Maryland Football 2026 Spring Camp Preview
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It's almost time for Maryland football to hold their annual spring training camp. Head Coach Mike Locksley and the Terrapins will return to Jones-Hill House this Tuesday, March 24 for the first of 15 full team practices.
Between the transfer portal and traditional recruiting, there are 26 new players on the Terps' roster this spring - many of whom are expected to make an immediate impact.
Before camp officially gets underway, here is our scouting report on the assortment of changes and how they affect the depth chart.
(Partially) Reloaded Receivers
It's usually not easy for a quarterback to move on from his favorite target. Malik Washington has to do so times three.
With Shaleak Knotts, Jalil Farooq, and Octavian Smith Jr. all gone after running out of eligibility, the Terps had serious work to do in the transfer market.
What they ended up with were three new guys who have experience... just not at the Power 4 level.
Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding and Chris Durr Jr. are two of the intended fixes. Both were top receivers at their previous G6 schools, and both should be easy favorites to lead the passing attack.
The third starting wide receiver is less clear.
Ejani Shakir also joined via the portal, but he comes from the JUCO ranks. For reference, Jordon Scott, last year's JUCO addition, only made one catch all season.
Former Tennessee receiver Kaleb Webb, who also transferred in before last year, seems like the top candidate for the third spot. He was sixth on last year's team with 318 yards and two touchdowns on 22 catches.
Other Questions On Offense
Maryland had the Big Ten's second-worst rushing attack in 2025, with only 104.3 yards per game on the ground. Efforts to address that went sour when Old Dominion's Trequan Jones, their first verbal commit in the portal, backed out and instead went to Tulsa.
That leaves DeJuan Williams as the most likely choice to lead a very young RBs room. Williams averaged 3.9 yards per carry last year and also had the second-most receptions (45) as a frequent checkdown target.
Also in the mix are USC transfer Harry Dalton III, sophomore Iverson Howard, and redshirt freshmen Bud Coombs and Solomon Foye. Howard is the only one who had significant carries (39) before.
The offensive line kept three of five starters from last year, but one of them might not be who you expect. Isaiah Wright was granted a medical redshirt for 2024, allowing him to remain at left guard.
The tradeoff is Aliou Bah making the move to Baton Rouge, while Tellek Lockette comes in from Texas State to replace him at right guard.
Right tackle isn't quite as certain, but former Elon (FCS) starter Carlos Moore is the most experienced option to replace the graduated Alan Herron.
Additionally, former Terp Preston Howard returns to challenge Dorian Fleming for snaps at tight end, and four-year Kent State QB Devin Kargman adds experienced depth behind Washington.
D-Line Shuffle
Changes on the defensive side of the ball are much more concentrated. Corner Amari Jackson is the only new guy in the secondary, while the defensive line has six players competing for two starting spots.
- Eyan Thomas earned starting time down the stretch last year, making him the early favorite to take over one spot.
- Lavon Johnson returns from Texas with only one year of eligibility remaining. He seemed in the mix to start before his departure last offseason.
- Derrick LeBlanc Jr. comes off a promising stretch at UCF, where he started four games.
- Armon and Jayvon Parker are grad transfers from Washington who have battled injuries the past couple years.
- E.J. Moore Jr. was a freshman standout at Western Carolina (FCS) in 2024. He appeared in 11 games off the bench last year.
This should easily be the group with the most movement during camp.
New Faces, New Numbers
13 of Maryland's 18 freshmen recruits are already on campus and will participate in spring camp. For your convenience, here are all the early enrollees and their uniform numbers:
# | Name | Position | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | Zion Elee | Edge | 6'4" | 220 |
5 | Darrell Carey | DB | 6'2" | 185 |
10 | Cam Brickle | DL | 6'2" | 305 |
12 | Nathan Bernhard | QB | 6'5" | 227 |
16 | Damon Hall | TE | 6'5" | 205 |
17 | Jayden Kitchens | WR | 6'3" | 190 |
18 | Josiah Teasley | WR | 6'5" | 190 |
26 | Hakim Satterwhite | DB | 6'2" | 180 |
27 | Kaden Carter | LB | 6'2" | 205 |
54 | JaMarcus Whyce | DL | 6'2" | 300 |
75 | Day'Jon Moore | OL | 6'3" | 305 |
81 | Javonte Williams | TE | 6'4" | 220 |
98 | Daniel Leahy | K | 6'6" | 225 |
Zion Elee is the main man to watch. A Baltimore native and consensus five-star, Elee is the highest-rated football prospect to ever enroll at Maryland, narrowly beating out Stefon Diggs.
While the edge is a bit crowded right now with Zahir Mathis and Sidney Stewart returning, Elee could still rotate his way into games. The spring period will be a chance for him to make an early case.
Additionally, here are all the transfers' numbers:
# | Name | Position | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding | WR | 6'0" | 190 |
8 | Preston Howard | TE | 6'5" | 236 |
13 | Chris Durr Jr. | WR | 5'11" | 173 |
22 | Devin Kargman | QB | 6'3" | 225 |
23 | Max Lawrence | QB | 6'3" | 200 |
24 | Amari Jackson | DB | 5'11" | 190 |
25 | Harry Dalton III | RB | 5'10" | 205 |
66 | Tellek Lockette | OL | 6'3" | 327 |
80 | Ejani Shakir | WR | 6'0" | 190 |
88 | Derrick LeBlanc | DL | 6'5" | 295 |
95 | Armon Parker | DL | 6'3" | 320 |
96 | Jayvon Parker | DL | 6'3" | 330 |
99 | Lavon Johnson | DL | 6'2" | 310 |
Check back throughout the next five weeks for updates from Coach Locksley and his players. We will also have coverage of Maryland's Pro Day this Friday, March 27 right here On SI.
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Mike joined Maryland On SI with over four years of sportswriting experience. He started off his career in Syracuse on the Orange football beat, where he was featured on CBS Sports' Cover 3 Podcast and local ESPN sports talk radio. After that, he had a brief stint reporting on Major League Baseball before returning to college sports.
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