Virginia LB CJ Smith latest to finalize return to Maryland in 2026

Ahmed Ghafir
Dec 31, 2025
2 min read

Another who was expected to return has now made it official with the program announcing linebacker CJ Smith is set to return to Maryland football in 2025.

Smith, a former three-star out of Maury (VA), led all Big Ten freshmen and ranked fourth on the team with 64 tackles in 2025 while adding 0.5 sacks, 1.5 TFLs and four quarterback hits.

The program announced the news one day after two more Virginia natives in safety Messiah Delhomme and linebacker Trey Reddick finalized their decisions, giving the defense another boost after Smith elevated the Terps' linebacker rotation as the primary backup to Daniel Wingate in 2025.

“Not being scared, being fearless and playing the game the right way,” Smith said of his freshman season. “Just doing the right stuff in practice, running to the ball, trying to get the ball out and reads. All that means to play fast so we definitely have a lot of passion.”

Smith committed to Maryland as one of the first commits in the 2026 cycle after a former assistant spearheaded efforts before assistant Latrell Scott took over down the stretch. Smith, who played his junior season at St. Frances (MD) before transferring back to his home state, was one of 11 freshmen who enrolled early at Maryland that laid the foundation for him to become an impact piece in year one.

“Spring ball, it definitely showed me it’s a different type of football so I had to do a lot of adjusting, becoming a smarter football player, taking the right steps in the weight room,” Smith added.

Smith joins quarterback Malik Washington, Messiah Delhomme and Zahir Mathis as Maryland freshmen who have already announced their return in 2026.

“We all talk about what we can do for this program. We’re headed on the right track. I feel like all the freshmen are stepping into the role and doing what we’re supposed to do so we just taking pride in that,” he said. “I feel like we all came in with the mindset that we’re trying to play when the opportunity comes, we’ll be ready and I think that’s what we’ve been doing. Just coming in with the mindset that just because we’re freshmen, that means nothing.”

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