Octavian Smith Jr. developing into Maryland’s next star receiver

Maryland is a “developmental’ program” as coach Mike Locksley likes to frequently remind, and it is in the midst of producing the next offensive player with star potential — Octavian Smith Jr.

“Right before going into fall camp, you really started seeing him take the next step,” Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. said. “He started practicing his tail off, being full speed. Never have to worry about him taking a play off in practice.”

The Burtonsville, Maryland, native was a dual-threat quarterback at Paint Branch High, scoring 22 touchdowns and posting a 30-5 record in his time leading the Panthers. A junior who’s played in every game since arriving in College Park in 2022, he finally recorded his first touchdown of the season in Maryland’s comeback win over USC last week.

“The biggest thing for me going into this season was consistency,” Smith said. “Just trying to stay consistent despite external factors and everything going on.”

Maryland’s receiver room has been a crowded one for some time. Dontay Demus, Rakim Jarrett, Jeshaun Jones have all been teammates of Smith’s and higher in the food chain. Fellow local natives Tai Felton and Kaden Prather still are as well, but Smith has started every game this season since Week 2. He credits his success to a change in mindset he implemented in the offseason.

“Being completely honest … external factors, in terms of like, family, things like that. I had to learn how to compartmentalize and balance those things in order to allow me to perform the way that I’ve been performing on the field,” Smith said. “That was a big thing for me going into the season, and I’m glad I was able to do that.”

Smith will likely be a key part in an irresistible force versus immovable object-like battle Saturday at Minnesota. Maryland boasts the Big Ten’s best passing offense at 313.3 yards per game, while the Golden Gophers stout defense is second in the conference and fifth-best in the nation allowing an average of 262.3 yards each contest.

“How Tai made that transition this year, I’m starting to see that out of Octavian,” Locksley said, “in terms of how he’s practicing, in terms of his development. You see him crafting and learning and really getting into his craft as a receiver, and it’s starting to show up on Saturday.”

Minnesota comes in rested following its first open week of the season, while Maryland will leave Minneapolis headed into its second and final bye. The homecoming matchup will go a long way for each school in determining if a postseason game will be a consideration.

“You hear [Locksley] say a lot, ‘When when the map and the terrain don’t match up, you go with the terrain.’ So that’s just what we do going out throughout the game,” Smith said. “It’s always hard to win in Big Ten play, but we know what type of team we have. We’re confident we’re just going to keep working.”