In lieu of Maryland football’s conventional spring scrimmage, head coach Mike Locksley opted to run practice drills at the team’s annual Spring Showcase. The switch comes after programs across the country have shied away from the traditional spring game due to the inherent injury risk.
Instead, the Terps opted to run 7-on-7 reps that featured a battle between the offensive skill position players and the secondary.
“It’s just showing everybody a look, a little taste of the new offense that’s gonna be up in 2026, and us just having some fun,” wide receiver Chris Durr Jr. said. “It’s just being ourselves, just taking a load off us, because we had a long spring.”
Among the most notable storylines heading into Saturday’s open practice was how Maryland’s new-look defensive line would unfold with a loaded edge rusher room. Those questions were answered to an extent; Zion Elee was often seen standing around during the first-team reps.
The consensus five-star recruit sat behind Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis, instead playing alongside DD Holmes on the second-string defense.
“Ted [Monachino] has a pretty good room, and it’s a room that iron sharpens iron,” Locksley said. “That room is a big room for us, a room we got to have a lot of production out of.”
Without much receiver talent returning from last season, Malik Washington was throwing to Old Dominion transfer Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding and Wyoming transfer Durr.
“They’re really smart players. They understand the game, not just their route, but the concept as a whole,” Washington said. “Understanding where they fit in with their route schemes, and that changes by how they run their route.”
Durr and Washington appear to have built a special relationship in a short timeframe, conversing during second and third-team reps. The duo connected multiple times during the brief scrimmage.
“When I first got here, nobody knew me, [Washington] introduced me, he took me places and showed me a way around,” Durr said. “I’m just glad we got a chance to get our early chemistry going in the spring.”
But outside of his targets to Durr, Washington’s accuracy was shaky during his reps. He sailed a potential touchdown pass over the head of Kaleb Webb and spiked another checkdown.
Kent State transfer Devin Kargman appears to have beaten out freshman Nathan Bernhard for the backup quarterback role — he led the second offensive group and only missed a single pass. Bernhard struggled to connect with his weapons on downfield passes over ten yards.
With a new offensive coordinator, Maryland’s run game is expected to see more involvement. While the new setup didn’t showcase any rush attempts, the Terps’ running backs still ran routes out of the backfield.
DeJuan Williams made three excellent grabs on wheel concepts — he had 426 receiving yards last season, which was the team’s fourth-highest mark. USC transfer Harry Dalton III struggled in the passing game during the showcase, fumbling multiple checkdowns.
Multiple freshmen stood out on the field in their limited reps Saturday. Wide receiver Josiah Teasley ran crisp routes and caught every ball headed his way, and cornerback Hakim Satterwhite more than held his own during his snaps with the second-string defense.
Those new pieces, combined with Maryland’s returning talent, give the Terps reasons for optimism heading into the 2026 season.
“I definitely see that we have the team to be great this year,” Gladding said. “We’re stacked in all areas of the team. It’s a great feeling knowing that, you know, we could put things out there and be the team that we want to be.”
Locksley cited Proverbs 14:23 — “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty” — as a summation of the team’s attitude headed into 2026.“For the last two years, I’ve had to do a lot of talking, because we’ve had a young team that really is inexperienced, that didn’t have any body of work. So as the leader, I had to sell them. Well, this team is no longer freshmen and sophomores, they’re now sophomores and juniors, and that means it’s about them … I’m just gonna let the story play out, and I’ll let them do the talking.”
During position group introductions, Bryce McFerson showcased a front round-off into a backflip, demonstrating unprecedented athleticism from the punting position.
Ricardo Cooper Jr. jogged an unofficial 4.53 in a player-on-fan 40-yard dash exhibition, albeit with a possible false start. Redshirt freshman Justin DeVaughn, a wide receiver who also competes for the Terps’ track team, was close behind.