Maryland Football Stock Report: Week 2 Takeaways

rwelchie3
2 days ago
5 min read

It wasn't the prettiest victory for the Terrapins on Friday night, but Maryland football moves to 2-0 on the season in another non-conference victory in the Mike Locksley era. In front of a solid crowd under the lights at SECU Stadium, Maryland looked to improve on their last week’s efforts against Florida Atlantic, but the 60-minute performance was not as clean as they wanted. Still, Maryland was able to stave off Northern Illinois for a 20-9 victory and will look to correct the mistakes before hosting Towson next Saturday. We take a look at the stock report following week 2.

Stock Up

TE Dorian Fleming

Fleming was circled by many as the player to watch on this offense this year following his 1st-team Sun Belt Conference honors at Georgia State last year. Fleming popped at camp and all the hype was that Fleming could be a YAC machine and become a reliable target. Fleming showed flashes of this last week with a touchdown and a few receptions. This week he displayed how much of a weapon he can be in the open field. Fleming caught a shallow route from Washington in the second quarter and continued to break two open field tackles to break off a 48-yard catch and run. Later in the quarter, Fleming caught a 12-yard touchdown pass, giving Washington an out as he was scrambling to the right. Fleming finished with 4 catches for 70 yards and a score. The only concerning thing is that these numbers all came in the first half. Fleming dropped a touchdown in the 4th quarter that seemed to be intended for Octavian Smith, but was mostly invisible in the pass game during the second half. Keeping Fleming involved for 60 minutes will become a bigger emphasis during Big Ten play.

LB’s Daniel Wingate and Trey Reddick

Another week and another stellar effort from junior linebacker Daniel Wingate. Much like Fleming, Wingate had all the hype of being the stud of the defense and through two weeks, he has surpassed those expectations. Wingate finished with a career high 14 tackles, including 0.5 TFLs. Wingate is all over the place and makes play after play for the defense. The run defense started out cold, but by the second half, Wingate led the troops to stuff the Huskies time and time again to keep them to 3.8 yards per carry. Wingate’s leadership and drive are much needed for this young defensive group. Speaking of young, sophomore linebacker Trey Reddick flashed alongside Wingate as the second inside linebacker. Many expected Mike Harris to be more involved in the interior and Reddick to remain at the SAM role; however, it has been Reddick who has slotted in. Reddick thrived in this one, recording 11 tackles and 1 sack. The youngster missed a few tackles early on but the sophomore is settling into his new role alongside the alpha dog of the defense. The duo could be the anchor for the Maryland defense and through two contests have proved to be stalwarts.

The Secondary

Last week, the secondary was impressive with 5 interceptions and they followed it up this week with a solid performance. Northern Illinois was running early and often as they only attempted 22 passes. Even so the secondary was strong, only allowing 91 yards through the air and no single pass longer than 17 yards. Dontay Joyner was strapping the opposition all night, Husky had a strong outing with run fits and had a TFL, and young players such as Jayden Shipps, Brayden Lee, La’hki Roland, and Kevyn Humes filled in nicely. A huge bright spot was the role of true-freshman safety Messiah Delhomme. The former 4-star recruit finished with 6 tackles and also had an impressive pass breakup in the second half. Delhomme could prove to be a great depth piece this year and a potential stud moving towards the future. Unfortunately, starting corner Jamare Glasker went down with an injury in the second half. Although the young reserves have held their own, it is important for Glasker to remain healthy to get the full potential of this defense.

Honorable Mentions

Young Edge Rushers:

Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis impressed again with a sack each but did not get as much consistent pressure as last week.

WR Shaleak Knotts:

The senior receiver could be finally hitting his potential with a huge play on 4th down to seal the deal for Maryland.

Penalty Cleanup:

A major concern from last week was mostly cleaned up as Maryland committed 3 penalties in the contest.

Stock Down

The Running Game

In what has been a consistent problem for a few years, it is once again the run game that has been a sore spot for the Terps early on. The Terrapins rushed the ball 28 times for 86 yards or 3.1 yards per carry. A lot of blame for the past few years has gone on the offensive line and this is fair. The offensive line does not get the consistent push on the line of scrimmage to have a great or even a good run game. The running backs could also get blame with Nolan Ray and DeJuan Williams showing occasional pops but not consistently showing shiftiness or power. However, I think the major problem is the scheme. Many times the Terps run uninspired run plays to the outside with some pulling guards and the running back getting vertical. These outside runs have been consistently stuffed for little to no gain. There is no creativity in scheming run lanes for the backs as the play calls seem elementary. The combination of these three things have led to continuing struggles on the ground. The run game must turn a corner for the Terrapins to open up more plays in the air and take less pressure off of Washington.

Receiver Drops

A new problem arose this week with the receivers dropping many catchable passes. In total, the Terrapins dropped 5 balls, including passes intended for Jalil Farooq, Dorian Fleming, and Shaleak Knotts. Big drops kill momentum on a drive and were the catalyst for the offensive struggles throughout the game. Farooq had a massive drop on what could have been a large YAC opportunity. Drops can also lower the young quarterback’s confidence and have the national pundits take a look at the stats and not be impressed. This was a new flaw for the Terrapins so hopefully it can be corrected quickly.

Honorable Mentions:

3rd and 4th Down Defense:

Maryland struggled early on 3rd down with the Huskies converting multiple 3rd downs on the ground despite the yardage being long. Maryland improved as the game progressed and the Huskies finished 7 for 20 on 3rd down but 4 for 6 on 4th down. Getting off the field will be another aspect to improve.

Overall, an ugly win for Maryland. Washington was not as impressive as week 1 and was not helped by drops. The run game did not do the offense any favors either as these issues may loom large. Certain players on defense have impressed and they have kept teams off the scoreboard; however, tackling problems and getting off the field need to be improved. An interesting start for the Terrapins as they will host Towson next Saturday.

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