2026 Maryland football position preview: offensive line

Ahmed Ghafir
1 day ago
2 min read

While the offense has a handful of question marks heading into 2026, there’s reason for optimism in the trenches given Maryland returns three starters from a unit that took a step forward in 2025.

Offensive tackle Rahtrel Perry, center Michael Hershey and Isaiah Wright, now slotted at tackle after suiting up at guard, all return in 2026 with Perry and Hershey stepping back in as starters and Wright serving as the veteran leader of the unit. Maryland also signed former Texas State OG Tellek Lockette where he projects at LG after taking snaps there through the spring, while redshirt sophomore Ryan Howerton appeared in all but two games in 2025 where he now looks to turn his experience into a starting position. The good sign is Maryland has some depth in the unit with Amory Hills appearing in all 12 games at guard as a true freshman while former blue-chip tackle Jaylen Gilchrist is back at full strength looking to elevate the competition in the room.

Hershey is the anchor of the unit where there’s ample confidence in the Pa. native, who has become a mainstay at center since arriving in the program and after learning from Chargers center Josh Kaltenberger as a true freshman. He’s drawn NFL buzz with confidence in Hershey becoming the unit’s best in 2026, while Lockette has remained a constant inside Jones Hill-House through his own offseason conditioning with a chance to make the left side of the line a strength. But the questions surrounding the unit stem deeper than any one player.

The biggest question for the unit beyond fall camp is whether Maryland is able to improve its run blocking, a sore spot for the offense over the last three seasons. The running back unit will have its own questions to answer, but whether signs of encouragement from fall camp translate to the regular season will be one that position coaches Damian Wroblewski and Hal Hunter alongside Louis Swaba, current QC assistant after serving as the RBs coach in 2025, focus on. Whether the unit improves run blocking after ranking 41st nationally with 4.1 ypc in 2025 could easily be the second-biggest question as to whether the offense proves to take a leap in year two under Malik Washington.

Biggest fall camp question: does Gilchrist push his way into the starting five?

Gilchrist is coming off a season-ending injury after rotating into the OL during the first game of his college career, but that came off the heels of the Virginia native build consistent buzz through the offseason as an as-advertised signing. The footwork and technique of the 6-foot-5, 299 pound tackle is advanced while Gilchrist took reps at both left and right tackle ahead of his injury. He’s also coming off a spring where the redshirt freshman was able to participate in spring ball with a chance to build momentum into fall camp, but whether he makes noise as a starting RT and what the domino effect is on the rest of the unit will be one that could elevate th unit.

Related Links