Three storylines to watch for Maryland football in Friday night kickoff vs. Northern Illinois

Ahmed Ghafir
Sep 3
3 min read

Maryland is set for its lone Friday night kickoff of the season when they welcome Northern Illinois to campus for a 7:30 PM start on BTN. While Maryland will look to move to 3-0 all-time at home against the Huskies, they’ll also look to do extend the nation’s longest non-conference win streak to 17 games heading into its third and final tune-up game ahead of Big Ten play. We take a look at three storylines to watch as Maryland looks to stay perfect:

New Year, New Team

The same could be said for Maryland, who entered the 2025 season among the youngest Power Four teams in the country, but Northern Illinois is replacing a lot from their record-setting eight-win season in 2024. The Huskies return just five players, including their kickoff specialist, who played at least six games in 2024 and enter the season returning the lowest production among any FBS team (23%). Nebraska transfer TE Jake Appleget is among the returners as he logged one catch for ten yards in the win vs. Holy Cross, while Lenoir-Rhyne transfer WR DeAndre Rogers spearheaded the production in the passing game. Rogers is one of several new additions after Hammock added 15 new transfers, including former Texas Tech CB Miles Thompson, as they’ll look for the new pieces to shine again in week two. The defense is tasked with replacing 78% of last season’s production and their top eight tacklers from a season ago as they allowed nearly four yards per play against Holy Cross.

Northern Illinois drew eyeballs this offseason as a potential team to watch during Maryland’s non-conference run after the Huskies took centerstage nationally following a 16-14 win in South Bend last season, but that’s a complete different team than the one Maryland will see in SECU Stadium on Friday night.

Test for Maryland’s OL

Maryland’s offensive line was arguably as big a storyline as the quarterback competition all offseason as the unit returns a pair of starters from a starting five that allowed 23 of their 26 sacks during conference play in 2024. Assistants Damian Wroblewski and Hal Hunter have spearheaded the turnaround as the offensive line didn’t allow a sack in the season opener, just the fourth game since 2020 that Maryland has done so, but the front five will face a rising star in the trenches this weekend.

Though the defense returns just two starters, one of the two will be one of the biggest tests that Maryland faces on Friday night when senior defensive end Roy Williams takes the field. The preseason All-MAC selection is coming off a 2024 season where he finished 38 total tackles and 6.5 TFLs while he finished tenth in the MAC with 6.5 sacks in 13 games. Williams won't be alone as Dasean Dixon - an Archbishop Carroll (DC) product and Albany transfer - Mark Hensley and DE Jalonnie Williams - a preseason second-team all-conference selection by Phil Steele - round out the expected starting defensive line. But for a Maryland offensive line working to build chemistry ahead of its Big Ten opener in nearly two weeks, Friday night serves as an upgraded test for a unit whose depth took a hit following injuries to both OT Jaylen Gilchrist and OL Mike McMonigle.

Stopping the run

Maryland’s secondary stole the headlines last week after recording six interceptions, good enough to not just lead the nation but also secure the most interceptions by a Maryland defense in 27 years. This week, it’ll be about the front seven.

Northern Illinois has attempted 40 or more rushes in all but one of its last 17 games, and Friday night is expected to be more of the same. While quarterback Josh Holst poses a threat on the ground, redshirt senior Chavon Wright joins the program after becoming just the second DII player in MEC history to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards in a season while at the University of Charleston, finishing second in the voting for the Harlon Hill Trophy, after posting over 2,200 yards and 38 touchdowns in 2024. He enters the matchup leading all active players in career rushing yards (5,003) and touchdowns (76) after notching 77 yards in the week one win, but he isn't alone as Telly Johnson drew nearly half the team's carries for 67 yards in the opener.

One week after allowing just 77 yards on the ground, Maryland’s new-look front seven will look to control the line of scrimmage as transfer additions Cam Rice and Eyan Thomas look to team up with third-year lineman Dillan Fontus to spearhead the revamped defensive line under assistant Corey Liuget with a chance to stifle the Huskies’ offense.

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