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Josh Gattis talks Maryland's QBs, Brian Williams talks generating pressure, limiting Auburn

Maryland will roll with Billy Edwards and Cam Edge to lead the quarterback room into Saturday’s bowl game vs. Auburn as the two underclassmen will get their first chances of showcasing themselves in bigger roles. After two weeks of practice in College Park then a pair of practices at Ensworth High School leading up to the bowl game, offensive coordinator Josh Gattis has watched both quarterbacks take strides heading into their opportunity. “I think Billy and Cam have done a great job on just preparing themselves for the what-if moment. Obviously in today's college football you’ve got to prepare all three quarterbacks because it's easy for a guy to go down and the next man's got to be great. I think for both of those young men, they've never let the situation affect them mentally, emotionally or physically. So they've continued to prepare as if they’re the starter and I feel very confident in that preparation that they're able to lead our team to a successful Saturday.” Of course, bowl prep has also given the staff a chance to work with some of its new pieces as both Aliou Bah and Alan Herron joined the team this week, while QB MJ Morris took reps during Thursday’s practice. “In the short period of time it’s been a limited amount that we can do with those guys after getting them medically cleared out, but I like his approach,” Gattis said of Morris. “He's quiet. He's learning. He's just activating himself into the team and so we're excited to have him join our football program. We look forward to our quarterback competition that we'll have throughout the offseason.” Luckily for Auburn, MJ Morris is one less quarterback they’ll have to worry about, but Auburn defensive coordinator Ron Roberts admitted that his defense’s ability to make early in-game adjustments will be most critical to limiting Maryland’s offense, specifically Billy Edwards Jr. “ came in on 3rd and shorts, run the sneak, quarterback iso, quarterback power. You go back to the Northwestern game last year, different coordinator, and he kind of turned it loose and let him run the offense,” Roberts said Friday. “We tried to do as much research on him. I think he’s a guy that’s a tough kid, he can run hard. Maybe not considered a dual-threat guy but he can move the sticks with his feet. Seems to be a tough kid.” While Edwards will look to surprise the Tigers with his arm talent, Gattis pointed to the next man up approach that’s guided Maryland through bowl prep as head coach Mike Locksley cited the bowl game as a “movie trailer” for the 2024 season. “It's about handling adversity. And I think, you know, obviously, not one person changes the outcome of the game. And obviously Taulia has meant so much in this program, but we've grown every week that you're missing someone. And so the next man up approach is really being the mentality that coach Locks has preaching to our team and not being affected by the outcome of who's available,” Gattis added. “And I think specifically on offense, there's been times where we didn't know what linemen we were gonna start and what's gonna be the starting five going into Saturday. We have to make those decisions leading to a game and so we really have that don't flinch mentality. And specifically when the quarterback position, we're just gonna continue to be who we are. We've obviously established ourselves from an identity standpoint, and things that we want to focus on offensively. We're gonna stick to those things and for us, bowl games are about doing what your players can execute well. We feel really good about the gameplan that we put together that both of our quarterbacks can go out there and execute.” Of course, a big piece in disrupting Auburn’s offense is finding ways to disrupt QB Payton Thorne and for the first time in two years, Maryland’s defense won’t have Jaishawn Barham tasked with doing so. “The thing about us this year, we've been able to generate pressure with multiple guys from multiple positions. And so we'll continue that by committee if you will,” defensive coordinator Brian Williams said in response to Barham’s departure. “Any time we lose a player like that, that gives someone else an opportunity to showcase their ability and we're looking forward to that opportunity. For Maryland, the gameplan starts with limiting Auburn’s rushing attack and RB Jarquez Hunter. “A lot of what you have seen them do successfully, the quarterback who has a lot of experience, tight end does a really good job in the passing game. A lot of its predicated on how well they run the ball in terms of throwing a lot of very successful passes come off the action of their runs. So we just have to be really sound fundamentally with our eyes, footwork and making sure we're where we're supposed to be from a discipline standpoint, playing collectively, keeping everything in front of us on the back end and tackling the football.” Related Links

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