Defensive Dominance

The Terps’ 2025 defense has been a statistical juggernaut through its first four wins. When looking at just about any defensive stat, the famous M-Bar logo can be found at or near the top. 

“We've been hitting on all cylinders,” junior defensive lineman Dillan Fontus said. “Our backs have been playing complimentary defense for the front to get home.” 

Through four dominant wins, the Maryland defense has only allowed 46 points (10.8 per game), its lowest mark through four games since 2013 and the 13th-best mark in college football this season. 

Three non-conference wins set the stage for a harder task: a road trip to Madison, Wisconsin, to take on the Badgers. It was said the Terps would be truly tested for the first time. In the end, the Maryland defense left Camp Randall having only allowed 10 points, seven of them coming in the final minute, well after the contest had been decided.

The recipe for what’s become a pattern of success? Two perfect blends: A mixture of young guys mixed with experienced vets and the combination of a hungry front line and a lockdown secondary. 

“That’s been our secret sauce,” Locksley said of the balance of young and old. “We’ve gotten great leadership from veteran players that have played a lot of reps like Jalen Huskey, Daniel Wingate and Cam Rice. The young guys bring in energy and tremendous athleticism. Guys like Sidney Stewart, Zahir Mathis, Carlton Smith and Jayden Shipps. All these guys are super athletic and super talented. They just need the reps, and that’s where the experience of the leaders on the defensive side has really helped those guys grow up fast.”

On the back of the Terps’ defense, Maryland is one of only eight programs nationally to have not trailed in a game yet in 2025. 

“We've been doing everything in our power to control what we can control,” Mathis said. “We’re trying to be the best we can be and stay up to the standard.”

Against Wisconsin, the Terps held the Badgers to just 61 rushing yards on 42 attempts for 1.5 yards per carry, the fewest ground yards a Maryland team has allowed to a Big Ten opponent since holding Indiana to 32 yards in 2022. 

The last time Maryland went on the road to play the Badgers, Wisconsin rushed for 278 yards. Since then, Locksley has built his front seven to defend the run against Big Ten programs that are built on their ground game. So far in 2025, it’s working tremendously. 

After four weeks of victorious football, Maryland leads the nation in both sacks (16 for 117 yards) and interceptions (eight). 

“It's not something we're going to hang our hat on,” Fontus said. “It's still the first four games. We're not worried about stats and stuff like that. It's just a testament to all the work we put in and amazing play calling Ted Monachino and all the other position coaches that have been coaching us up to execute his system. It's more of an expectation than a surprise or something to hang your hat on.”

As a part of the complimentary custom in the Terps’ defense, the secondary has the line to thank and vice versa.

“They've been playing really, really good defense,” Fontus said of the secondary. “They've been playing really good man-to-man coverage and zone so that everybody can get home.”

When the line gets home, good things happen, either in the form of a crushing sack or a drive-ending turnover. 

"We have an amazing pass rush, especially those young guys up there," Huskey said after the Terps’ latest win. He snagged a confidence-building interception as Maryland started 1-0 in conference play. 

"I saw the ball in the air,” he said. “When the ball's in the air, it's my ball."

Two Maryland cornerbacks — Dontay Joyner and La’Khi Roland — rank in the top ten of lowest passer rating when targeted. Joyner is second with 14.6 while Roland is sixth with a 18.6 mark. 

“How we manage success is as important as how we manage adversity,” Locksley said. “How you create repeated success is through the process you create and that’s the standard that these players have created.” 

One clear leader on the defense is Daniel Wingate, a junior linebacker. Wingate’s 11-tackle performance against Wisconsin — the third time he’s eclipsed the 10-tackle mark in 2025 — earned him a Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week accolade. He actively leads the Big Ten with 39 tackles on the year. 

“He just inspires everybody,” Mathis said of Wingate. “To play with his speed and his voice and just the way he controls things, it brings us all together.”

He inspired the breakout of “Young Bull” Sidney Stewart. He’s the first Big Ten player with sacks in his first four games of a season since Chase Young with OSU and Olu Betiku of Illinois (both in 2019). His 4.0 sacks and 6.5 TFLs both lead the Big Ten and rank 11th and 13th nationally, respectively. 

“He inspires me every day to be the best player that I can be,” Mathis said of Stewart. “Being able to continue to chase our goals and aspirations as a team compete with each other on a day-to-day basis. It's amazing, because it’s inspired us both to be great.”

Mathis and Stewart have combined for 6.5 sacks for 45 yards through four games as a part of a Maryland defense that has the highest PFF grade in the nation at 93.7.

“Ted Monachino’s done a really good job with their development,” Locksley said of Mathis and Stewart. He credited the two’s arrival early — Stewart in the spring and Mathis in June — for their hot starts and understanding of the program.

The freshmen are learning from a talented veteran core, which is driven by the energy of the new faces, creating an endless cycle of production. 

“It's amazing to have guys who've seen it and done it before and know what it takes to get where we want to go, and to also have a lot of young and snappy guys who have the ability to go get it done,” Fontus said. “It's just a good compliment to each other. I feel like that's been displayed on the field.”

Maryland is ranked first nationally in pass coverage, fifth in rushing, seventh in tackling and 16th in pass rush.

“I think we blend very well because of the experience and the coachability of the freshmen and the young guys who haven't been here,” Fontus said. “They're willing to take any advice that you have for them, and they’re implementing their game play after play.”

Aside from the two defensive touchdowns Maryland has in 2025, the special teams unit has also been great. Freshman Messiah Delhomme has blocked a punt in back-to-back games as part of a stout Terps freshman foundation. 

“This freshman class, we’re really dedicated to winning,” Mathis said. “We’re all able to understand that it's very important to put the team first and go along with the standard that Coach Locks has.”

The Terps are taking each week one opponent at a time. The defense views each offense it faces through a different lens. Whether it’s an air-raid offense like the Florida Atlantic scheme the Terps picked off six times to start the season or a ground-and-pound effort they stifled the following week against Northern Illinois, each week is unique. 

“Every team has their own identity, and it definitely helps to understand them,” Fontus said. “We have amazing coaches who break down everything piece by piece, and give it to us in small bits to where we can consume it throughout the week.”

Maryland is 4-0 for the third time since 2021, but this season feels special to Locksley and it stems from this team’s young core.

“This one feels different because of the veteran players that we have, but also the talent level of the new guys,” Locksley said. “I’ve never played this many true freshmen, I don’t think. It feels a little bit different because of the level at which these guys have come in, probably a little more ready than most of the freshmen we’ve had to play in the past.”

The perfect blend of new faces and the leadership of the returners has been a blessing for Maryland and a treat to watch on Saturdays.

“I feel like the best thing that could have happened was to have so many new and inexperienced guys,” Fontus said. “It's hard for them to have any fear or any doubt in their mind about what they want to get done because they don't know anything but what it's been. The dominance we’ve had on defense and all the execution and communication, that's all they know. They haven't seen anything other than that, so they're playing at one speed.”

It continues to be full speed ahead for the Terps defense, which will take a bye week to prepare for a marquee matchup with Washington on Oct. 4, back in SECU Stadium.