Terp Profile: Running Back Jake Funk

Taking a look at what could be the Terps' season-opening starting running back.

Name: Jake Funk

Position: Running back

Height/Weight: 5’10”/203 lbs

Class: Redshirt senior

2019 Stats: 173 rushing yards, two touchdowns in three games

Breakdown: After missing time in back-to-back seasons with a torn ACL, the stage has never been bigger for redshirt senior Jake Funk in a career that comes full circle. Funk was long under the Terps’ radar while former head coach Randy Edsall was in College Park, but it was then-interim head coach Mike Locksley who eventually pulled the trigger on the offer to secure his commitment.

Funk shined out of the backfield with Ty Johnson and later Lorenzo Harrison as he finished second on the team with four rushing touchdowns, including a late touchdown run against Indiana to help secure the victory. Funk also has the hands and speed in space to balance out the Terps’ passing attack out of the backfield. But injuries in both 2018 and 2019 derailed his momentum as the rushing attack adapted.

Fast-forward five years and Funk enters 2020 as a prime candidate to start out of the backfield. Funk will relish the opportunity to reprove his full health in the increased role as he will be just one of two senior running backs this season, alongside Tayon Fleet-Davis, as the pair look to shoulder the load.

Meanwhile, the rushing attack will lean on freshmen Isaiah Jacobs and Peny Boone as the unit looks to reidentify, but the offseason work that Funk has put in has him in prime position to take advantage.

The three-time Academic All-Big Ten player enters the season with nine career touchdowns and over 500 all-purpose yards, but the stage has been set for Funk. As Maryland turns the page on the days of Anthony McFarland and Javon Leake, the Maryland native will be one of two locals looking to pick up where the run game left off in 2019.