Quarterback Perry Hills rushes the ball through an open gap during the Terps’ 49-28 loss to No. 1 Ohio State on Oct. 10.

All of his receivers were covered and there was a spacious opening in the middle of the field. So Perry Hills made a decision. 

He took off, a flash of white jetting past top-ranked Ohio State’s defense. The Buckeyes finally caught up to the 6-foot-2 quarterback at the 3-yard line, 75 yards from the original line of scrimmage.  

On the next play, Hills weaved through the front seven and stepped into the end zone, cutting the Terps’ deficit to one score with 43 seconds left in the first half. It was one of two rushing touchdowns for Hills on the afternoon. 

Hills acknowledged he needs to improve in the passing game — he went 10-for-27 and completed two passes in the first half — but he flashed enough playmaking ability in the Terps’ 49-28 loss to convince interim coach Mike Locksley to make a decision.

“Perry Hills is our starting quarterback moving forward,” Locksley said.

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Locksley, the former offensive coordinator, expressed skepticism when Caleb Rowe was named the starter, citing the quarterback’s gunslinger mentality as a cause for concern.  

The Terps didn’t announce that Hills would start against the Buckeyes until about an hour before game time, but Locksley said the Terps made a decision “to make the commitment to Perry Hills” on Oct. 4. The day before, Rowe threw three interceptions in a loss to Michigan to push his season-total to 12.

And during his weekly press conference Oct. 7, Locksley characterized the Terps’ play under center as “horrendous.”

Playing Hills allows the Terps to run an offense similar to what former quarterback C.J. Brown operated in. Though Hills rushed for a combined -14 yards over seven starts as a freshman in 2012, he set a program record for a quarterback with a career-high 170 rushing yards against Ohio State.

“Perry’s skill set enables us to do some things offensively that we displayed [Saturday],” Locksley said. “We’re open to building on them.”

Hills picked up right where he left off to start the third quarter, capping a nine-play, 69-yard drive with a four-yard scamper to knot the game at 21.

But from there, the defending national champion seized control of the game by scoring 28 unanswered points. Nevertheless, it was the first time the Terps were competitive in a game since a 35-17 win over South Florida on Sept. 19.

While the Terps were happy with Hills’ showing in the running game, the redshirt junior wasn’t content with his overall performance. 

The team has a week off before they challenge Penn State on Oct. 24, though, so Hills will hope to build on his performance. 

“I’m disappointed in myself in how I played today. I missed too many things,” Hills said. “I’m not going to sit back and say ‘Oh, well I did well at this and that.’ No. I’m going to look at what I need to get better at, and I’m going to get better at it.”