Saturday marked the beginning of the post-Taulia Tagovailoa era. Billy Edwards Jr. took the reins and shined.

The redshirt junior played the majority of Maryland football’s drives in its season-opening 50-7 win over UConn. Edwards, in the fourth start of his career, completed 74 percent of his passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns, confirming coach Michael Locksley’s belief in the quarterback he most trusted for the starting spot.

“This week, I didn’t really try to change too much in terms of my preparation,” Edwards said. “Today was a Tuesday, Wednesday practice for me. I made the throws in practice countless times, and then coming out here was just about remaining calm, trusting my feet, trusting my training.”

Edwards’ first drive started with a swing pass behind the line of scrimmage to Tai Felton. The duo linked twice more on the possession, once on a fourth-and-four ball over the middle of the field and again for an 18-yard touchdown strike. Edwards beautifully layered a pass to Felton over the UConn (0-1) linebackers, lofted just enough for Felton to avoid taking a big hit in the end zone.

That connection loomed large throughout the afternoon. Felton finished the afternoon with seven receptions on eight targets for 178 yards — his third career 100-yard game — and two touchdowns.

[Billy Edwards Jr. played the long game. It could make him Maryland’s quarterback.]

The front-five protecting Edwards looked a lot different than last season. Andre Roye Jr., Isaac Bunyun, Josh Kaltenberger, Aliou Bah and Alan Herron — from left to right — started for the Terps. They aided Edwards in his 39 yards on the ground.

“Those five will only get better as the season goes on,” Locksley said. “This was one hell of an opener to open up for a young, new inexperienced [offensive] line.”

Kaltenberger, Bah and Herron all transferred in. Roye played 28 snaps as a redshirt freshman and Bunyun was on the defensive line last year. Tamarus Walker, who appeared in one game in 2023, rotated in at guard on multiple occasions.

That group played well over the entirety of the game — UConn didn’t muster a single sack or quarterback hurry until the fourth quarter, and the Terps’ rush attack averaged over five yards per carry for a total of 248.

MJ Morris entered for Edwards on Maryland’s (1-0) first drive of the second quarter. Like for Edwards, the coaching staff eased Morris into the contest, his first throw a screen pass to Octavian Smith Jr. for a seven-yard gain.

But the drive stalled out as Morris slid short of the line-to-gain on a 3rd-and-6 scramble, and Locksley punted needing a yard to go on fourth down. Edwards re-entered at quarterback on the next possession.

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Edwards led a six-play drive that ended in three points off the leg of Jack Howes. Four of the quarterback’s five first-half drives resulted in points — including two more Howes field goals later in the quarter and Nolan Ray’s explosive 48-yard touchdown run — for a 23-0 halftime lead.

The Terps added a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter, both with Edwards at quarterback.

“I thought Billy did a really good job of controlling the offensive system,” Locksley said. “Did a great job distributing the ball, getting it to the playmakers.”

Morris looked set to play the fourth quarter until a late hit on a scramble early in the period exited him for the remainder of the game.

Cameron Edge, who split time with Edwards in the Music City Bowl last December, entered in relief as the Terps added two more touchdowns.

Locksley said at the Big Ten’s football media week that Maryland would lean more into its defensive identity. That unit, returning seven starters, shined in the season-opener.

A rotation of bodies were utilized up front. The group limited UConn to less than three yards per rush.

Seniors Dante Trader Jr. and Glendon Miller led an excellent showing from the secondary, a group that lost a trio of key performers from last year. UConn completed less than 50 percent of its passes with just one touchdown.

Miller picked off Nick Evers for Maryland’s first takeaway of the season just before halftime, which gave the Terps their final scoring drive of the first half. Linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II added a second with his first career interception late in the third quarter.

The defense worked in unison with an Edwards-led offense for a dominant victory.

“We just played harder than them, we made more plays than them and we established dominance more than they did,” Hyppolite said.