Michael Locksley on the field during the Red-White Spring Game on April 27, 2024. (Eric Robinson/The Diamondback)
Welcome to The Diamondback Sports Digest. Every week, we send you a rundown of the latest Maryland athletics news.
Maryland football’s spring season has concluded.
The Terps played their annual Red-White Spring Game on Saturday, providing fans an early glimpse into next season’s team.
In this week’s newsletter, we’ll break down what we learned from the Spring Game, women’s lacrosse’s upset loss in the Big Ten Tournament, how one men’s lacrosse player’s role has fluctuated over his career and more.
A pair of questions remain unanswered for Maryland football
MJ Morris entered a wide open quarterback competition when he transferred from NC State to Maryland last December. Billy Edwards Jr. and Cameron Edge — who have been in the Terps’ system for more than a year — are both options for Maryland’s starting quarterback in place of Taulia Tagovailoa, the greatest statistical quarterback in program history.
Saturday’s Spring Game saw Morris play with Maryland for the first time. He shined brightest among the trio.
Morris, on the same team as Edwards, out-dueled the Terps’ most experienced signal caller. He passed for 65 yards with one touchdown and showcased his dual-threat ability with a 16-yard scramble in the third quarter.
Edwards completed six of his 14 passes. Edge threw for 151 yards on a 44 percent completion rate.
Quarterback is just one of the Terps’ uncertainties next season. The offensive line’s top three leaders in snaps all left, creating multiple openings to fill.
Isaac Bunyun, Josh Kaltenberger and Aliou Bah solidified the interior of the White Team, which featured most of Maryland’s offensive starters. The trio would all represent new faces on the Terps’ next five — Bunyun transitioned from defense to offense, and Kaltenberger and Bah are transfer additions.
Read more about both the quarterbacks and the offensive line, which coach Michael Locksley said is “coming along.”
Maryland women’s lacrosse makes its earliest Big Ten tournament departure
The Terps have excelled in the Big Ten Tournament since they joined the conference, reaching the Big Ten semifinals every season. That was until Saturday.
No. 3 seed Maryland women’s lacrosse lost at home to No. 6 seed Rutgers, 9-8. The Terps’ dismal 26 percent shooting hindered their offensive production in the upset. They failed to score in the first eight minutes and scored just once in the final 12 minutes.
The result was another close game Maryland lost, leaving it at 1-3 in one-goal games this season.
The Scarlet Knights’ first-ever win in College Park came at a crushing time for the Terps. They enter the NCAA Tournament 3-4 across the last seven games, on a downward run approaching a win-or-go-home scenario.
Daniel Kelly’s role for Maryland men’s lacrosse has been anything but steady
Kelly entered College Park as a five-star recruit but spent his first two collegiate campaigns on the bench. He then broke out and excelled as a full-time starter for the Terps last season.
Eric Malever’s return from a season-long injury moved Kelly to Maryland’s second line for most of this year. But Daniel Maltz’ recent injury moved Kelly back into the Terps’ starting lineup to close out the regular season. Kelly accounted for a team-high 20.8 percent of the Terps’ goals in that span.
Read more about Kelly’s shuffling roles throughout his Maryland career.
Best bits
- Two former Maryland football players, DJ Glaze and Tarheeb Still, were selected in the 2024 NFL Draft.
- A conference-high nine Maryland women’s lacrosse players earned Big Ten honors for their regular season performances.
- Big Ten Defender of the Year Ajax Zappitello headlined three Maryland men’s lacrosse players named to an All-Big Ten team.
- Coach Lauren Karn changed Maryland softball’s mentality this season with two words: “positivity day.”
- Maryland baseball snapped its four-weekend losing streak with an excellent offensive performance in a 11-7 win over Illinois on Sunday.
Stat of the week
Zappitello became the fifth Terp to be awarded Big Ten Defender of the Year, marking the fourth straight season a Maryland men’s lacrosse defender has won the honor.
Quote of the week
“This is the time of the year to make these type of decisions,” Locksley said about Bunyun’s transition from the defensive to offensive line. “I’m recruiting him a little bit so lets make sure y’all write about this.”
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