2015 B1G Conference Pre-Season
Preview
Maryland Terrapins (East Division)
Location: College Park, MD
Stadium: Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium
(58,973)
Coach: Randy Edsall (5th year): 20-30 at Maryland, 94-100 overall, 4-4
v B1G, 0-1 v OSU
2014 Maryland Terrapins (7-6)(4-4) 2015
Maryland Terrapins
52 James Madison 7 S5 Richmond
24 at South Florida 17 S12 Bowling Green
37 West Virginia 40 S19 South Florida
34 at Syracuse 20 S26 at West Virginia
37 at Indiana 15 O3 Michigan
24 Ohio State 52 O10 at Ohio State
38 Iowa 31 O17
7 at
Wisconsin 52 O24 Penn State
20 at Penn State 19 O31 at Iowa
15 Michigan State 37 N7 Wisconsin
23 at Michigan 16 N14 at Michigan State
38 Rutgers 41 N21 Indiana
21 Stanford 45 N28 at Rutgers
(Foster Farms Bowl)
Maryland had
their ups and downs last year in their first year in the B1G Conference and
made a bowl game. Caleb Rowe, who was
the starting QB last year for a few games when CJ Brown was injured, returns as
the full-time starter in 2015. Rowe was effective
when he got his chance, completing over 60 percent of his throws for five
scores. Although he won’t have the
do-it-all Stefon Diggs to throw to, Rowe will have experienced WR senior Marcus
Leak as his primary target deep. Leak
hauled in 20 receptions last year for a shade under 300 yards and three
scores. Other than Leak, the Terps will
be breaking in new starters in their receiving corps, Junior Levern Jacobs and sophomore Taivon
Jacobs appear to have the edge coming out of spring practice, neither one of
which caught a single pass last year.
Junior TE Andrew Isaacs returns, hauling in only three catches last
year. But look for the Maryland offense
to include him more in the short and intermediate passing routes this
year. Maryland’s running game in 2014
was hit-and-miss with departed QB CJ Brown their leading rusher with only 539
yards. However, Maryland returns senior
Brandon Ross (85 carries/419 yards) and if he can stay healthy, look for him to
be much more productive. They also
return junior Wes Brown who was banged up most of last season, but was
effective when he was healthy and transfer Joe Riddle will add much-needed
depth. Provided they can avoid the
injury bug this year, the Terps should have a greatly improved ground game in
2015. The Maryland offensive line
returns three starters, led by seniors Ryan Doyle and Andrew Zeller at the
guard positions and junior Michael Dunn at left tackle. Senior Eric Mulrooney sat out last year due
to a viral infection, but returns full go this year and started five games in
2013. Redshirt freshman Damian Prince
appeared to have the edge at right tackle in the spring. This group should enable Maryland to have a
significantly better running game this year.
The Maryland
defensive line loses some significant experience. Gone are second-team all conference DE Andre
Monroe, DE Keith Bowers, and NT Darius Kilgo.
However, senior Quinton Jefferson returns at a DE spot after suffering a
season-ending injury last year in the West Virginia game. Yannick Ngakoue is the only returning starter
on the line and he will return at the other DE spot. Ngakoue was Maryland’s best pass rusher last
year, garnering 13.5 tackles for loss and six sacks. Spring practice saw quite a battle for the
two interior spots, with sophomore David Shaw and junior Roman Braglio
appearing to have the edge at NT and DT respectively. The defensive coaching staff are hoping the
change to a 4-3 defense will help shore up Maryland’s run defense. The Terps, unfortunately, will have to break
in three new starters in the line backing corps, led by junior MLB Abner Logan. Suspended the first five games, Logan filled
in nicely as a backup the latter half of 2014 and managed five tackles. Sophomores Jermaine Carter and Jalen Brooks
figure to man the outside positions with 27 and 21 tackles respectively last
year. It will be a tough road to travel,
as they lose linebackers with a combined 104 career starts, but they move to a
three-man unit and hopefully, will remain healthy this year. But depth is a major issue with very little game
experience to handle the rough B1G schedule.
Maryland looks much better in the secondary, as three starters return,
highlighted by junior CB William Likely.
One of the better DBs in the conference, Likely managed 83 tackles, four
TFLs and six interceptions in 2014.
Senior Alvin Hill should fill in opposite Likely at the other CB
position and in six games last year, he managed 13 tackles and one
interception. Seniors Sean Davis and
Anthony Nixon return at the safety positions and both are among the best in the
conference. Davis was second on the team
in tackles with 115, with four TFLs and a sack, while Nixon picked up 62
tackles, a sack, and an interception.
This secondary is Maryland’s most experienced in quite a few years and
they will make it difficult for opposing offenses to throw deep on them.
Despite
having to break in a new punter (redshirt freshman Lee Shrader), the Terps will
have very good special team units this year.
The highlight is the return of outstanding kicker Brad Craddock, who hit
18 out of 19 field goal attempts, including the 57-yarder he hit against Ohio
State last year. William Likely will be
returning punts this year and while Coach Edsall hasn’t yet settled on his
kickoff return unit, look for Maryland’s special teams to still rank among the
B1G best in 2015.
Maryland has
just ten returning starters and lost 25 lettermen, making them one of the least
experienced teams in the conference.
They also have only three “true” conference home games since they play
Penn State in Baltimore. 2015 looks to
be an uphill road for this team, but despite finishing in the basement in the
B1G East, they could still win six games and get to a bowl.
2015 Projection: 6-6 (3-5) 7th
in East Division
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