While the Maryland football team struggled last year and fired coach Randy Edsall midway through the season, the Terps quietly rushed for the third-most yards per game in the Big Ten. With a struggling passing unit and shaky defense, running back Brandon Ross often carried the load, ranking fifth in the conference in yards per game (79.8).
But Ross exhausted his final year of eligibility last season, leaving the Terps backfield with just two returning running backs who rushed for more than 60 yards last season. Between the additions the Terps made through transfers and recruits, though, Maryland appears to have another strong and versatile running group this season.
To compete with returning backs Wes Brown and Ty Johnson in first-year offensive coordinator Walt Bell’s up-tempo offense, the Terps added Virginia Tech transfer Trey Edmunds and four freshman running backs.
“We definitely have a stallion of running backs in our room,” Edmunds said. “Each and every one of the guys in our room can bring something different to the table and is capable of making big plays this season. I’m excited, and we’re excited as a group. We’re ready to get things started.”
While Ross sat atop the depth chart for most of last season, Brown served as the secondary back until the middle of the season when they began to split carries. Brown ran for 317 yards in 10 contests last year and seemed to be hitting his stride. That was until he was suspended indefinitely for violating the university’s student-athlete code of conduct in November.
In Brown’s absence, Johnson stepped into a larger role. He rushed for 250 yards in 12 contests overall and broke out for 87 yards and two touchdowns in the season finale against Rutgers.
Edmunds, who rushed for 957 yards in three seasons with Virginia Tech, also joins the backfield. He ran for 675 yards as a freshman, though he took a lesser role with the team in his sophomore year after an injury.
“[Edmunds’s] definitely an excellent addition to our backfield,” tight end Andrew Isaacs said. “He’s a bigger back, so he brings a different element that some other guys don’t necessarily bring. Not to say we don’t have bigger backs, but he’s a big back. He’s hard to take down. Having that stable of backs to wear teams down, it’s excellent for us.”
Running backs Jake Funk and Lorenzo Harrison headline the group of freshmen, and running backs coach Anthony Tucker said they’ve been getting the same amount of repetitions as the more experienced players. Funk won the 2015 Gatorade Maryland Player of the Year award while leading Damascus to the 3A State Championship. Harrison, who Isaacs said has been making big plays in practice, is a part of the newcomers from DeMatha Catholic High School whom coach DJ Durkin referred to as “big time.”
Brown, Edmunds and running back Kenneth Goins Jr., all of whom are seniors, have mentored the freshmen in their transition to the speed and physicality of college football.
“When you come in and you do it as a freshman for the first time, you don’t really know where you’re going, you don’t really know what’s expected, so you have guys who have been there and done it,” Tucker said. “They’re going to show you the ropes of how to get it done. They’ll show you along and pull you along.”
With a new offensive coaching staff this year, the Terps plan to play an up-tempo offense that revolves around its run game. Tucker hopes to incorporate multiple running backs and spread the field to wear down opposing defenses.
Last season, the Terps threw for the second-fewest yards per contest in the conference (174.3), without a consistent starting quarterback. Maryland again enters the season with uncertainty regarding who will be under center, but the Terps’ multi-talented running backs, Isaacs said, will open up opportunities in the passing game.
“That backfield is really, really talented,” offensive line coach Dave Borbely said. “They love blocking for all of those guys. They’re excited about all of them. I am too.”
Each Terps running back has his own strength: Johnson is the fastest, Edmunds is the hardest to tackle and Brown is well-rounded. Regardless of whom the coaching staff chooses as the No. 1 running back, Tucker expects the whole backfield to contribute as Maryland looks to repeat as one of the Big Ten’s top rushing teams.
“It’s a really good, solid group of guys,” Tucker said. “Because of that competition, they’re getting the most out of each other. All those guys together can do some really good things.”
