Maryland safety Jalen Huskey continues drawing buzz as 2026 NFL Draft prospect

Ahmed Ghafir
Oct 15, 2025
2 min read

At least one Maryland football defensive back has been selected in each of the last four and five out of the last six NFL drafts, and the program will have a chance to extend that streak in 2026 with a veteran defensive back ranked among the best prospects at his position.

ESPN’s analyst Mel Kiper Jr. ranked senior safety Jalen Huskey as the seventh-best draft-eligible safety in 2026. Huskey was one of five Big Ten safeties included on the list headlined by Ohio State star Caleb Downs with Zakee Wheatley, current Penn State safety and Spalding (MD) product, ranked one spot ahead of Huskey. Dane Brugler of The Athletic previously ranked Jalen Huskey the 12th best draft-eligible safety prospect heading into the 2025 season.

Huskey was one of two veterans drawing buzz all offseason on the defensive side of the ball with linebacker Daniel Wingate, who for now is expected to return to the program in 2026, leading the way as two of three returning starters under defensive coordinator Ted Monachino. Huskey, though, has entrenched himself as a leader in an upgraded secondary after recording interceptions in consecutive games vs. Washington and Wisconsin for his fifth interception as a Terp.

Huskey, who was named to the preseason Senior Bowl Top300 and Shrine Bowl 1000 lists, also leads the defense with 16 consecutive starts heading into week eight.

“He's a guy that has corner skill set while playing in deep part of the field, which allows us a lot more versatility because he can play man coverage,” Locksley said during the spring. “He can cover slots, he can cover tight ends, and that adds value to our defense when you have a safety that has that ability to match up the way Jalen allows us to.”

Huskey, a Quince Orchard grad, transferred from Bowling Green to Maryland following the 2023 season before moving from cornerback to safety midway through his first season with the program.

“A year ago early on, he was tested, and I just saw the kid keep battling,” head coach Mike Locksley said about Huskey during the offseason. “Very similar track to what I saw the young guys like Deonte Banks and Tarheeb Still, how they started out rough early in their careers, but as they earned those calluses and they got those scars, you started to see the ability. We saw that out of Jalen Huskey this spring.”

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