Freshman DB Messiah Delhomme becomes early playmaker for Maryland football's special teams

jmcconn3
Sep 27
3 min read

There has been no secret that the freshman class would become a big part of Maryland football’s 2025 identity, and through four games, that expectation has materialized.

Malik Washington has elevated his profile enough that he’s drawn talk as one of the best freshman quarterbacks in the country, while both Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis both made their presence felt after getting into the backfield each week, starting in week one. That also includes Messiah Delhomme, who has already made plays through his first four games nearly a year after he was a coveted recruiting target.

A former four-star out of Warwick (VA), Delhomme became one of two key commitments out of Virginia in the 2025 cycle after committing to Maryland over Virginia Tech with Ohio State lurking in his recruitment through the spring into his senior year. An all-out staff effort helped shift momentum in Maryland’s favor after Delhomme officially visited the last weekend in June of 2024 with other top targets like Malik Washington, Jaylen Gilchrist and Zymear Smith But the bond between the four-star and assistant Latrell Scott carried weight throughout.

“Just being very transparent with us and having a real relationship with us,” Delhomme told IBG about Scott. “My senior year, I did get hurt and regardless of me being hurt, he was there every step of the way. I never had a doubt in my mind that he wouldn’t be there for me.”

For Delhomme, getting back on the field was the first step after arriving in College Park in January, weeks after battling through injury that derailed his senior season.

“When I got up here in January, I was rehabbing until the season started. Once winter workouts came, I was getting in my groove, started to get my confidence back. In my opinion, I never really lost it. I was just a little hesitant but once that hesitation left, I was able to play more confident.”

Delhomme noted he was back to full strength “around February” with spring ball giving the former four-star a chance to get comfortable, but the “natural bond” he and the other freshmen shared eased that transition.

“When I first got here, I was definitely leaning on my freshmen, the ones that came in with me because we had a pretty big class that came in. Later on a little more down the road, I started getting closer with my seniors and the rest of the team.”

Delhomme worked with safeties coach James Thomas to learn the position behind veteran Jalen Huskey, rotating in through the first four games where the freshman registered nine total tackles through the first two games. While Delhomme is viewed as a major piece in the future makeup of the secondary, it didn’t take long for the freshman to make an impact on special teams after shaking the “pregame jitters” ahead of the opener.

“If anything, I was really more excited to be on this level and a new environment with bigger people, people my skill level.”

Delhomme loomed large in the week three win vs. Towson after recording a blocked punt, the program’s first since Jesse Aniebonam did so vs. Temple back in 2017. “Big, big play, play that was made by Messiah Delhomme as well,” head coach Mike Locksley said after the win. “With the fake, he's responsible for setting the edge to the defense the way the ball does cut back so the freshman, Messiah, did a great job of forcing it and Kaleb got off the block.”

The freshman followed it up with a blocked punt in the first quarter of the Big Ten road win vs. Wisconsin, which came roughly ten minutes after freshman OLB Zahir Mathis blocked a field goal on the Badgers’ opening drive. For Delhomme, excelling in the game’s third phase is an area he takes pride in.

“Coach Locks always emphasizes that special teams is really where you find yourself and find your role. I really just invested in that and put my best foot forward on special teams and it carried me along the way,” he added.

Delhomme is also the key reason why Maryland enters the final weekend of September tied for second nationally with three blocked kicks in 2025, improving a special teams unit led by coordinator Andre Powell and assistant Chili Davis that quietly became a focus for the staff this past offseason.

“They have a good scheme that they came in with,” Delhomme said of Powell and Davis. “And just the way they coach their players, they really focus on the small details that lead to the bigger picture.”

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