The Biggest Questions Maryland Football Must Answer Before Week One?
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We're five weeks away from the start of the 2026 College Football season, and now it's the ramping-up period with fall camps kicking into high gear either this or next week. For Maryland Terrapins head coach Mike Locksley, he knows the time to win starts now.
But after back-to-back 4-8 seasons in 2024 & 2025, what does his team need to address beforehand to make sure that 2026 is different in College Park?
There are three questions that need to be answered before week one to help with those chances.
1. The No. 1 Wide Receiver
If you're Locksley, you know quarterback Malik Washington showed you his promise in his freshman campaign last season despite the offensive struggles from your unit. With the departure of your top three wideouts (Shaleak Knotts, Octavian Smith Jr., and Jalil Farooq), there are going to be guys who need to step up and replace that production.
That trio from last season combined for 1,791 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, helping guide Maryland's passing offense to a 33rd-ranked finish in the country, averaging 255.7 passing yards per contest.
There are two new receivers: Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding (Old Dominion) and Chris Durr Jr. (Wyoming), who were acquired via the transfer portal and will most likely be in the running for the majority of targets.
The returns of Kaleb Webb and Jordan Scott from the 2025 transfer will also be in the mix as they look to increase their roles.
2. What Will The Run Game Look Like?
Offensive Coordinator Clint Trickett looks to revamp a rushing attack that has been missing from the program in recent years, which has hurt the team's success because it's an identity that Locksley's previous teams relied on.
The Terps have not had a rusher with over 700+ yards since the 2023 season, led by former running back Roman Hemby, who was also the Terps' last 1,000-yard rusher the season before.
DeJuan Williams returns as the top backer from a season ago alongside Iverson Howard, but there will be more players to possibly share the carries with. Harry Dalton III is the big name that came over from USC, returning home looking for more opportunities. Dalton III brings a balanced style to the room despite being listed at 5-foot-10 and 205 pounds; he still runs with a physical bruiser style, fighting for every yard while also providing great bursts of speed and vision to be explosive in space.
Trickett's offense reminds me of Kliff Kingsbury's air raid style in the pros that he ran with Jayden Daniels and Kyler Murray. Two guys who can make plays with their feet but also be effective through the air, especially when getting outside of the pocket.
A lot of the running game's success seems to hinge on Washington's communication with his backs and his ability to make pre-snap adjustments and reads on defenses to decide whether to keep the ball, hand it off, or pull for a pass.
3. Can The Defense Continue To Build Off The Promise Shown In 2025?
The highs and lows over the course of a season are always expected. Your response to them is key to whether teams can be successful. Part of the reason the Terps started 4-0 last year was a defense that held teams to only 10 points per contest.
The duo of Zahir Mathis and Sidney Stewart were getting to the QB; linebacker Daniel Wingate manned the middle, cleaning up plays; and the secondary was forcing turnovers left and right.
While that consistency level faltered as the Big Ten stretch of the Terps' scheduled moved along, the defense was a reason they stayed competeive in games.
The run defense will look to improve this year with more depth and bigger interior men to help battle the bigger and elite linemen in the conference and make running lanes harder to run in. Five-star recruit Zion Elee joins the edge group. Wingate returns as a captain of the defense. In the secondary, most of the names remain the same to build off last season, with Messiah Delhomme pegged to be a breakout star filling the hole left by Jalen Huskey (NFL). Also, Amari Jackson from Boston College brings veteran experience into the cornerback room.
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Jaden's sports journalism career began at the College of Southern Maryland from 2022-2023, where he was brought in to cover baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball at CSM. In late 2023, he began interning at the University of Maryland Athletics Department as a contributing writer to help develop feature stories and game recaps. He also creates his own sports media content on professional Washington teams with LegacyMaker Sports Network.