Welcome to “Terps Top Three” — a new feature highlighting three observations about the Maryland Terrapins headed into Saturday’s game at Charlotte.
⦁ Roman empire: Maryland struggled to run the ball for most of 2021. Slowly, that began to turn in games against Michigan, Rutgers and Virginia Tech to close last season, and Roman Hemby was a key part of that.
The redshirt freshman running back hasn’t lost a step to start this season.
Maryland coach Mike Locksley attributes that to the Terrapins “managing” Hemby to utilize him without burning his redshirt and the extra practice time he got leading up to the Pinstripe Bowl.
A lot of it, though, has to do with Hemby’s levelheadedness. Even as the starting back, he declined to call himself the leader of Maryland’s young locker room after his two-touchdown performance against Buffalo. He highlighted, instead, his whole position group, including fellow redshirt freshman Antwaine Littleton, who had two scores of his own.
Hemby looks to be the featured back for the time being, with Locksley mentioning during fall camp that at least four different players will see time at the position. The Edgewood, Maryland, native offers something different that the Terrapins have sorely lacked: an explosive back with game-changing ability in the second level to take some of the pressure off of the passing game.
⦁ Homecoming: Offensive lineman DJ Glaze is excited to play in his hometown. As the only Charlotte, North Carolina, native on the roster, Glaze is expecting at least 30 friends and family to be watching at Jerry Richardson Stadium.
It’s something the third-year Terrapin has looked forward to since he arrived at Maryland, as “everybody always reminded me, ’you’re coming home this game.’” Glaze admitted with a smile he’s still working on securing all the tickets he’ll need for his supporters.
⦁ Home-and-home: This is a bit of a quirky game for Maryland, playing a Group of 5 team in an initial meeting on the road. It’s even on a non-traditional TV network in Stadium. When a Power 5 program schedules a Group of 5 school for a mutual series, those first games usually take place at the Power 5 school.
This home-and-home is different, as Maryland makes the trip to Conference USA member Charlotte first, and the 49ers return the favor next season. A future home-and-home with another Group of 5 school, Connecticut, starts in 2024 in College Park.
Locksley was asked about the wrinkle Tuesday, saying he’d prefer to be at home but acknowledging the reality of college football.
“Unfortunately, these schedules are decided 10-to-20 years out,” Locksley said, joking that he doesn’t know if he’ll get to see the teams he’s scheduling for Maryland well into the 2030s.
• George Gerbo can be reached at ggerbo@washingtontimes.com.
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