Maryland knows they now sit just one win away from bowl eligibility with a matchup against Penn State looming. After pulling out a three-point win over Indiana at home on Saturday, Maryland now sits at 5-3 (2-3) on the season as head coach Mike Locksley said on Tuesday his team is back at neutral.
“We're sitting at 5-3, back to neutral, obviously with a great opportunity to play a regional rivalry,” Locksley said during his weekly media availability. “A team that's right up the road from us, that focuses a quite bit of their efforts in recruiting here in our home state. We welcome them here to The Shell, hopeful that you know we get our fans in the seats and not their fans. I know their fans will do all they can to be in the in The Shell and support their team but I'm hoping we can do our part to keep them out of here.”
Both teams enter Saturday’s matchup battling the injury bug as Locksley noted Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford controlling the Nittany Lion offense despite not at full health. “Sean Clifford, even though he's been a little banged up the last couple of games, has shown great improvement and really done a great job of leading their offense.” Clifford has receivers Jahan Dotson and Parker Washington at his disposal as Maryland’s defense knows they’ll have their hands full.
Ahead of the Indiana game, Maryland adjusted their outside linebacker depth to pave the way for true freshman Demeioun Robinson to draw his first career start at SAM. The former five-star product has lined up at both the JACK and SAM through his first season, but Locksley was pleased with his freshman’s performance. “We're getting thin on bodies and losing Durell Nchami a week prior so Demeioun was thrown into a starting position there and did really, really well. I thought he set the edge for us the way we need to be to be done, he affected the quarterback with good pass rush, not necessarily getting the finished sack but creating a little uncomfortableness for that quarterback in the pocket. Lawtez Rogers has continued to be a steady force, an older player that has shown great leadership and will continue to lean on him and that leadership as well.”
Linebacker Branden Jennings played sparingly against Indiana, a similar snap count from one week prior in the loss to Minnesota, as Maryland continues to work him back into the rotation. “When a freshman misses a significant time like he missed being a knee, time is of the essence because we've want him to be back to 100%,” Locksley added. “I think he's really close and we've continued to add more reps to him and I think you'll continue to see him become more integral player, a more integral role in our defensive gameplan.” Jennings’ injury has created a bigger role for Ahmad McCullough through conference play alongside MIKE Ruben Hyppolite, but another freshman has made a return to practice.
Inside the Black and Gold reported that former five-star linebacker Terrence Lewis returned to practice last week as Locksley confirmed the news today. “Terrence has made his way back. He's actually doing some things on the field. Limited things, you know, when you have a couple of shoulders and a knee all fixed and clean, but we're starting to see him progress to where he's out.”
Lewis underwent surgery on his shoulder and torn ACL shortly after arriving on campus as he acclimates himself to the college game. “He came running out I saw a guy in a number zero and I was trying to figure out who that was and walked into the stretch line and it was Terrence [Lewis]. So it's great to have him back out on the field with us. You know, it's really tough when you deal with the type of injuries he had because you don’t necessarily feel part of it and so as he's kind of progressed now he's working himself back into where he’s participating in limited parts of practice. Still has some ways to go in terms of the full recovery piece of it but it's just great to see him back out there with us.”
As Locksley reiterated “the winning formula for us is winning the turnover battle and winning the big play battle,” there was another plea ahead of a critical game against a regional rival.
“An opportunity to have the best possible record playing here at The Shell, something going into the season, we've got to make this place a place that’s hard for opponents to come in and play. And that's where we've continued to ask our fans to continue to come out and support us as we work through the growth phases of building this thing.”
Kickoff is set for 3:30 PM on Saturday.