Durkin Era Opens Saturday vs. Howard
8/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Maryland opens its 124th season of football and inaugural season under the renewed energy of head coach DJ Durkin Saturday, Sept. 3, at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium as it faces Howard in College Park. The game marks the first meeting in history between the programs.
Quick Hitters
- Maryland has won six straight season-openers and 10 of its last 11. The Terps have also won 12 consecutive season-openers at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium. The Terps last lost a season-opener at home against Ohio on Sept. 6, 1997. Overall, Maryland is 77-44-2 all-time in season-openers dating back to its inaugural season in 1892.
- Maryland and Howard are set to meet for the first time in history despite being separated by just 7.5 miles. The game also marks Maryland's first meeting with a Washington, D.C., based program since it defeated George Washington, 19-0, on Nov. 19, 1955.
- Maryland has scored at least 50 points in each of its last two season-openers, a mark that was last achieved by the program in the 1945 and 1946 seasons. The 1945 Terps were coached by the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant.
- DJ Durkin was hired in December of 2015 at the age of 37, becoming the youngest head coach hired by Maryland since 1954. Only five coaches were hired at a younger age: Curley Byrd (1911; 22), Paul “Bear” Bryant (1945; 32), Jack Faber (1935; 32), Jim Tatum (1947; 34) and Tommy Mont (1954; 34).
- Senior quarterback Perry Hills is slated to line up under center for the Terps for his third season-opener (2012, '15, '16). He was victorious in both 2012 and 2015. The last Maryland quarterback to start three season-openers was Brian Cummings (1995-97).
Maryland Offense: By the Numbers
3 - Wide receivers Levern Jacobs and D.J. Moore both caught all three of their touchdown catches last season when Perry Hills was under center. With Hills as quarterback, L. Jacobs (17-222-3) and Moore (13-223-3) had nearly identical splits.
6 - The Terps return two linemen that made at least six starts in 2015: Michael Dunn (11 starts - 37 career) and Damian Prince (6 starts). With the loss of three starters to graduation, Maryland will look to sophomore Brendan Moore (Rimington Watch List) at center, while Maurice Shelton (2 starts in 2015) and Mike Minter (3 starts in 2015) are slated to step up at the guard positions.
16 - Senior quarterback Perry Hills is slated to make his 16th career start against Howard as he enters the fifth year of his tenure at Maryland. It will be Hills' third career opening day start, including his 2012 start as a true freshman.
17 - Senior Levern Jacobs has quietly climbed into the upper echelon of receivers in Maryland's history, ranking 17th in career receptions (89) and 22nd in career receiving yards (1,105). He needs just 11 catches to become the 14th player in history to reach 100 catches and needs 17 catches to move into the top-10. Jacobs is also one of just two returning receivers in the Big Ten who did not drop a pass in 2015.
26 - New offensive coordinator Walt Bell had great success at Arkansas State over the last two seasons. In his 26 games as offensive coordinator, the Red Wolves posted over 300 yards 24 times, over 400 yards 18 times and over 500 yards 11 times. His 2015 offense ranked 12th nationally with 40.0 points per game.
88 - The Terps return nearly their entire receiving corps in 2016, including 88 percent of their total receiving yards. In addition to the afformentioned leadership of Levern Jacobs and D.J. Moore, Maryland expects to receive increased output from Malcolm Culmer (221 yds, 2 TDs) and DeAndre Lane (152 yds, TD). Maryland also added New Mexico State fifth-year transfer Teldrick Morgan, who totaled 120 catches, 1454 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns over the last two seasons.
200 - Maryland's rushing attack averaged more than 200 yards/g in 2015 for the first time since the 2001 season. The Terps will have to replace the workload of running back Brandon Ross (958 yards, 10 TDs). With senior Wes Brown suspended for the first three games, Maryland will look to sophomore Ty Johnson (250 rush yds, 4 TDs), Virginia Tech transfer Trey Edmunds and true freshman Jake Funk to fill the void.
535 - Senior quarterback Perry Hills ran for 535 yards in 2015 - the fourth-most by a quarterback in Maryland history (C.J. Brown owns the top three marks). Hills set the single-game rushing yards record for a Maryland quarterback with a 170-yard performance in the “Horseshoe” at No. 1 Ohio State.
Maryland Defense: By the Numbers
2 - Last season, William Likely became Maryland's first two-time first team all-conference defensive back since Keeta Covington (1985, 1986). Likely is Maryland's active leader in interceptions (7), pass breakups (33) and tackles (197). He holds records for single-season interception return yards (170, 2014) and single-season interceptions returned for touchdown (2, 2014).
3 - The Terrapin secondary returns stalwart defensive back William Likely, but will look to replace three starters from a season ago. The secondary received an immediate boost with the addition of transfer JC Jackson, who is a fantastic playmaker from the cornerback position.
6 - The Maryland defense will have a new look in 2016 as it overcomes the loss of six starters, including three NFL Draft selections, and welcomes the defensive philosophies of DJ Durkin and Andy Buh. Durkin spent the last three seasons as a defensive coordinator at both Michigan (2015) and Florida (2013-14), while Buh has been the defensive coordinator at Cal (2013), Nevada (2010-11) and Stanford (2008-09).
12.0 - Maryland was able to put tremendous pressure in the backfield last season, as Jermaine Carter, Jr., Yannick Ngakoue and Quinton Jefferson each tallied at least 12.0 TFLs. It was the first time a trio of Terps had accomplished the feat since 2000 (Kris Jenkins, EJ Henderson, Mike Whaley).
13 - The Terrapin defensive line was one of the most dominant in the country last year, ranking 13th nationally with 2.92 sacks/g due in large part to 2016 NFL Draft selections Yannick Ngakoue (3rd Rd) and Quinton Jefferson (5th Rd). Roman Braglio returns at defensive end after a career-best season, while David Shaw is back from his season-ending injury in 2015. Azubuike Ukandu was tremendous in Shaw's absence, totaling 24 tackles and 6.5 TFLs in eight starts. Look for veterans Cavon Walker and Jesse Aniebonam to also make noise on the defensive line, in addition to Virginia Tech transfer Melvin Keihn, who sat out in 2015 due to NCAA transfer policy.
103 - Junior Jermaine Carter, Jr. had a breakout sophomore season as Maryland's middle linebacker in 2015, leading the team with 103 tackles. The 2016 Butkus Award Watch List member totaled 14.0 tackles for loss last season - the most for a Maryland middle linebacker since two-time All-American EJ Henderson in 2002. Spectacularly, zero of his 14.0 TFLs were via quarterback sack.
200 - Senior William Likely needs just three tackles to reach 200 tackles for his career at Maryland. The utility man has 152 solo tackles in addition to 45 assisted tackles in his three-year career.
What Will Likely Do Next?
After three spectacular seasons in College Park, junior cornerback and return specialist (and sometimes WR/RB!) has returned for his season at Maryland. The short answer is everything, including making a start on both offense and defense against Wisconsin.
Likely opened the 2015 season with a bang, gobbling up a Big Ten record 233 punt return yards in the season-opener against Richmond before running back his second punt return for a touchdown in as many weeks against Bowling Green. Likely has the top-2 single-game kickoff return yardage marks in school history, including a 220-yard performance at #10 Iowa in 2015 that included a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Likely's Maryland records:
- Single-game punt return yards (233 vs. Richmond, 9/5/15) - also a Big Ten record
- Single-season interception return yards (170 - 2014)
- Single-season interceptions returned for TD (2 - 2014)
- Single-game kickoff return yards (228 vs. Michigan State, 11/15/14)
- Co-single-season yards per kick return (31.0, 2014)
- Co-longest kickoff return (100 yds vs. Stanford, 12/30/14, at Iowa 10/31/15)
- Current career yards per kickoff return (26.34, 2013-pres.)
