With spring ball set to begin on Tuesday, Maryland head coach Mike Locksley announced his finalized offensive staff ahead of a pivotal month and the 2024 season.
As expected, Maryland has added Damian Wroblewski as its new assistant offensive line coach, where he joins Brian Braswell tasked with bolstering an offensive line set to replace all five starters. Wroblewski joins the program after five seasons at James Madison where he served as acting head coach for the bowl game before being the lone coach retained by new head coach Bob Chesney.
“To be able to add someone with Damien’s experience both coaching on the line and developing offensive talent across the board is big for us. He has a tremendous track record of success everywhere he’s been. We’ve improved greatly along the offensive line over the past few seasons and now having Damien working alongside Coach Braswell, our players will be able to learn from a pair of coaches that are exceptional in teaching fundamentals and technique,” head coach Mike Locksley said via release.
Maryland turned to the transfer portal to reload the unit with Josh Kaltenberger, Aliou Bah and Alan Herron while Kyle Long returned to take over a starting guard role. Maryland will look to improve on the 23 sacks allowed through conference play in 2023.
The improvements in the trenches give Maryland a chance to bolster its quarterback play as head coach Mike Locksley guides the unit into the biggest position battle through his six-year tenure. Former NC State quarterback MJ Morris joined the program to compete alongside Billy Edwards and Cam Edge this spring as Locksley leads a unit that he once coached back at Illinois then Maryland under former head coach Randy Edsall. Locksley also closely worked with the quarterback room during his time at Alabama with Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts leading the way.
Heading into his second season with the program, offensive coordinator Josh Gattis is expected to take over the wide receiver room after the departure of Gunter Brewer, who was named the new director of high school relations at Virginia Tech. It’s a move for Gattis he has ample experience with having coached the wide receiver room at Western Michigan, Vanderbilt, Penn State and Alabama where he’s previously coached Nico Collins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Chris Godwin among others. In his third season as the offensive coordinator at Michigan, Gattis was recognized as the Broyles Award winner before moving on to the same position at Miami (FL), along with the 2015 Big Ten Recruiter of the Year by Scout. Gattis now takes over a room headlined by Tai Felton and Kaden Prather.
Maryland also announced the hire of Casey Wasserman as the new Coordinator of Scouting after spending the last 18 months with the Tennessee Titans. Wasserman played lacrosse at the University of Utah after transferring from Towson, Locksley’s alma mater.
More on Wroblewski:
Wroblewski’s coaching career also includes stops at Elon (2014-18), Rutgers (2012-13), Delaware (2007-2011), Stony Brook (2006), Hofstra (2004-05), Penn (2002-03) and Bryant (1999-02). Over five seasons at James Madison, he coached four players to a combined five All-America honors and six linemen to a collective eight all-conference accolades. He also helped produce a pair of Touchdown Club of Richmond Offensive Linemen of the Year in Liam Fornadel (2019) and Nick Kidwell (2021). As James Madison made its FBS debut in 2022, his line aided JMU in ranking top-30 nationally in six offensive categories. The Dukes were sixth in time of possession (33:44), seventh in yards per completion (14.54), 13th in scoring (37.0), 16th in pass efficiency (157.2), 29th in total offense (452.5) and 30th in passing touchdowns (27). The 2023 FBS season was even better for James Madison and Wroblewski as they started the season 10-0 thanks to a high-powered offense. Wroblewski served as James Madison’s acting head coach for the Duke’s 2023 Armed Forces Bowl and the Dukes finished the season 11-2. During Wroblewski’s final two seasons at Elon in 2017 and 2018, his offensive line propelled the Phoenix offense to greater heights, leading to a pair of FCS Playoff appearances. In 2018, he guided a pair of seniors to All-America status in Oli Udoh and CJ Toogood. Udoh also shined at both the East-West Shrine Bowl and Reese’s Senior Bowl to earn a spot at the 2019 NFL Combine. Wroblewski also experienced a high level of success at Rutgers. In his two seasons in Piscataway, Wroblewski coached three linemen to all-conference accolades. Antwan Lowery was a First Team All-Big East honoree and Kaleb Johnson earned a Second Team spot in 2012. In the program’s inaugural year in the American Athletic Conference in 2013, Betim Bujari was Second Team All-AAC at center. Johnson later moved on to the NFL, beginning his pro career in Baltimore in 2015. In 2012, Rutgers allowed just eight sacks all year, ranking eighth in the FBS. At Delaware, where he was also assistant head coach for four years, Wroblewski mentored three All-Americans, including center Kheon Hendricks, and worked with future NFL linemen Gino Gradkowski, Mike Byrne and Shea Allard. The offense churned out three 1,000-yard rushers during his five-year stint. The Blue Hens reached the National Championship game in 2007 and 2010. With quarterback Joe Flacco, Delaware’s offense led the conference in scoring offense, passing offense and total offense in 2007.
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