Malik Washington Receiving NFL-Like Praise From Head Coach

Year two vows to be a change of pace for sophomore quarterback Malik Washington of the Maryland Terrapins football team. Washington looks to embark on and improve off an historic freshman season. Head coach Mike Locksley feels that Washington already possesses traits of NFL quarterbacks that will help him continue his development into season two.

Locksley's praise for his QB1 went as follows:

"Whether it be the maturity level that Jalen Hurts showed, the playmaking ability that guys like Tua is able to make, the understanding of a system like a Mac Jones.... Malik kinda has all three of those things."

Mike Locksley with some high praise for the Terps' QB1 👏 pic.twitter.com/E4sFlqb856
— Tackling Terps (@Tackling_Terps) April 29, 2026

Those are three names tied to Locksley during his time as an offensive analyst and eventual offensive coordinator on the staff of legendary Hall of Fame coach Nick Saban at the Alabama Crimson Tide from 2016 to 2018.

How does that tie into Washington, you may wonder?

Well, all those quarterbacks that Locksley described Washington as sharing similar traits with have experienced highs at both the collegiate level and used that as stepping stones leading into their professional careers.

Hurts, Tagovailoa, and Jones all had played a part in guiding the Tide to National Championships during the 2017 and 2020 seasons. Hurts and Tagovailoa were both runners-up for the Heisman Trophy during their respective seasons as starters. Jones finished third in 2020, where he led the Tide to an undefeated season and the 2021 National Championship.

I'm not promising things to Terps fans, but Washington has the potential to develop into a top quarterback in the Big Ten and in the nation.

Washington shone in his freshman season despite the Terps 4-8 overall record, setting school freshman records in passing yards (2,963), completions (273), and passing yards in a single game (459 vs. Michigan State).

Washington also displayed his dynamic dual-threat ability under center by becoming one of only two Big Ten true freshmen since 1996 to record at least 2,500 passing yards and 300 rushing yards in a season.

Ahmed Gafir of Inside the Black and Gold had gotten a chance to speak with Washington before the 2026 Spring game a couple of weeks back, and asked Washington about one aspect of his game he emphasized during the offseason, and here was the response:

“One thing I really focused on was the mental side of the game, just understanding defenses and coverage better and how our route concepts kind of match up with those that way my pre-snap picture is a lot better.”

That's one aspect of the game that younger quarterbacks struggle with, which leads to up-and-down play during the course of a season.

Washington wasn't one of those quarterbacks last season, despite a bottom-feeding rushing offense all year. Washington's ability to extend plays on the run led to big downfield plays, causing defenses to stretch thin to contain him.

Washington also protected the ball well, with a 17:9 touchdown-to-interception ratio, and, due to the tremendous improvement in play by the offensive line, was only sacked eight times all season.

Despite some struggles during the season, individually and as a team, Washington remained poised and an efficient passer that was in a tough situation, facing top competition in a top-three conference and an offense that struggled with consistency and identity.

With a new offensive coordinator and with some added new faces that are expected to improve an offense from a season ago, I envision Washington living up to those comparisons and making it into his own.

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