Maryland's new WRs looking to "be the difference" in 2026

Ahmed Ghafir
3 hours ago
4 min read

After going through an offseason of uncertainty about how the new additions, whether it be the transfer portal or freshman class, would fare, there are less unknowns surrounding Maryland football heading into 2026.

It’s why Maryland enters 2026 returning the second-most production among FBS teams with key players like Malik Washington, Zahir Mathis, Sidney Stewart, Messiah Delhomme, CJ Smith and Nahsir Taylor among the several impact freshmen to return for a second season. Yet one unknown is the top of the wide receiver room after all three 2025 starters signed contracts as undrafted free agents to begin their NFL careers over the weekend.

Kaleb Webb, a Tennessee transfer who arrived ahead of the 2025 season, is part of the solution in year two with the program where he’s likely to remain a constant in the starting rotation. Yet Maryland will also lean on a pair of new faces at the position after adding Chris Durr from Wyoming and Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding from the transfer portal.

Durr, a 5-foot-11, 173-pound wideout originally from Chicago, proved to be a big portal win for Maryland after former assistant Marcus Thomas convinced the speedster to follow through on his visit one day after visiting Virginia. That was the difference in Maryland getting a chance at the portal target with a chance for the shifty slot receiver to become a dynamic weapon as he’s shown in spring ball, highlighted by the one-handed catches highlighted on social media.

After posting 76 catches for 817 yards and five touchdowns in his two seasons at Wyoming, Durr, who head coach Mike Locksley noted “always has a smile on his face,” worked on his speed and explosion after finalizing his transfer to Maryland and enrolling in January.

“We had a few bumps in the road at the beginning [of spring ball] because I was a new guy and that’s just normal. That’s what’s supposed to happen,” Durr said following the spring game. “But as the time got by, we got to our first scrimmage, it was good. It was like ‘alright, we’re clicking.’”

Locksley described Gladding as, “one of those more serious guys but he brings a tremendous amount of intensity to his work.” That intensity has been consistent after he arrived on campus after being part of a dynamic Old Dominion wide receiver room where the New York native tallied 667 yards and six touchdowns on 51 catches in 2025. The 6-foot receiver arrives with an opportunity to likely start opposite of Webb, yet with a chance for the top of the room to prove itself beginning Sept. 5 vs. Hampton, Gladding wants to be part of “the difference this year.”

“We want to be the difference this year and be able to take over and do what we're brought here to do,” he added.

New offensive coordinator Clint Trickett has put his wrinkle on Maryland’s 2026 offense in an “air raid offense,” as Gladding described it.

“We like to throw the ball. We're going to prioritize throwing the ball, but we will run the ball when we have to,” Gladding added.

“He’s always gonna tell you what you did bad first before you did good because [it’s] easier to hear the good than the bad,” Durr said of Trickett. “So I'm glad he's here to always be on my tail telling me, like, come on, you could have [done] this better, no BS. I'm just glad to be in his offense.”

While the on-field results progressed through the 15 practices, Durr also admitted he didn’t have to wait to get comfortable with his new teammates thanks to quarterback Malik Washington, who Durr described as “a great leader, outstanding person, just a great person.”

“When I first got here, nobody knew me. He introduced me, he took me places, and showed me the way around and just like, ‘let's get your feet wet’, stuff like that. So I'm just glad we got a chance to get our early chemistry going on in the spring, early winter.”

Gladding also pointed to Washington’s leadership traits, but when it comes to his on-field talent, the Terps’ newest receiver said he’s “as advertised.”

“Exactly what you see in him, you’re going to get from him. You’re going to go out there, he’s going to be a leader, he’s going to throw the ball as well as you need him to. And he’ll surprise you, too.”

The attention now turns to building on the growing chemistry into fall camp in nearly three months ahead of a pivotal 2026 season, yet head coach Mike Locksley noted the pair of portal additions “validated” the staff’s offseason evaluation.

“They both got through spring ball, really high football intelligence. They picked the system up, obviously going back to the different system that we've had here for a lot of years. To see them be able to pick it up as quickly as they have and then find ways to be productive within it was good to see. Both guys are mature guys. But probably the biggest thing that jumps out about both [of] them is they love the game. They love to play football,” Locksley said.

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