Maryland Football Stock Report: week one takedown vs. FAU

rwelchie3
Sep 1
5 min read

Maryland entered the season with a lot of question marks as the roster turnover was high and many young players were expected to step into large roles. The many questions have begun to find some answers as the Terrapins opened up the 2025 campaign with a 39-7 victory over Florida Atlantic. The Terps add yet another non-conference victory under head coach Mike Locksley - something that has been a strong trait for his teams now in year seven. Many of the young names that have been making noise during fall camp showed this weekend what all the hype was about. As we did last year, we take a look at the stock report on which players' stocks are up and which are down after week 1.

Stock Up

Young Edge Rushers

Throughout camp a lot of whispers have been that true-freshman edge rushers Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis were the real deal. Stewart was named a preseason AP freshman all-american in his own right. On Saturday both showed out and gave fans an early glimpse of what to expect from the position group going forward. Stewart was a monster recording 5 tackles, 3 TFL’s, a sack, and a safety. Stewart made a noticeable impact all game especially on the safety in the second quarter that really flipped the momentum fully to the Terps. As for Mathis, he had 1 tackle, and 0.5 sacks. Mathis also jarred the arm of FAU quarterback Caden Veltkamp that led to the Daniel Wingate pick-six. The Terps were struggling at that time of the game and Mathis came up huge with a big play to shift the tide back to Maryland. Both youngsters were monsters in their debut and their pure speed off the edge really shined through. Early penalties for both of them hopefully will be sorted out as the duo is poised to take over for the Maryland defense this fall. It will be fascinating to watch this pair and grow and how they react to more difficult competition.

ILB Daniel Wingate

Wingate was pegged as the leader of the defense entering this season and the junior showed out on Saturday and affirmed all of the hype. Wingate finished with 10 tackles, 1 TFL, and a pick-six. Wingate was flying all over the field, especially in the first half when Maryland needed it most. After 5 penalties allowed the Owls to get to a goal-to-go situation; it was Wingate that made the massive stop on 4th down on the first drive. Wingate seems to be a true leader for the defensive unit and his range from sideline to sideline to cause havoc is exactly what this defense needs in terms of identity. It makes a lot of sense that Wingate is receiving EJ Henderson comparisons from the coaching staff as the Terps have a stud on their hands.

WR Depth

A lot of question marks surrounded the wide receiver room entering this season. Maryland is used to running out stud receiver rooms in the past few years with the likes of Tai Felton, Kaden Prather, Rak Jarret, Jeshaun Jones, Dontay Demus, and others filling out the room. This season brings on a lot of new faces and question marks such as Jalil Farooq and returning Octavian Smith. Both were solid in the game with Farooq making some impressive plays and Smith dazzling in the open field. However, it was the wide receiver depth that proved themselves in this one. Shaleak Knotts had seemingly been invisible throughout camp with minimal noise surrounding the once 4-star senior. Knotts made the most of his reps today leading the team in both receptions and yards with 5 receptions and 59 yards while also adding a score. Unlocking potential talent from Knotts may be better late than never for the depth in the receiver room. Elsewhere, Kaleb Webb made a fantastic one-on-one catch for a 29 yard score and Dorian Fleming showed that he can be a reliable receiver in got to have it situations. The wealth was spread around and the receiver room may be deeper than it first appeared

Honorable Mentions:

QB Malik Washington

Receiving Big Ten Freshman of the Week, Washington impressed in his first outing but some early accuracy struggles held him from the 3 stock up spots.

K Sean O’Haire

A perfect 3-for-3 on field goals and 4-for-4 on extra points, Maryland may have found their next Chad Ryland.

Defensive Backs

Newcomers Joyner and Glakser looked the part, young depth was great with Lee, Roland, and Cooper adding takeaways.

Stock Down

Discipline and Penalty Issues

Groans could be heard from inside and outside SECU Stadium as Maryland once again seemed like the most undiscipline team in the country early on Saturday. On the frist drive the defense was flagged 5 times that led to the Owls into the redzone. Many of these plays were on crucial 3rd downs as Maryland’s defense was handing yardage to the Owls. It ended up not costing Maryland as Wingate got the stop on 4th and goal. The penalties continued in the first quarter as the count climbed to 8. Eventually the penalties slowed down but the Terps finished with 11 infractions for 100 yards. The coaching staff preaches that things will be fixed but discipline issues continue to arise. Hopefully it was early season jitters and the penalties are lowered throughout the rest of the season.

Injuries

There was not a lot to knit pick with Maryland’s efforts in their first game so the final stock down will be the injuries sustained. The biggest of which was to true-freshman OL Jaylen Gilchrist. The former top-100 recruit was not a starter but was heavily featured in the two-deep where he looked to provide flexibility and much-needed depth at tackle. Gilchrist suffered an injury in the second half and was carted off in what seemed to be a serious injury. Gilchrist was massively important for the depth on the offensive line as an already thin unit loses a major piece. With how well the true-freshman shined on the defensive side of the ball it was to watch as Gilchrist’s season may be over before it even started. A huge blow to the program as well as Gilchrist himself. On the very next play Justyn Martin got injured and could miss serious time. Martin did not win the starting quarterback job but you still have to feel for the kid as he provides a huge role to the quarterback room in terms of depth and leadership. Another massive blow for the Terrapins. There are no injury reports yet but both will most likely miss time.

A solid outing for the Terrapins despite a slow start with penalties and offensive struggles. Maryland will host Northern Illinois on Friday night.

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