Maryland dominated Hampton 62-0 to open the season, but sophomore quarterback Malik Washington’s sluggish start through the air is a glaring footnote in an otherwise perfect blowout.
While the Terrapins rushed for a massive 365 yards—including a breakout 94-yard touchdown from DeJuan Williams—the passing game left a lot of meat on the bone. Against a massively overmatched FCS opponent, Maryland fans rightfully expected offensive fireworks across the board. Instead, Washington looked out of sync for much of the first half, missing open throws and struggling to find a rhythm.
Washington finished the night going 19-of-31 for a modest 186 yards and a single touchdown. While those numbers aren’t disastrous, his 12 incompletions revealed a frustrating combination of miscommunications, inaccurate passes, and dropped balls. The issues surfaced immediately on the very first play from scrimmage, when Washington rolled out and fired a pass to Chris Durr Jr., who dropped it.
From there, Washington was effective on shorter routes but struggled significantly when looking downfield, either missing his targets completely or failing to read the defense properly. Even when he put the ball in a catchable spot, his pass-catchers didn’t always help him out, racking up four drops on the afternoon. These inconsistencies are a red flag before diving into a bruising Big Ten schedule.
What Mike Locksley Had to Say
Head Coach Mike Locksley didn’t shy away from addressing his quarterback’s early struggles, pinning the issues more on nerves and missed reads than structural flaws.
- On the slow start: “There’s always concern about when you don’t complete drives… I thought he forced some things and was pressing a little bit early.”
- On his field vision: “The quarterback’s reads, making sure that the ball goes where it’s supposed to go… I didn’t think he forced it, but I think he didn’t always take advantage and didn’t read it out.”
- On receiver chemistry: “I don’t think the timing for receiver-quarterback was the problem as much as our quarterback just settling down.”
- On leaning on the run game: “Would’ve loved to have seen him start a little faster. But as we’ve said, the benefits of a run game help a quarterback, and I thought it helped him today.”
Locksley did note that the game began to “slow down” for Washington during a 10-play, 54-yard two-minute drive right before halftime. Washington scrambled on a gutsy fourth-down play to hit Chris Durr Jr., ultimately setting up a 10-yard touchdown pass to Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding to finish the half on a high note.
The Takeaway
Washington described his performance as “decent,” noting that he needs to “watch the tape back to find things to correct in my own game.”
For Maryland, a 62-point victory is a dream scenario for a season opener. However, the reality is that the Terps won’t face another defense this forgiving for the rest of the year. The rushing attack bailed out the passing game against Hampton, but if Washington doesn’t settle his early-game jitters, Big Ten defenses will make Maryland pay.
