Two vets tabbed preseason All-Big Ten selections, but bearish outlook on Maryland football in 2026 remains

Ahmed Ghafir
52 minutes ago
2 min read

The good news? Maryland saw two players projected as First Team All-Big Ten selections. The bad news? Athlon Sports released its preseason outlook for the 2026 season while projecting that Maryland finishes 15th in the Big Ten.

Purdue was projected to finish last ahead of Michigan State and Rutgers with Maryland rounding out the projected top four, yet it’s deserving recognition for Wingate.

One of the Big Ten’s most productive players during the 2025 season despite injury, Wingate became the first Terps defender to eclipse 100 tackles in a season since Tre Watson’s All-American season in 2018. Wingate’s 102 tackles ranked sixth in the Big Ten and 35th nationally, while his 62 solo tackles also ranked tied for seventh nationally. A Bednarik and Butkus Award Watch List nominee ahead of the 2025 season, Wingate made clear that a return to college would materialize in College Park with little concern about his status through his junior year into the offseason despite becoming among the final players of the foundation to announce his return in 2026.

As for McFerson, the Notre Dame transfer has been everything that Maryland hoped for - and then some. The Second Team All-Big Ten selection in 2025 drew multiple weekly honors in 2025 while his 44.2 yard punting average ranked the sixth-best single-season in program history. He’s set to return for a third season where he and kicker Sean O’Haire give Maryland arguably its strongest specialist tandem in decades while Maryland native and new assistant Matt Barnes leads the unit in his second stint with the program.

It should give Maryland arguably the strongest specialist tandem in the Big Ten, yet Athlon Sports omitted special teams from their unit rankings. Instead, Maryland saw the bulk of its position groups slot in the bottom half of the Big Ten with the linebackers leading the way after being ranked seventh in the Big Ten. Maryland’s QBs ranked ninth, defensive line ranked 11th, defensive backs ranked 12th, offensive line ranked 13th, wide receivers ranked 15th and running backs ranked 17th.

Maryland was also not projected to make a bowl game while Athlon released the full anonymous Big Ten coach on their outlook of the program ahead of 2026:

“They’re hanging a lot on the quarterback [Malik Washington] and hoping that he repeats what he did as a freshman. I thought he was really impressive. I didn’t think coming out of high school that he would be ready to do that. I know they lost eight straight, but he was not really the reason that they were losing. [Washington] is elite. He’s a really good athlete and we hit him a couple times and it just didn’t bother him … I think it’ll be interesting how that whole thing stays together if they can be really productive on offense. I get the sense that they would like [head coach] Mike Locksley to work out. They’re not trying to get rid of him, but it may just get to a point where they’ve gotta do what they’ve gotta do.”

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