and Jarrett were integral parts of the offense last season and headline a deep receiving corps.
“It’s really good to be able to have a full season under our belt, have the spring and summer to get used to each other and see where we can make things better,” Demus told the media Aug. 31.
Redshirt senior Tayon Fleet-Davis anchors the running back room with a wealth of experience and is effective both as a rusher and receiver. Protecting Tagovailoa and establishing the run remains a priority for the Terps, who have some new faces on the starting offensive line this year.
Aric Harris, a 6-foot-3 junior college transfer, is listed as the starting center on the initial depth chart, while Mason Lunsford (6-foot-6) projects to be the team’s starting left guard. Harris played two seasons at Hutchinson Community College before committing to Maryland in May, while Lunsford started the Terps’ season finale against Rutgers last season.
“Aric Harris was a great addition and we’re very fortunate to be able to get him in here late,” Locksley said. “He’s been able to add some flexibility to our offensive line.”
That versatility has aided the Terps’ offensive line depth beyond the three remaining starters. Left tackle Jaelyn Duncan (6-foot-6) anchors Tagovailoa’s blind side. Johari Branch (6-foot-3) is slotted to start at right guard and Spencer Anderson (6-foot-5) at right tackle.
Maryland’s offense will be tested against West Virginia, which features 6-foot-4, 280-pound defensive tackle Dante Stills. A first-team preseason All-Big 12 and a second-team preseason All-America selection, Stills anchors a stout front and leads active Mountaineers in career sacks (12) and tackles for loss (28.5). West Virginia also features a strong secondary. The Mountaineers ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 and nationally in passing yards allowed per game (159.6) last year.
On the other side of the ball, the Terps are looking to make strides under new defensive coordinator Brian Stewart after allowing 32 points and 430 yards per game last year.
Maryland’s defense returns several key pieces from last year’s unit, most notably both sophomore Tarheeb Still and junior Nick Cross in the secondary. As a freshman last year, Still led the nation in pass breakups per game and looked like a poised veteran on the outside, while Cross had three pass breakups himself.
The Terps are facing West Virginia redshirt senior quarterback Jarrett Doege, who has 13 career starts. Two of Doege’s most prolific pass catchers, Bryce Ford-Wheaton and Sean Ryan, are physical, 6-foot-3 receivers. However, Maryland has the size to match up well in the secondary. Every starter is 6-foot-1 with the exception of Jakorian Bennett, who is 5-foot-11.
The Terps allowed 200 passing yards per game last year, third in the Big Ten.
“We’re very fortunate that we do have that length, we’re a team that tends to play better when we’re in man coverage,” Locksley said of the secondary. “West Virginia definitely poses an issue for us on the outside because of their size. Definitely will be a great matchup, one that we’ve got to do a great job of staying in phase, as we call it, with those big guys so we’re in a position to contest some of those 50-50 balls.”
However, Maryland struggled mightily to defend the run last year, allowing an average of 230 rushing yards per game (13th in the Big Ten). The Terps will lean on their veteran defensive line to improve in that area. That group features junior Mosiah Nasili-Kite, the team’s sack leader in 2020, as well as seniors Lawtez Rogers and Ami Finau and graduate student Sam Okuayinonu.
Maryland’s front will see what kind of improvements it’s made in defending the run early this season with West Virginia running back Leddie Brown coming to town. Brown, named to the Doak Walker and Maxwell Award watch lists, posted 1,010 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
“Leddie Brown is one of those guys that can hit the home run, runs behind his pads,” Locksley said. “He wins the one-on-one battles against safeties and definitely is on our radar as to who we have to do a great job of defending.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics