Three reasons for optimism for Maryland football in 2025

Ahmed Ghafir
Jun 27
3 min read

Maryland football is now 64 days away from kicking off the 2025 season as the program looks to return to a bowl game for the fourth time in five seasons. Odds for Maryland to do so is +190, per DraftKings, while ESPN projects the team to overperform the preseason win total with a .500 overall record. With just eight seniors on the roster and seven returning starters on both sides of the ball, we take a look at three reasons for optimism in 2025:

Potential for more dynamic passing game

Since 2021, Maryland has finished inside the top three in passing yards per game among Big Ten teams. Can Maryland find its way inside the top three for a fifth straight season? It’s a possibility with all eyes on the ongoing quarterback battle as QB Malik Washington looks to become the first freshman QB of the Locksley era to start a game, building on a spring where he did well picking up the system and new wrinkles under new QB/OC Pep Hamilton. While the quarterback room may have the arm strength to elevate the potential vertical passing attack in 2025, Hamilton’s design and creativity adds to the optimism for an unproven, yet explosive 2025 offense featuring skill players like RB Nolan Ray and WR Octavian Smith. TE Dorian Fleming, named a fourth team preseason All-Big Ten selection by Phil Steele, is expected to play a major role where he’s drawn comparisons to former Alabama TE Irv Smith.

Improved secondary

While the front seven had their own issues through 2024, the biggest disappointment on defense was the secondary, allowing over 240 yards through the air and a reason why Maryland finished as one of two Big Ten teams allowing over 30 points per game. That was a big point of emphasis for Maryland to open the offseason and it didn’t take long until those dominos began to all with both Jamare Glasker and Dontay Joyner joining the fold, living up to their billing as starting caliber cornerbacks for Maryland in 2025. Gavin Edwards was among the eight transfer portal additions for Maryland in the spring where he’s expected to step into the safety rotation, a unit anchored by Jalen Huskey alongside Lavain Scruggs. The buzz through the offseason has pointed to Huskey flashing as a field general along the backline, showing comfort at safety through spring ball after making the position switch from cornerback midway through conference play last fall. With ‘Kerm’ Humes leading a group of second-year cornerbacks, the expected starting 2025 secondary has shown early signs of upgrading from 2024.

Most favorable conference schedule since joining Big Ten

Maryland has the easiest 2025 schedule among any Big Ten team, per ESPN’s FPI rankings, checking in 61st overall sandwiched between Kansas and Nevada. That’s what happens when you avoid Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan in the same conference slate – three teams that have a combined one loss vs. Maryland since 2019. For a team that enters with a make-or-break 2025 season, the timing couldn’t come any better.

Maryland has a realistic chance to open 3-0 and pick up their 18th consecutive non-conference win after hosting FAU, Northern Illinois and Towson in August before shifting attention to the first of two games expected to feature a former Maryland starter when the Terps travel to Madison to face Wisconsin on Sept. 20. A mid-November road test against Illinois could prove the toughest game of the season with home games against Nebraska and Indiana daunting games, but the bulk of the October slate gives Maryland a chance to win the 50-50 games they’ve struggled to pull out in Big Ten play over the years.

Maryland is 0-5 in games following the bye week under Mike Locksley and in 2025, the team will have a chance to make a statement by breaking the trend when the Big Ten’s hottest team last season in Indiana returns to College Park with former key players, RB Roman Hemby and OLB Kellan Wyatt, now suiting up for the Hoosiers.

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