Maryland football edge rusher Zion Elee named On3 True Freshman of the Week

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One Maryland starter was recognized on Monday after edge rusher Zion Elee was named the On3 True Freshman of the Week, a deserving honor for a former five-star who has been on the cusp of a breakout seemingly for weeks.

Elee nearly registered his first sack in his first college game after seemingly coming up a step short against Hampton quarterback Kalieb Osborne, but his first flash came in the week two road win after registering a pair of solo tackles along with both his first sack and forced fumble with DD Holmes picking up the loose ball. Yet after playing sparringly in the non-conference finale, Elee picked up production after combining for a sack in the humbling loss vs. UCLA one week later.

The Baltimore, Md. native then came up with another big play after forcing a fumble on Ohio State QB Julian Sayin in the road loss against the Buckeyes, the second of three consecutive games he registered at least 0.5 sacks. Elee followed it up with his first signature game in college after recording 2.5 sacks in the road win vs. Purdue, including teaming up with Sidney Stewart for the game-sealing sack. His 2.5 sacks marked the most by a Terp since Yannick Ngakoue recorded three against Bowling Green on Sept. 12, 2015.

Elee enters the upcoming home game vs. Wisconsin leading all freshmen and ranked 29th in the country with six sacks in 2026, in addition to being the only freshman with three forced fumbles. He also became the first Terp since Ruben Hyppolite in 2023 to record multiple sacks in a Big Ten game, a feat no freshman has recorded since current Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jaishawn Barham did so in 2022.

“We're extremely excited for Zion. I've had a hand in recruiting him. We've been recruiting him for a long time," interim head coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim said of Elee. "So we knew what he could do on the field, so to speak. I think his growth has been more off the field. He's a lot more mature. We put a lot – we’re talking about an 18-year-old whose whole lifestyle has shifted in a matter of months. And if you don't get that side of the equation fixed, the football is the easy part for him. And it's more of us surrounding him, letting him know what's right and what is wrong, what's acceptable and what is not acceptable, and that ends up being – you see the results of that, of his life outside of football, as far as his character and integrity. You see that improvement, which I think showed on the field.”

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