New season, new roles: Running back Nolan Ray set for RB1 with a focus on improvement

jmcconn3
Aug 30
2 min read

When it comes to the modern era of college football, teams are constantly changing every year. For Maryland, there will be both a sense of familiarity and fresh faces coming into the season, however, in the running back room, a recognizable player will try to make his mark known in the backfield.

Nolan Ray, the redshirt sophomore running back, will take over this season as the RB1, replacing Roman Hemby from last season. Ray posted 75 carries for 374 yards and 2 touchdowns in his 2024 freshman season.

Ray will be alongside a variety of new faces with hopes to grow with his new role, especially under the new offensive coordinator, Pep Hamilton.

"We've got a very new team so I'm excited to play with a lot of these guys for the first time and start the season on a good note," Ray said.

With the changes Hamilton plans to bring going into the season, Ray has the opportunity to make a mark on the offense with more focus and importance on the ground production.

"Definitely exciting to see an emphasis on the run game," Ray said. "It's really important for the whole offense to get the run game going to open up the pass game, just allows us to be successful."

Hamilton will not be the only one in a new role helping Ray and the offense. Louis Swaba, who just got promoted to being the new running backs coach this past February, will look to improve Ray's game in more ways than one.

"He's helped us a lot coming from the offensive line room to help with pass protection and things like that, making things more clear for us," Ray said.

While there is no denying that last season had an array of struggles all around from the Terps, especially with the run game where the Terps ranked 16th out of 18th in the Big Ten, Ray still anticipates a positive perspective to look forward to despite the past struggles.

"Physically I feel great. Mentally, I feel more prepared and I'm just more excited to show what I can do a little bit more this year," Ray said. "I'm just excited, honestly."

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