Establishing the run remains Maryland’s ‘missing piece’ on offense

Mike Locksley let out a sigh before the question was even finished.

“I still can tell you, we haven’t run the ball the way we want to, and that has been the missing piece.”

The Maryland coach is not the only one trying to figure out what can be done to revive the Terrapins’ struggling ground game.

“I can’t put a lot of blame on anybody else but myself, said starting running back Roman Hemby. “I really strive hard to make those plays, and sometimes it’s just not your day.”

Late-season games in the Big Ten conjure up images of great rushing attacks and running backs — think Ron Dayne, Ezekiel Elliott and Saquon Barkley. Maryland’s ground efforts, though, have fallen off a cliff since September.

In Week 1 against Connecticut, Maryland rushed for 248 yards and averaged 146 per game through its first five games. Since, the Terrapins have only cracked the century mark once, 104 yards in a 48-23 loss at Minnesota Oct. 26 — 30 of which came from quarterback Billy Edwards Jr.

“Balance isn’t how many times we do it, it’s when we have to run it, run it efficiently,” Locksley said.

Locksley noted Maryland has been better at limiting backfield losses, which often forces passing situations on long second and third downs. 

“The one thing that has gone down here probably the last three weeks are the negative plays, the negative runs,” he said, “meaning guys unblocked getting hit in the backfield.”

Maryland has tried to simulate a run game since Locksley took over play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Josh Gattis ahead of an Oct. 11 loss to Northwestern. An uptick in screen plays and wheel routes still hasn’t been equivalent to the real thing, with the Terrapins’ 114 yards-per-game and 3.59 yards-per-carry both ranking fourth-worst in the Big Ten.

“We have more talented players that I feel like there’s some big plays being left on the field that we’ve got to figure out how to make them,” Locksley said.

An easy target for the rushing struggles is a transfer-laden offensive line that hasn’t been a cohesive unit and has seen a frequent rotation of freshmen among its ranks, the latest being DeMatha grad Terez Davis, who started last week at left tackle. 

“There were times where we actually, our one-back power play, we hit six, seven yards twice,” Locksley said. “We’re just not having it consistent enough to stay on track with the run game, and that puts a lot of pressure on the young line.”

Facing a Rutgers defense Saturday that has allowed the fifth-most yards rushing and second-most rushing touchdowns in the Big Ten, Hemby thinks the Terrapins are not far off. He emphasized that he and other backs like freshman Nolan Ray can help the effort by being more precise in their placement and vision.

“Sometimes it’s one cut away. Sometimes it’s just one scheme thing away that we practice all week, getting into the details,” Hemby said. “So I feel like at any given time, any of the running backs could break loose and make a play that will change the game.”