After taking in Baltimore for an open practice earlier this month, Maryland football made the trip to the alma mater of head coach Mike Locksley with the team taking in Ballou High School (DC) for the second and final scrimmage before next weekend’s spring game. Notes from Saturday, a new staff addition and a four-star in attendance:
Second scrimmage for second open practice of spring ball
Maryland wrapped up its second scrimmage of spring ball, one week ahead of what’s expected to be a competitive spring game with all three QBs getting a chance to showcase themselves once more. On Saturday, Billy Edwards was working with an OL that featured (L-R) Marcus Dumervil, Kyle Long, Josh Kaltenberger, Aliou Bah and Alan Herron, while MJ Morris worked with Billy Molloy, Isaac Bunyun, Tamarus Walker, Deandre Duffus and Andre Roye.
I’ll continue to stress that it’s not yet time to put stock into first, second, third team QBs with so much left to decide in the room. As far as status, only MJ Morris and Cam Edge sported the yellow jersey with Edwards, Champ Long and Jayden Sauray allowed to be tackled during the scrimmage. Billy Edwards had a few nice plays on designed runs, but one of his first throws came on a misread that was an easy interception for Rex Fleming, who turned it into a beautiful pick-six. MJ Morris had a handful of good intermediate throws, including a pair along the sideline to second-year WR Zeke Avit, as he worked to find a bit of rhythm through drills. Cam Edge, meanwhile, was able to flash his deep ball yet again as he and the WR room work on timing through the last week of spring ball into the summer. Overall, the QB play left a lot to be desired on Saturday, but Saturday’s scrimmage is still just part of what’s expected to be a long QB battle in College Park. Practice ended with Jayden Sauray tucking and running for a roughly 20 yard TD.
Elsewhere, Shaleak Knotts continued his strong spring into Saturday where he came down with two big catches down the sideline, though one was called back for an offensive penalty. Dylan Wade once again made plays over the middle, Preston Howard showcased himself as an all-around TE on a few plays, but WR Ryan Manning capitalized on his targets and came down with a beautiful one-handed catch from Jayden Sauray. A decent day on the ground as Colby McDonald and Nolan Ray put together a few tough runs to find space on the outside.
But it was clear that the defense won the day on Saturday with Perry Fisher and Jalen Huskey the first two cornerbacks on the field, along with Kevis Thomas and Lionell Whitaker taking reps out of the slot. Caleb Wheatland found himself around the ball while the defensive line held its own to largely control the LOS. Jonathan “Uzi” Akins also did well breaking up a deep pass to WR Kaden Prather as he makes strides in his second season with the program. LB Daniel Wingate came down with the first sack of the day, while LB Fa’Najae Gotay found himself in the backfield on multiple plays.
OLB Neeo Avery, WR Tai Felton, WR Josh Richards, CB Lloyd Irvin, OT Conor Fagan and IOL Logan Bennett were among the inactives on Saturday with Dumervil sliding in as Fagan’s replacement, while Ruben Hyppolite and Kellan Wyatt both suffered stingers before retaking the field. Lavon Johnson went down in the final ten minutes of practice and had an air brace on his left leg before being helped off the field with his status uncertain moving forward.
New staff addition
There was another coach along the sidelines during Maryland’s second scrimmage: Brian Ferentz. A source told IBG that the former Hawkeye offensive coordinator joined the program this past week and arrives in College Park as a senior offensive analyst, where he becomes the latest addition to help retool the offense with Josh Gattis as offensive coordinator and Mike Locksley still working with the quarterback room. Iowa announced that Brian Ferentz, the son of longtime head coach Kirk Ferentz, would not return to the program for the 2024 season following the Hawkeyes’ offensive woes during the 2023 season.
Four-star visits Maryland in DC
He’s been a frequent visitor in College Park through 2024, especially this spring, but four-star defensive tackle Bryce Jenkins was back in College Park on Saturday with his dad among those with him in attendance. Maryland couldn’t officially communicate with Jenkins on Saturday due to NCAA rules with practice being off-campus, but Jenkins returns to check out the Terps one week after visiting Tennessee for their spring game.
We noted in our last update that Colorado and Oregon are two new schools making a push for Jenkins. Jenkins added that South Carolina has also been in heavy pursuit, while Colorado is now working to convince the four-star to visit Boulder to visit for next Saturday’s spring game. For now, Maryland and Tennessee jockey for pole position in his recruitment and although Jenkins isn’t ready to name a leader, he did note one difference that stuck out between the Terps and Vols.
“Maryland, they play more fast-paced than Tennessee.”
The four-star out of DC aims to make his commitment this summer.
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