Last season, Maryland had 36 turnovers, exactly three per game. Only Hawai’i had a worse turnover margin than Maryland.
There was no better example of how much turnovers hurt the Terrapins than in their 31-30 loss to rival Penn State to Baltimore. Maryland had more first downs and total yards than the Nittany Lions but committed five turnovers in the loss.
When it comes to turnovers, last year feels like a distant memory for the Terps. After having only one game with zero turnovers in 2015, they have already started the season off with two straight games of zero turnovers.
Maryland’s lack of turnovers in their first two games is not a surprise given how important ball security is to offensive coordinator Walt Bell.
Bell shows how much he values limiting turnovers by making it the first thing the offense works on in practice.
“Every single day as an offensive group, we start with ball security,” Bell said. “There’s a four-minute period every day [and] it’s the first thing we do every day. Perfect snaps, perfect quarterback-center exchange.”
Bell is also focused on continuing to educate his players in order to limit turnovers. He shows his players poor ball security on film using action from both college games and the NFL to help his players better understand what not do with the ball.
As for why limiting turnovers is so important to Bell, he has a simple but important explanation.
“At the end of the day, if you just protect the football, you’ll have a chance.”
The importance of protecting the ball has resonated with quarterback Perry Hills.
“That’s the biggest thing we focus on,” Hills said. “It’s definitely something that everyone has paid attention to and the coaches have harped on.”
It is unlikely Maryland finishes the season with zero turnovers. However, a major improvement in Maryland’s turnover margin could make the difference between a win and a loss for the Terps this year.
