Maryland football QB Malik Washington has "earned the respect of a lot of people in the locker room"

Ahmed Ghafir
2 days ago
3 min read

With fall camp set to begin exactly one week from today, all eyes are on Maryland football’s ongoing quarterback battle as head coach Mike Locksley and his staff evaluate a pair of underclassmen alongside a new transfer addition ahead of the Aug. 30 opener vs. FAU.

“A lot like when you have a baby in the crib and you throw the snake in the crib with the baby. The baby doesn't know that a snake is bad,” Locksley said at Big Ten Media Day about Maryland’s 2025 quarterback room.

“When you look at the quarterback locker room, or the quarterback room today as it stands, really, really excited about it, and a lot because I don't necessarily know what I have.”

What Maryland does have is the future at the position with Malik Washington now preparing for his first season with the program as the former four-star prospect and three-time MIAA champion has made his case to become the week one starter. Washington has lived up to expectations to-date with the freshman showcasing why he became such a priority for Maryland in the 2025 cycle, not only impressing the staff, but his new teammates.

“Malik is a very mature young man. He earned the respect of a lot of people in the locker room and he's just there to compete,” linebacker Daniel Wingate said. “And that's what you want in a type of player like that.”

“He's a guy who came in early and came to work. He came with the [intention] every single day that he's going to get better, learn, but also he's here to compete, and he's here to try to win a starting job,” safety Jalen Huskey added. “Him and Justyn Martin are in a great position battle, and, you know, both of them are workers, so we're in great hands wherever that goes.”

Offensive lineman Isaiah Wright, expected to be a big part of the 2025 solution, admits the ongoing quarterback battle “brings me a lot of ease” with the realistic chance to upgrade the room’s talent from a season ago.

“Honestly, as an offensive lineman, it brings me a lot of ease knowing that I have such great quarterbacks in the room. And it's going to be a privilege being able to protect them throughout the season. And both of them, they show up day in, day out, and they work really hard. And you could just see the passion that they play with and practice with and train with every day so it's a real privilege and honor.”

Maryland also made efforts to retain QB Khristian Martin this offseason as Locksley noted “I thought he had the right tools” heading into 2025, while UCLA transfer Justyn Martin gets comfortable in the offense after putting the pieces together during his first spring ball with the program.

“Pep Hamilton, who I brought in as my OC, one of my closest friends in his business, has done a tremendous job in preparing these guys,” Locksley noted.

As Washington now looks to become the first freshman QB to start in seven seasons, Maryland will now look to stabilize the position in hopes of stabilizing the 2025 offense.

“And just like Huskey was saying with Justyn Martin, you know, those guys are both competing day in and day out. They've both shown to the leadership that the quarterback position needs,” Wingate added. “They've had a lot of people in the locker room gravitate towards them, so just seeing them compete every day has been very exciting.”

“I'm really looking forward to getting into fall camp, having an opportunity to really see these guys and how they perform and who gives us the best chance to score points. I think they all three are very similar in their skill set. All three have great size, big arm to be able to take advantage of all parts of the field while also being really athletic enough to make plays with their feet if need be,” Locksley noted.

“To me, the great thing about the Terps this year, in my opinion, is the fact that we're young and we don't know what we don't know.”

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