Maryland Football Scoop: The Real Deal on Malik Washington | Recruiting Upgrade | Portal Talk
What's the vibe inside the team as Maryland football arrives on the West Coast to play No. 1 Oregon? What's the deal on those Malik Washington rumors? Where do things stand with recruiting and which change is expected to help? Here's the scoop:
What's the vibe inside the team as
Maryland football arrives on the West Coast to play No. 1
Oregon? What's the deal on those
Malik Washington rumors? Where do things stand with recruiting and which change is expected to help? Here's the scoop:
Despite a deflating past month, I'm told the team has stayed positive and together. That' a change from when
Mike Locksley first took over, when there weren't as many high character kids in the program.
"The team is in a good place. No quit, no factions," a source said.
Of course, that's not a big silver lining to fans when the team is struggling. Poor offensive line play, a slow pash rush and a porous secondary have been daggers for Maryland, which is a 25.5-point underdog at No. 1 Oregon. Barring an enormous upset tomorrow, they'll need to win two of the remaining three games. Barring a similarly big upset at
Penn State, that likely means
Iowa and Rutgers.
The best news right now is that Maryland's highly regarded 2025 recruiting class has remained intact and it's likely to stay that way. Don't believe any rumors about Malik Washington and
Michigan or any other school. He's fully locked in with Locksley and isn't entertaining any suitors. I understand that past disappointments can make fans pessimistic, but Washington's commitment is rock-solid.
The same seems to go for others like
Jaylen Gilchrist and
Iverson Howard. I only say "seems" because this is college football in the portal and NIL era; they've bought into Locksley's vision and plan to be Terps. Maryland's NIL funding remains a limitation, but I'm told that's expected to improve this offseason.
Looking ahead, I'd expect Edwards to remain the starter next year and work with
Washington in a one-year apprenticeship scenario, though the competition will be open as always.
There's always a chance you could lose a guy for NIL or other reasons because that's how it works in college football, especially when you don't have exorbitant cash for NIL. That limited Maryland's ability to bring in big-time offensive linemen, the most highly valued position in the portal, last offseason. The staff believes the big group of players at that position will turn the unit around, with tackle
Terez Davis and center
Michael Hershey two of the top building blocks.
Also on the offensive line,
Damian Wroblewski has taken over after Locksley parted with
Brian Braswell a month ago. In addition to being a highly respected coach and developer, he's also seen as a major recruiting upgrade at the offensive line spot, which is a key recruiting position. He recruited many of those
James Madison players who are starring for
Indiana this season. Braswell did a solid job of developing. Expect to hear his name a lot when recruiting heats up again.
Looking forward a month or so, I expect receiver to be the top priority, alongside cornerback and offensive line. That could mean flipping a receiver, adding a couple from the portal or both. Maryland is losing two of its best players in
Tai Felton and
Kaden Prather and there's a lack of proven options behind them, though Octavian Smith has been emerging and there's still confidence
Shaleak Knotts will become a playmaker. He has as many natural gifts as any of their receivers but has needed some extra time to get comfortable in the system. But clearly, major reinforcements are need.
