2023 Maryland 2023 Preview and Outlook

[RobSun08]

This Past Season

This past season was very underwhelming for the Maryland football program, going 5-7 overall and 3-6 in conference finishing at the bottom of their division. The season started with a 23-13 win over Eastern Michigan where QB duo Lewis and Brantley guided the offense through the game. In week two Maryland got a big win in Gainesville, defeating Florida 28-23. Week three is where it all started to fall apart though, as Maryland lost to Mississippi State 14-7, scoring two safeties and a field goal to get the 7 points. Coming off of their week 4 bye, Maryland collapsed against Michigan and lost 23-14 after having a 11 point lead. In week six Maryland was torched by Michigan State's Wayne Murray who threw for 355 yards and 4 touchdowns, where Michigan State won 29-9. In week 7 Maryland looked alive as they defeated Purdue 28-10, while rushing for 300+ yards and showing life on offense. In week 8 Maryland lost a close 24-17 battle with Indiana, where Indiana's Gossett shined all game. In week 9 Maryland continued their bowl hopes with a 17-10 win over Northwestern, where Isaiah Lewis racked up another 100+ yard rushing game. Exiting their final bye week, Maryland's comeback fell just short against Wisconsin, who won 17-14 after being up 17-0. In week 12 Penn State demolished Maryland in a 31-3 victory, where UMD struggled to move the ball at all. Heading into week 13, Maryland needed a win to keep their bowl game hopes alive, but Ohio State ended those hopes in a 21-14 win where Maryland was shut out in the second half. In week 14, Maryland got it's one and only shutout of the year, where they defeated Rutgers 31-0, leaving coach RobSun wondering where that performance was hiding all year. Overall, the program took a step back from the 2021 season where they went 6-7. Though it was a rough season full of ups and downs, coach RobSun is adamant that it wont happen again.

 

2023 Roster Outlook

 

Quarterback: The A overall RS Junior Isaiah Lewis will be Maryland's starting quarterback, with Travis Hader and Frankie Bernier (both C+) backing him up. The QB room this year looks solid, Maryland just needs Lewis to stay healthy, as he will be key to the offenses success.

 

Running Back: Maryland currently has three B overall running backs who will all split time in the spring games to determine who will get priority. James Beresford is the power back, Dirk Jones is the speed back, and LaRoy Newton is the receiving back of the group.

 

Fullbacks: Maryland has two fullbacks, Jordan King (C+) and Thomas Taleb (D), both specialize in blocking and will be worked into the offensive scheme during the spring.

 

Tight Ends: Maryland's tight end room is solid, with B+ blocking TE Sergio LeBlanc starting for the Terps, with B- vertical threat TE Dominique Bantz as a good guy to have in the rotation. They are backed up by Wilson Hirao, a D overall freshman with B- potential. Maryland can use these tight ends to try and bolster the run game, and also try and create mismatches to make opportunities through the air.

 

Wide Receivers: The Terps' wide receiver room is very mediocre, with B+ Harold Burke as their best receiver. Following Burke you have B overall Stefen Foster, C+ Destin Hundley, C+ Tuffy Avery, C Captain Cox, C overall freshman Charles Cavanaugh, and starting TE Sergio LeBlanc at the end of the list. Because of what this receiving room lacks, Maryland will have to rely on the run game Isaiah Lewis presents to create sparks in the offense.

 

Offensive Line: Maryland's offensive line is pretty solid, with offensive tackles Tomas Fowler (B) and Edwin Kirk (B+), guards Andrew Toles (A) and Trey Washington (B), and center Eric Williams (B) in the trenches. This solid O-line will help Maryland's rushing attack and aid Lewis in being the duel threat QB Maryland aims to produce. The issue Maryland will face is how thin they are here, if one of these guys gets injured, then they will be down to guys with drastically less skill and experience.

 

Defensive Line: Maryland's defensive line is pretty good, with ends Daniel Clark (B+) and Logan Gravelle (B+) and defensive tackles Lenard Snead (A-) and Nick Jones (B). These guys can pose a threat to opposing teams QB's, but the Terps face another reoccurring issue in the defensive line, being that they have such little depth. If anyone here gets injured then they will have a massive hole to fill with guys with little experience and skill, similar to the O-line.

 

Linebackers: Maryland's starting linebackers are pretty solid, with B+ Braden Hunt and B Dario Redick at the OLB position, and B+ Juan Lyles and B- Sammy Wallace at the MLB position. But once again, depth plagues the Terps, as they have none here.

 

Cornerbacks: The Terps cornerbacks are solid, with B+ Strom Lauetta and B+ Miguel Gaines leading the way, followed by B overall Brad Hopkins, B Micah Southward, and C overall freshman Vernon Meade to round out the bunch. One notable aspect of the CB room is that all of them are either ballhawks or specialize in man coverage, so the Terps are likely to experiment a lot with man coverage.

 

Safeties: Maryland has a good group of safeties with B+ free safeties John Grimm and Mike Knox who both specialize in zone coverage, and strong safeties Vernon Mack (A-) who also specializes in zone coverage, and Albert Christiani (B-) who is more of a run stopper. The safety position is probably Maryland's strongest, with good starters and depth.

 

Special Teams: Punter Dorian Mariot ©, and kicker Anthony McCray (C+) aren't the best, but they will be enough to get by for the Terps. Corner Storm Lauletta will be returning punts for Maryland, with wide receiver Harold Burke returning kickoffs.

 

Overall Summary: Not bad, but definitely not great. Maryland lacks in depth, and they lack it in basically every position. They will rely on starters not getting hurt to be their key to success in 2023. QB Isaiah Lewis is Maryland's key to winning games, his big playmaking ability will be huge for the Maryland offense.

 

2023 Schedule

Week 1	at Tennessee
Week 2	Boise State
Week 3	South Alabama
Week 4	at Michigan State
Week 5	Indiana
Week 6	at Ohio State
Week 7	Illinois
Week 8	Bye
Week 9	at Northwestern
Week 10	Penn State
Week 11	at Nebraska
Week 12	Michigan
Week 13	Bye
Week 14	at Rutgers

Expectations

Maryland will need to show improvement in 2023. They expect to make and win a bowl game, but to do so they need to show more consistency. In 2022 they were all over the place, they had big wins, and demoralizing blowouts. If Maryland can find their balance, they can be a competitive program. For now they sit around the 6 win mark, with the goal of making and winning a bowl game, and not finishing last in the Big Ten East.