Maryland football finished 2022 with a reasonable 8-5 record. The team only lost to Michigan, Purdue, Wisconsin, Penn State, and Ohio State. They even played Michigan to a single-score game. However, they also beat up on the bottom of the Big Ten, making this team tricky to analyze.
This year, FanDuel Sportsbook has opened the bidding on Maryland’s win total at 7.5, with the under juiced to -164. The Terrapins sit at +4000 to win the Big Ten, which ranks middle of the pack. Let’s get into Maryland football predictions with a season preview and roster overview.
2023 Maryland State Football Predictions & Season Preview
Maryland Football 2023 Season Preview: Coaching Staff
Maryland now enters year five of the Mike Locksley era. He currently has a 21-28 record with Maryland, but he has also shown significant improvement. After failing to eclipse three wins in his first two seasons, Locksley and Maryland have reached a bowl each of the last two years. Dan Enos departed for Arkansas after coordinating the offense last year. However, Maryland added former top assistant Josh Gattis as co-offensive coordinator with Kevin Sumlin.
On defense, they retain Brian Williams after taking over in 2021. He remains one of the best recruiters in the conference. This group also contains high-profile position coaches like former Texas State head coach Zac Spavital, who now coaches safeties. Whatever Locksley is doing, he hasn’t had any trouble bringing elite coaching to College Park.
Maryland Football 2023 Season Preview: Offense
Quarterback
Maryland returns Taulia Tagovailoa at quarterback for his fifth college season. Tagovailoa stands 5-11, 205 pounds. Last year, he took a slight step back, completing 67.0% of his passes for 7.7 yards per attempt. Overall, he threw 391 times for 3,008 yards, 18 scores, and eight interceptions in 12 games. The year prior, he completed 328 of 474 passes (69.2%) for 3,860 yards (8.1 YPA), 26 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Tagovailoa is a pocket statue with 187 career rushing yards on 194 attempts. Overall, he finished at the Big Ten’s sixth highest graded signal caller last year.
Billy Edwards is back as the backup. He threw the ball 46 times for 313 yards, three scores, and zero interceptions last year. His efficiency wasn’t bad with a 60.9% completion percentage and an 8.1 yards per attempt. Edwards does look like a decent rusher with 34 attempts for 136 yards.
Overall, the quarterback position should be in good shape as long as Tagovailoa stays upright. Something that did not happen last year.
Running Back
At running back, Maryland returns plenty of experience led by Roman Hemby. The 6-0, 200 pound back rushed for 988 yards and 10 scores last year on 187 attempts. He also caught 34-of-37 targets for another 315 yards. Hemby averaged 2.81 yards after contact and forced a missed tackle on 19.3% of his attempts.
They also return second-leading rusher Antwaine Littleton. Littleton rushed 77 times for 378 yards and six scores. He also caught all six targets for another 44 yards. Littleton averaged 3.94 yards after contact and forced a missed tackle on 26% of his attempts. Roman Brown, who rushed 30 times for 116 yards, is back as well.
While this position doesn’t have the name value of some other programs, they return a sneaky-efficient group.
Wide Receiver
Maryland lost Rakim Jarrett and Jacob Copeland this offseason, but they return leading receiver Jeshaun Jones, who caught 44 balls for 557 yards and four scores on 63 targets. Jones stands 6-2, 185 pounds, while playing in the slot 37.9% of the time. He posted a 1.7 yards per route, which tied for 26th in the Big Ten.
To ease their losses, Maryland added transfers Kaden Prather (West Virginia) and Tyrese Chambers (FIU). Prather comes in as a former four-star recruit, who caught 52-of-82 targets for 501 yards and three scores last year. Prather is a big body at 6-4, 211 pounds. He played out wide 96.3% of the time and his 1.67 yards per route ranked 23rd in the Big 12 last year.
Chambers stands 6-1, 195 pounds and caught 50-of-85 targets for 535 yards and four scores with FIU last year. He also played out wide on 97.2% of his routes, logging a 1.77 yards per route, which ranked 29th in C-USA. It should be noted that his 2021 season was much better with 1,069 yards and a 2.98 yards per route.
Maryland often runs four wide, leaving Tai Felton as the final presumed starter. At 6-1, 185 pounds Felton caught 23-of-35 targets for 309 yards in his second season with Maryland. He spent 16.8% of his time in the slot, logging 1.19 yards per route (46th). The main reserve looks like Octavian Smith, Shaleak Knotts, and Leon Haughton. Smith is a former four-star recruit and the 332nd ranked player in 2022. Knotts was also a 2022 four-star recruit and the 218th player in that class.
Overall, this group likely comes in somewhere close to last year.
Tight End
At tight end, Maryland lost CJ Dippre this offseason, but they return the services of Corey Dyches. Dyches is 6-2, 220 pounds and now enters his fourth season. He blocked on 46% of his 451 snaps and caught 39-of-53 targets for 484 yards and three scores. His 1.77 yards per route ranked 22nd in the Big Ten and he played in the slot on 27.9% of his routes.
The rest of the tight end room is a mystery.
Rico Walker and Preston Howard have drawn some praise, but both are converted to the position. Walker was an edge out of high school and Howard played quarterback. Walker is a four-star freshman and a name to monitor. He is 6-3, 233 pounds and already on campus.
Maryland doesn’t always use a tight end, making this position less important to the offense. They likely take a slight step back without Dippre, but they do have talent and experience here.
Offensive Line
The offensive line lost left tackle Jaelyn Duncan, center Johari Branch, guard Spencer Anderson, center Coltin Deery, and guard Mason Lunsford. They do return right tackle Delmar Glaze, who played well on his 940 snaps last year.
However, the rest of the group will be composed of new faces.
Corey Bullock transfers in from NC Central after 600 snaps last year. He was an HBCU All-American, but profiles more as a guard at this level. Backup center Aric Harris played well on his 115 snaps last year. The previous year, he played 627 snaps, so he has more experience than a lot of this group. Amelio Moran also returns after 193 snaps last year. He played both guard positions, but wasn’t too good at doing so. Maybe Sean Wilkins or a transfer jumps him, but he has the most experience of this group.
They also added Frostburg State transfer Gottlieb Ayedze. Ayedze is a three-year starter and 3x All-MEC First Team. He was an All-American at this level of play. Finally, they added LSU transfer Marcus Dumervil. Dumervil only played 108 snaps in his three years with LSU. However, he is a former four-star recruit from the 2020 recruiting class. Finally, they added Michael Purcell from Elon late in the process. He played 771 snaps at center for Elon last year.
Maryland’s offensive line ranked 24th in pass blocking last year, so a step back looks likely.
Maryland Football 2023 Season Preview: Defense
Maryland ranked 87th on defense in 2022. This included the 92nd-ranked run defense, 121st-ranked pass rush and 49th-ranked secondary. The Terrapins lose a ton of production from this defense, including premier starters Jakorian Bennett and Deonte Banks. Maryland did bring in four transfers and three recruits of four-star caliber.
Defensive Line
On the edge, Maryland lost Durell Nchami, Greg China-Rose, Austin Fontaine and Vandarius Cowan. These were the top four players by snap count at the position. The leading returners at the position are Quashon Fuller and Riyad Wilmot. They played just 201 and 141 snaps for Maryland last year. Maryland did add St. Francis transfer Donnell Brown, who started the past two seasons. Still, this is a significant jump in competition. Four-star freshmen Neeo Avery and Dylan Gooden may be pressed into action sooner rather than later.
On the interior, Ami Finau, Mosiah Nasili-Kite, and Henry Chibueze all depart. These were the top three snap-getters at the position. Anthony Booker looks like the next man up after playing 234 snaps last year. He did post solid numbers, but those came on a small sample. Tommy Akingbesote also returns after 224 snaps, but Maryland also added Tennessee transfer Jordan Phillips to the mix. The defensive line wasn’t great last year, but it’s hard to see them taking a jump with so many new faces.
Linebacker
At linebacker Maryland lost Ahmad McCullough. However, they return Jaishawn Barham and Fa’Najae Gotay. Barham played 567 snaps and finished third on the team with 58 tackles. Gotay notched 37 tackles himself on 345 snaps. He will now be asked to play a larger role. The last backer looks like Kellan Wyatt, who played a lot on the edge last year. Wyatt only logged 201 snaps, but he looked solid on the limited sample. The team also returns Ruben Hyppolite II after another season as a liability. His snaps decreased from 699 in 2021 to 229 in 2022. He hasn’t been good at any point in his career, but he is experienced.
Defensive Back
The secondary should be the biggest concern here, considering all of the high-profile departures. Maryland lost Bennett and Banks as NFL Draft picks. However, the team does have some reasonable replacements. Last year’s nickel Tarheeb Still returns after 650 snaps. He broke up one pass and recorded 46 tackles as a jack-of-all-trades in the secondary. Maryland also added Cincinnati transfers Ja’Quan Sheppard, who played 816 snaps with the Bearcats last year. He broke up ten passes and recorded 50 tackles. Sheppard should slide in as an immediate starter. The favorite for the final corner position is Corey Coley Jr.. He played 288 snaps last year due to injury and recorded 14 tackles along the way. Gavin Gibson played 197 snaps last year and should function as a reserve in case of injury.
At safety, Maryland returns both starters in Dante Trader Jr. and Beau Brade. The pair played 813 and 825 snaps each. Brade led the team with 85 tackles and broke up five passes along the way. Trader actually ranked second on the team in tackles and broke up four passes himself. They also added Miami transfer Avantae Williams after playing 313 snaps over the last two years.
As long as this group stays healthy, they should be in a solid place for 2023.
2023 Maryland Football Schedule & Predictions
Maryland Football 2023 Schedule
Maryland plays a non-conference schedule consisting of Towson, Charlotte, and Virginia. With Virginia’s recent struggles, a 3-0 record coming out of non-con should be the expectation. From the Big Ten West, Maryland draws Illinois, Northwestern, and Nebraska, which is reasonable. From there, it is the usual suspects from the Big Ten East. Maryland has to travel to Ohio State, but they draw Penn State and Michigan at home. Ultimately, this schedule is difficult because of the big three in the Big Ten East, but the rest is gettable.
Maryland Football Futures Bet & Prediction
Maryland’s win total comes in at 7.5, which leaves little wiggle room towards the over. The Terps will be decent underdogs against Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State this year, meaning they can only lose one more game all year. This makes the under more attractive, despite the -164 juice.
Best Maryland Football Futures Bet: under 7.5 Wins -164 at FanDuel
You can read the rest of Matt Gajewski’s 2023 college football season previews and predictions below!
- Alabama Season Preview & Predictions
- Arkansas Season Preview & Predictions
- Auburn Season Preview & Predictions
- Baylor Season Preview & Predictions
- Florida Season Preview & Predictions
- Georgia Season Preview & Predictions
- Iowa Season Preview & Predictions
- Iowa State Season Preview & Predictions
- Kansas Season Preview & Predictions
- Kansas State Season Preview & Predictions
- Kentucky Season Preview & Predictions
- LSU Season Preview & Predictions
- Michigan Season Preview & Predictions
- Mississippi State Season Preview & Predictions
- Missouri Season Preview & Predictions
- Oklahoma Season Preview & Predictions
- Oklahoma State Season Preview & Predictions
- Ole Miss Season Preview & Predictions
- South Carolina Season Preview & Predictions
- TCU Season Preview & Predictions
- Tennessee Season Preview & Predictions
- Texas Season Preview & Predictions
- Texas A&M Season Preview & Predictions
- Texas Tech Season Preview & Predictions
- Vanderbilt Season Preview & Predictions
- West Virginia Season Preview & Predictions
