Zion Elee explains what he learned through spring with Maryland football

Ahmed Ghafir
4 minutes ago
2 min read

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ04-gTsYjY

The first spring ball is officially in the books for Zion Elee, the former five-star edge rusher out of St. Frances Academy, as Saturday’s Spring Showcase marked the first chance for fans to see him sport his red Maryland uniform in SECU Stadium.

“It was definitely an experience to see all the fans out, first time in a stadium, got to feel the home atmosphere,” Elee told reporters after the short open practice.

At St. Frances, Elee’s athleticism allowed him to step into multiple different positions through his senior season, whether it be punt or kick return, or even at running back as the five-star would sometimes flip the field with a big score, proving to be simply bigger and faster than the rest.

Yet in his first round of spring ball, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound edge rusher got a chance to get an up-close look at how to adjust to the speed of the college game as rising sophomores Zahir Mathis and Sidney Stewart taking Elee under their wing. The explosiveness that Elee showcased while at Joppatowne then St. Frances translated to College Park where the speed rusher adds another dimension to what may be Maryland’s deepest defensive line of the 2000s, yet Elee pointed to his improvement in run support through the 15 practices.

“My biggest positive is that coming to Maryland helped me transition in the run game and perfect my pass rush and work on the little techniques I had. And that's what happened all spring,” Elee said. “That's what me and Coach Ted [Monachino] was harping on offspring, my technique and my run game, and that's what we did.”

Picking up defensive coordinator Ted Monachino’s scheme was another that Elee gradually grew comfortable in where he steps into the outside linebacker rotation alongside Mathis, Stewart, DD Holmes and Nahsir Taylor in 2026.

“It's been a lot just to digs down and learn all the plays one by one. It's different mechanics and everything we doing so just getting into that stuff, it took a little while to do, but by the end of spring, I got it all down.”

While head coach Mike Locksley also pointed to DD Holmes as one who had a “great spring” as the one who “probably made the biggest jump of the group,” Elee joins a unit that gives the front seven ample versatility with a chance to become one of the Big Ten’s best at generating consistent pressure.

“Ted [Monachino] has a pretty good room and it's a room that iron sharpens iron,” Locksley said of the room. “A lot of great talent, a lot of great length and now they're sophomores with except for one, and they've really embraced the rookie coming in and showing him the way. So that room's a big room for us, a room that we got to have a lot of production out of and I expect to do that.”

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