Four more finalize return to Maryland football in 2026

Ahmed Ghafir
6 days ago
2 min read

While the transfer portal has officially been open for nearly 36 hours, Maryland football’s retention run to open the offseason continued to open the weekend after announcing four more players are set to return in 2026.

That includes freshman defensive tackle Bryce Jenkins, who posted nine total tackles and one TFL in eight games in 2025. Despite limited stats, his return marks a key piece in the trenches after watching Dillan Fontus elect to end his college career elsewhere while grad transfer Cam Rice exhausted his eligibility following the 2025 season. Jenkins initially committed to Maryland over Tennessee out of high school with a handful of Power Four teams working to change his status for year two, but instead, the DC native serves as the latest building block in the trenches for Maryland.

Punter Bryce McFerson, meanwhile, is set to finalize a return for a third season with the program after earning a All-Big Ten nod to close the 2025 season. McFerson finished the regular season second in the Big Ten with a 44.2-yard punting average. The Indian Trail, NC native averaged at least 45.0 yards per punt in six of 12 games. He recorded 14 punts of 50-plus yards, the second-most in the Big Ten, and placed 19 punts inside the 20-yard line, the fourth-most in the conference. His average yards per punt also ranks as the sixth-best single-season in program history.

Maryland also saw a pair of rotational offensive linemen finalize their returns with interior linemen Ryan Howerton and Amory Hills set to return in 2026.

Howerton, a former three-star out of Pallotti (MD), is now set for his third season with the program after becoming a mainstay in the 2025 offensive line rotation where he appeared in ten games at guard. Hills, another local freshman who inked with Maryland over Penn State and Virginia Tech last summer, has experience playing center though he played 11 games at guard in 2025. Hills transitioned to center during his senior season at Milford Mill where he also left as a decorated wrestler as a two-time state champion. While Maryland is expected to return several others in the trenches like Michael Hershey, Rahtrel Perry and Jaylen Gilchrist, it will also be a position of focus for Maryland in the transfer portal, which is open from Jan. 2 through Jan. 16.

The quartet become the latest to announce their return with QB Malik Washington, LB Daniel Wingate, edge Sidney Stewart, LB CJ Smith, LB Trey Reddick, safety Messiah Delhomme, cornerback Jamare Glasker, edge Zahir Mathis and cornerback Dontay Joyner all announced by the program as officially returning next season, marking a pivotal season for head coach Mike Locksley.

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