After head coach Mike Locksley noted the 2024 version of the Terps will “be a little bit different team than we’ve been around here,” offensive coordinator Josh Gattis echoed that same sentiment heading into an open quarterback competition and four returning starters.
“These guys don’t want to reflect back on last year. They want to build a new identity and build a program based on the guys we have in here and we’re really, really excited about the young men,” Gattis said on Wednesday.
Billy Edwards Jr. and MJ Morris led the six-man quarterback room into the first practice of fall camp on Wednesday as head coach Mike Locksley is back in the room to “have a front seat view on what these guys know.” For Gattis, finding the quarterback who can “own, command and operate” the offense will separate the competition heading into the week one opener vs. UConn.
“Someone that’s going to be able to obviously have the trust of his teammates, have the trust of his team, but just do what we ask him to do and understand,” Gattis added. “Obviously the positives and negatives of certain schemes, be able to be a problem solver out on the field and not just obviously a guy that can just run the show.”
Heading into their third season together and second at Maryland, the experience that Gattis and Locksley have working together makes the evaluation process through fall camp easier. “My past familiarity with coach Locksley and our time that we’ve spent together, I know what he wants, I know what he expects,” Gattis said.
Felton noted “they kind of got a different skillset” about the quarterbacks as he works to establish a rapport with the room through fall camp. Felton is one of two veteran wideouts leading his unit into 2024 alongside Kaden Prather, a duo that Gattis called “still under-respected in this league and across the country.”
“I’ve developed a lot of wide receivers in my past and been really, really successful at that position. Those two guys are right up there at the top.”
While guys like Octavian Smith and Braeden Wisloski will look to cement roles for themselves in the 2024 offense, Gattis said that former four-star Shaleak Knotts is “going to be a guy that’s going to shock the world this year.”
“Punch has had a tremendous spring for us, [a] tremendous, player in our program, just really excited about him,” he added.
As Mike Locksley and the offensive staff iron out the starting quarterback battle, Maryland will also look to iron out its starting offensive line after restocking the unit through the portal. News broke on Wednesday that Isaiah Wright is likely to miss the 2024 season due to a lower leg injury, a blow to a unit that was already thin with experienced depth. Third-year lineman Andre Roye took reps with the first-team offensive line during the open portion of Wednesday’s practice as he looks to step into a starting role, while the three mid-year transfers took back over at center, guard and tackle to become key pieces for the 2024 unit.
“When you look at Josh Kaltenberger, he’s a guy that’s been played four years in the Big Ten. He understands this league. He knows what it takes to compete [in] this league. And then you got Alan Herron, who’s a guy that’s a massive human being,” Gattis added. “Strong at the point of attack. He’s the guy you want coming in first off the bus. And for him, it was just getting adjusted to this level of football but he’s a very talented young man. Aliou Bah, comes from a very respected program at the University of Georgia.”
And after signing ten high school linemen in the 2024 class, assistant Damian Wroblewski is on board to help accelerate the development process of the underclassmen as Gattis noted they’re “devoting all of our effort and time to really developing that position.”
“Coach [Brian] Braswell and coach [Damian Wroblewski], they always talk about, you got to slow clip that position. That’s a position that takes time, obviously spending, communicating, takes time gelling together,” he added.
So far this offseason, Gattis has watched the chemistry in the trenches begin to materialize.
“They’re constantly out in the communities cooking for each other. There’s some great cooks in that room. They spent a ton of time away from football and that’s what you need first and foremost. You need chemistry because that’s the one position that takes all five playing collectively as one.”
The unit will look to find its footing as a unit through fall camp as Maryland’s offense works to become more efficient in the run game compared to one season ago. While veteran Roman Hemby leads his unit into 2024, the buzz around Nolan Ray continued into fall camp as he’s become the unanimous selection as the fastest active Terp.
“Everyone’s aware of Colby [McDonald] but Nolan Ray is a young guy that really came on this spring and probably made one of the biggest jumps and biggest impacts on our team that people are really excited about,” Gattis added.
“A guy I’m excited about Nolan Ray, really young player that has shown us he has the propensity to hit the big one,” Locksley said shortly before Gattis took the podium.
Roman Hemby will look to eclipse 2,400 career all-purpose yards in week one after proving himself as a versatile back during his last two seasons, while he’s one of seven players tied with a team-high 13 consecutive starters. That experience in a room with three underclassmen positioned Hemby to be a leader in 2024.
“There’s ebbs and flows in everything. That’s something that I learned last season. Your highs aren’t as high as you think and your lows aren’t as low as you think as well. Just being a guy that can kind of center myself and get back to neutral, take the next step and that’s something that you have to learn, sometimes you have to humble yourself a little bit. I feel like last year was the year I learned a lot more about myself being a teammate than anything else.”
As for tight end Preston Howard, confidence is the difference heading into 2024.
“I really don’t think there was a point in the season where I had my full confidence. This year, going into camp, I feel extremely confident just knowing the plays, knowing what to do, and how to build,” he said after of first practice.
Gattis tabbed the tight end position the “Swiss Army knife of our system” as second-year Dylan Wade was recognized as a playmaker in the room, building off a strong spring.
“Those two young guys played a ton of ball for us last year as freshmen and so being able to get those guys experience, being able to grow their confidence, those guys are going to take big jumps as we move forward as well.”
The big question for the tight end room is whether a dependable blocking tight end emerges, but second-year AJ Szymanski is taking all the steps to fill that void in 2024.
“I think you’ve seen this offseason, AJ Szymanski take the next step, reshaping his body, looking more and more like a tight end, his commitment to that position. We’re really excited about him. So I have no doubt in my mind we’re going to get a ton of production at the tight end position and we’re one of the few teams left that still use that position.”
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