The Maryland Terrapins would begin their 2017 season with a bang, defeating the Texas Longhorns 51-41.
AUSTIN, Tx. — Maryland showed dominance on the offensive side of the ball. They were constantly able to move the ball up and down the field on rushing and passing plays. Included in the bunch was the strength of the offensive line. Beating a number 23 team in an away game is a large accomplishment for a team that went 6-6 last season. With that being said, is Maryland’s offense legitimate?
Quarterback Play
Both Tyrrell Pigrome and Kasim Hill were expected to play in the opener before the game started. What wasn’t expected is that both players would play extremely well. After throwing an early interception, Pigrome threw for two touchdowns and ran for one prior to injuring his ankle. Pigrome went 9/12 (75% completion percentage), passing for 175 yards. He also rushed for 64 yards on 11 rushes.
Hill entered game for the injured Pigrome. He was able to go 3/3 (100%), passing for 44 yards. The true freshman quarterback also entered the end zone on a rushing play. He finished his day with five rushes for 14 yards and a touchdown.
“That was one of the cool parts about it,” Terps head coach D.J. Durkin said of putting Hill in the game. “There wasn’t — no one, I don’t know we just went about our business. No one said a word, there was no one like, oh, no. Kasim came in there and was just, handled the moment. That’s a hard spot, true freshman coming into the game his first ever college football game on the road third and 19, he goes and strokes the ball to DJ Moore. So that tells you a little bit about him.
It was just, that’s a lot of the stuff we have been working on and talking about as a team So it was good. You try and measure these things and you like to say you know where your team is, but you don’t really know until you get out there and get in the fire. So it was good to see our guys respond that way. We’re certainly going to have a lot more moments like that throughout the season and we got to build on that. And now we can say we have been there before and responded the right way and usually that’s a great thing to have, experience.”
VERDICT: The quarterback play looks legit from Pigrome, who has worked on has obviously worked on his craft during the offseason. In his first passing touchdown, he dropped a dime into the end zone. The jury is still out on Hill though. Even though his play looked to be poised, it is still unknown as to what the freshman could accomplish. With the ankle injury to Pigrome, Hill will have to prove his aptitude on the fly.
Running Backs
Between Ty Johnson, Lorenzo Harrison III and Jake Funk, they combined for 192 rushing yards, and two touchdowns on 25 rushing attempts.
VERDICT: Johnson and Harrison were a formidable duo last season as well, so this isn’t much of a surprise.
Offensive Line
Maryland’s offensive line was able to push and handle Texas’ defensive line all game. They controlled the running game and allowed for Johnson, Harrison III and Funk to run amok. The pass protection was crisp and allowed for
“Our offensive linemen were doing what they needed to do,” junior running back Johnson said of his offensive line. “Coach (Walt) Bell came up with a great scheme for us and we have been preparing for them. Being able to read blocks was important.”
VERDICT: This offensive line is legit. Derwin Gray, Sean Christie, Brendan Moore, Terrance Davis and Damian Prince were the key to Maryland’s supremacy on offense.
(Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
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