Quarterback
QB Taulia Tagovailoa: 72
Taulia finished 27-for-39 for 266 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while adding a 21-yard receptions off a pass from WR Jeshaun Jones. In the end, it was Tagovailoa who finished as the offense’s highest-graded player (81.1). While Taulia completed 17 of his last 21 passes and was 11-for-17 for 141 yards while blitzed on 17 snaps, Taulia also finished 1-for 7 on passes 20 yards or further as the passing attack generated only six big plays in the loss.
Running Back
RB Roman Hemby: 40
RB Antwain Littleton: 28
RB Colby McDonald: 5
The lack of success on the ground was glaring in Saturday’s loss as Hemby accounted for both of Maryland’s runs over 15 yards in the loss, averaging 4.4 yards per carry as a team. Hemby drew a pedestrian 69.6 rushing grade, while finishing with the third-highest grade on the team in run blocking (79.2) and on pass plays (71). Littleton finished with a 60.6 rushing grade after posting 25 yards on six carries, along with seven yards on two catches.
Antwain Littleton also allowed a team-high two pressures, drawing a 12.1 grade in pass protection.
Wide Receiver & Tight End
WR Kaden Prather: 61
TE Preston Howard: 51
WR Jeshaun Jones: 49
WR Tai Felton: 42
WR Octavian Smith Jr.: 31
WR Tyrese Chambers: 23
TE Rico Walker: 20
TE Dylan Wade: 8
TE AJ Szymanski: 1
WR Ezekiel Avit: 1
Tagovailoa’s lone reception was enough to somehow draw the highest receiving grade (89.7) among any player while Jeshaun Jones led the way for the WRs and TEs in receiving (63.5) and overall offense (67.7) despite accounting for the lone drop. Jones also led all receivers in yards after the catch (42), second on the team behind Hemby (76). While Kaden Prather accounted for a pair of fumbles, four of his six catches moved the chains for Maryland as the team finished with 16 first downs. Tyrese Chambers, meanwhile, played all 23 snaps in the slot.
Tai Felton and Octavian Smith also registered two missed tackles forced each. Preston Howard finished with a 71.8 grade to Rico Walker’s 65.3 grade in pass blocking with Corey Dyches sidelined.
Offensive Line
RG Gottlieb Ayedze: 72
C Aric Harris: 72
LT DJ Glaze: 72
RT Conor Fagan: 72
LG Amelio Moran: 59
LG Kyle Long: 13
The starting unit was switched around with LG Corey Bullock inactive vs. Illinois. That vaulted Amelio Moran back into the starting lineup with Conor Fagan back with the ones, shifting Ayedze from right tackle to right guard.
Amelio Moran (88.4) and DJ Glaze (84.8) were the two starters to grade above 80 in pass blocking, with Kyle Long briefly rotating in and finishing with a grade of 80 exactly and all five of the starters grading above 70. Run protection was a different story, however, as Aric Harris joined Moran as the lone linemen to grade above 70,with Conor Fagan drawing the lowest grade against the run (61.1) and pass (73.4) among the linemen. Moran was the lone starting lineman to not allow a hurry on the day, while both Glaze and Fagan allowed two QB pressures each with Fagan allowing one sack.
Defensive Line
Jordan Phillips: 46
Quashon Fuller: 41
Tommy Akingbesote: 38
Taizse Johnson: 24
Tre Colbert: 21
Isaac Bunyun: 17
Christian Teague: 15
Tre Colbert led the way with four tackles with Taizse Johnson the lone lineman to register a sack while Phillips (79) and Akingbesote (74) were the lone linemen to grade above 70 in overall defense. Three hurries from Phillips was a big reason why he graded so high, also finishing with a team-high 83.2 grade in pass rush.
Linebackers
Jaishawn Barham: 54
Kellan Wyatt: 49
Donnell Brown: 45
Fa’Najae Gotay: 35
Ruben Hyppolite: 30
Caleb Wheatland: 16
Gereme Spraggins: 12
Sean Greeley: 4
Fa’Najae Gotay’s monster game helped him finish with a stellar 85.9 overall defensive grade and 91.5 grade against the run, both team-highs. With 1.5 sacks and 2.5 TFLs both team-highs, Gotay accounted for nearly 25% of Maryland’s stops.
Maryland had a challenge going against a physical running back in Kaden Feagin, and it showed with the LBs accounting for six of the eight missed tackles on the day. Donnell Brown (79.4) was the lone linebacker to grade above 75 in tackling in the loss.
Defensive Backs
Glen Miller: 70
Beau Brade: 70
Corey Coley Jr.: 67
Ja’Quan Sheppard: 62
Gavin Gibson: 43
Lionell Whitaker: 11
Miller (78.4) drew the highest grade among any defensive player in coverage with Ja’Quan Sheppard drawing a 70.2 grade. Beau Brade also finished with a 64 grade in 36 snaps in coverage. Though he didn’t face a target, Whitaker drew a 63.7 grade with Corey Coley finishing with a unit-low 62.9 grade.
CBs in coverage:
CB Ja’Quan Sheppard: 3 catches, 56 yards, 7 targets
CB Gavin Gibson: 4 catches, 42 yards, 4 targets
CB Corey Coley: 2 catches, 46 yards, 4 targets
SAF Beau Brade: 1 catch, 4 yards, 2 targets
SAF Glen Miller: 0 catches, 1 target
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