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Previously: Maryland Offense Yesterday we looked at Maryland's offense, today we turn to the defensive side of the ball. The Terrapin defense has had an odd season, strong efforts against teams like Ohio State and Indiana but then getting ripped apart by the likes of Illinois and Northwestern. How to evaluate this confusing unit? That's our task today: The Film: Just as we did with the offense, we are selection Maryland vs. Ohio State. It's the best offense Maryland has faced and being one of their best outings, it is again upholding the rule of scouting an opponent at their best. Personnel: Click for big. Maryland rolls with a pair of defensive tackles and then a pair of lighter EDGEs in the 260-265 range as their base front. They typically put out two ILBs against passing formations but they can put out a 260 lb. SLB against two TE sets, which can mimic a five-man front, so expect that to feature against Michigan. Their starting tackles are Jordan Phillips and Tommy Akingbesote, both in that 310 lb. range, and those two players have held up better than I expected this season, with a particularly strong game against Ohio State. Their backups, Tre Colbert, Taisze Johnson, and Isaac Bunyun, are definitely a step down, with Johnson getting the cyan and I didn't think Colbert was great either. The EDGE situation is a bit different from last season, when there was a clear distinction between a 290 lb. DE and a 260 lb. JACK. This season they're both JACK-shaped, Quashon Fuller being the "DE" in that he never lines up away from the line or drop into coverage, but he's not any different in size from the WDE/JACK types. There also isn't much distinction between the WDE and the SLB, as those two spots were pretty interchangeable when both were on the field against Ohio State. The names filling those spots are Kellan Wyatt, Riyad Wilmot, and Donnell Brown. Brown is a favorite of PFF's, though he didn't stand out much in the Ohio State tape. At the linebacker position, two familiar faces return for Maryland in MLB Jaishawn Barham and WLB Ruben Hyppolite II. Barham was a very green starter last season, paddling away as a true freshman at the toughest position on the defense and he handled the job with surprising success. This season he has remained a strong blitzer and run defender but has struggled in coverage, averaging out to a decent but not star-level bottom line. Hyppolite next to him has long been part of a rotation of characters trying to fill a perpetually weak hole in the defense, splitting snaps with another old name, Fa'Najae Gotay and sophomore Caleb Wheatland. Maryland graduated a couple excellent corners to the NFL last season, replacing them with Cincinnati transfer Ja'Quan Sheppard and nickel/HSP Glendon Miller, in addition to rolling over starting corner Tarheeb Still. The results from the pass defense have been pretty Jekyll and Hyde depending on the week, but Still has generally been Maryland's best corner. Corey Coley Jr., the fourth corner option, has been the weakest. At safety the Terps have an upperclassmen tandem of Beau Brade and Dante Trader Jr., with Brade being the player I singled out for having the best day against Ohio State and getting the star, though it's not an overwhelming star. There aren't a ton of impact players on this defense, with Brade being picked for his efforts more in the charted game than the full season. [AFTER THE JUMP: defense!]
Ohio State's next opponent features a veteran quarterback and a defense ready to wreak havoc cleveland.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cleveland.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Reserve quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. threw for 166 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 66, and running back Roman Hemby had a career day, rushing for 172 yards and three touchdowns, helping Maryland outlast Northwestern, 31-24 on homecoming Saturday to reach bowl eligibility.
Behind big games from running back Antwain Littleton II and quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, the Terps (4-1, 1-1) defeated Michigan State (2-3, 0-2) for the first
Previously: Quarterback, Running Backs, Receivers, Offensive Line, Defensive Line We have just two pieces to go in 2022's edition of The Enemy series. This piece covers linebackers, which this year we will use to only refer to true LBs. We included EDGE OLBs in our last piece on the defensive line, so they are out of the picture for this, and I am classifying nickel-shaped spacebackers as DBs. As a result, only a few teams here will have more than two starting LBs, but I may mention who the SAM is for teams that shift between a true 4-3 and 4-2-5. 12. Hawaii LB LB Penei Pavihi Isaiah Tufaga Logan Taylor Noah Kema The Rainbow Warriors start at the bottom for the second straight defensive article, and that's in spite of having a returning starter at one of the two positions. Penei Pavihi is the returner and the leader of this group, someone who graded out extremely poorly in the PFF numbers, and he's joined by Isaiah Tufaga, a rotational piece from last season who is sliding in for the departing Darius Muasau. Tufaga didn't fare much better to PFF's data when he got on the field and both players have major athletic limitations. The depth is thin, as you'd expect for a team with as much turnover as Hawaii has endured... Logan Taylor redshirted last season and Noah Kema arrives as a JUCO guy. A pretty brutal situation. [AFTER THE JUMP: Less depressing LB situations]