It was just before 10 a.m. when the Maryland football team exited its bus in front of the Jones-Hill House. Nearly all of Malik Washington’s family was present, alongside eager Terps fans waiting to cheer for the highly-touted freshman and the team.

News broke that Washington would be Maryland’s starter for its opener against FAU an hour before the team arrived at SECU Stadium.

Later, the true freshman was the first player to exit the bus — while his tight-knit family applauded him.

“QB1, QB1, QB1,” one family member shouted.

“He’s looking good, he looks so clean,” another yelled as Washington stood next to coach Michael Locksley, also wearing a grey suit.

Washington looked over, gave a nod and pumped his fist to his family, drawing even more noise from the group. It wasn’t just Washington’s family who awaited his debut — Maryland fans have anticipated the 19-year-old’s first action wearing Terps’ script-red jerseys since his commitment last June.

After a sluggish first quarter, Washington began to look as advertised — tossing three touchdowns in the second, and finishing the game 27 for 43 with 258 passing yards. The Archbishop Spalding product played until the end of the third quarter on Saturday, as Maryland defeated FAU, 39-7, behind a swarming defense.

“It was an amazing blessing to be named starter, for coach to trust me,” Washington said. “I started off a little slow but as I felt myself get into the game, got the first couple hits out — after that I was rolling.” 

Washington’s 27 completions and 258 yards were the most for a Maryland true freshman in program history. He also became the first Power Conference freshman to toss three touchdown passes in his debut since Trevor Lawrence in 2018.

Locksley held off announcing the starting quarterback for the entire week. The seventh-year coach said he didn’t want to give FAU an advantage in preparation. Washington eventually beat out redshirt junior Justyn Martin and redshirt freshman Khristian Martin for the job.

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The Terps’ offense recorded only three first downs in the first quarter — with Washington throwing for only 19 yards. The Owls had 51 more yards than Maryland, but stalled in opposing territory multiple times.

After redshirt freshman Sean O’Haire kicked a 49-yard field goal and the Terps punted on their second drive of the second quarter, they scored touchdowns on three straight drives to close the half. The first was a 29-yard strike to senior receiver Shaleak Knotts up the right sideline.

Washington delivered another 29-yard score on the following possession to redshirt junior Kaleb Webb, before redshirt sophomore tight end Dorian Fleming brought in a nine-yard touchdown with 37 seconds remaining.

Washington tossed for 181 yards in the second quarter, leading the Terps to a 33-7 advantage at halftime.

“[Washington] had the maturity on show,” Locksley said. “Its a calmness about him, the demeanor that you see … the best part about it is he’s only going to get better.”

O’Haire added two more field goals in the second half, while Khristian Martin took over quarterback duties with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter. Justyn Martin also appeared in the fourth, before being carried off due to an undisclosed injury.

Washington became the first freshman quarterback to start the Terps’ season opener since Perry Hills in 2012, and the first to start a game since Kasim Hill in 2017.

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Along with staying close to his family rooted in Glen Burnie, Washington’s relationship with Locksley was a key factor in his commitment to Maryland.

The four-star recruit estimated that he knew Locksley the longest of any coach recruiting him — with the coach watching both his football and basketball games at Spalding. The personable approach the coach took also helped.

On one visit, knowing Washington was an avid reader, Locksley asked him what he was reading — a question few coaches would think to pose.

“Each year we talked about a lot of the same things, [like] how I could help the program,” Washington said. “We used to meet on Sundays and watch my game and watch their game and sit there and talk about it.”

Despite accumulating eight penalties for 65 yards, the Terps’ defense collected six interceptions — the first time since 1998. Junior linebacker Daniel Wingate opened the game’s scoring with a 20-yard interception return — his first career takeaway.

Transfer defensive back Dontay Joyner recorded another in the second quarter, while redshirt junior Lavain Scruggs picked off quarterback Caden Veltkamp in the third. The Terps snagged three more interceptions in the fourth quarter — with penalties negating two more in the first half.

“The best part about us winning this game is we didn’t play to our best ability,” said freshman defensive lineman Sidney Stewart, who finished with a safety. “We have a good chance to go back and look at all the mistakes, and it’s just gonna be a lot of improvement from this game.”