COLLEGE PARK — Malik Washington made Michael Locksley look prophetic.
Tabbed by the Maryland coach as the team’s starting quarterback, Washington delivered, tossing three touchdown passes to propel the Terps to a 39-7 cakewalk over visiting Florida Atlantic in the season opener for both teams Saturday afternoon before an announced 35,067 at SECU Stadium.
Maryland (1-0) collected its 14th consecutive victory in a non-Big Ten opener and has not dropped a season-opening game to a nonconference opponent since Sept. 5, 2009, when that squad was routed, 52-13, at Cal.
The Terps’ streak was made possible by the play of Washington, who became the first true freshman quarterback to start at Maryland since Kasim Hill opened in a 63-17 romp over Towson on Sept. 9, 2017. The 6-foot-5, 231-pound Glen Burnie resident and Archbishop Spalding graduate was the first freshman quarterback to start in a Terps season opener since Perry Hills in a 7-6 victory against William and Mary on Sept. 1, 2012.
After a lethargic start during which he misfired on eight of 11 passes and gained just 19 yards through the air, the 19-year-old Washington finished the game by completing 27 of 43 throws for 258 yards and the three scores.
Washington’s completions and yardage were the most by a Maryland freshman quarterback in his debut. He also became the first true freshman quarterback from a Power Conference school to throw three touchdown passes in a season opener since Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence in 2018.
Washington was especially proficient during a second quarter when Maryland broke a 7-7 tie by scoring 26 unanswered points. He connected on 18 of 24 attempts for 181 yards and touchdown passes to senior wide receiver Shaleak Knotts, redshirt junior wide receiver Kaleb Webb and redshirt sophomore tight end Dorian Fleming to send the team into halftime with a 33-7 advantage.
“It was an amazing blessing to be named the starter, for Coach to trust me,” Washington said. “Started off a little slow, but as I felt myself get into the game, got the first couple hits out, and after that, I was rolling.”
Saturday’s outing helped validate Locksley’s decision to tab Washington as the starter over redshirt junior and UCLA transfer Justyn Martin and redshirt freshman Khristian Martin (no relation).
Khristian Martin replaced Washington with 57 seconds left in the third quarter and the Terps owning a 39-7 cushion. Justyn Martin entered the game in the fourth quarter but had to be helped off the field and into a medical tent on the sideline midway through the quarter with a lower body injury.
“As I’ve said with this quarterback battle, it’s always, ‘Who gives us the best opportunity to win? Who gives us the best opportunity to score points?’ Malik did that,” Locksley said. “It was a comfort level we had, the maturity level he showed, and that’s not to say that those other two guys didn’t play and compete. Because we feel like — as I’ve said before and this is not coachspeak — we can win with all three of those guys, but we felt Malik gave us the best chance, and it’s a calmness about him, the demeanor that you see.
“He’s a little older than his years [with] maybe the way he’s handled this thing. And the best part about it is, he’s only going to get better.”
Washington shared the wealth among his receivers. Five of them caught at least three passes each, and six accumulated 20 or more yards.
As well as Washington performed, the Terps looked lost in the first quarter. The offense under the direction of new offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton had only 63 yards and failed to convert on three third downs — a predicament exacerbated by dropped balls by senior wide receiver Jalil Farooq and redshirt junior tight end Leon Haughton Jr.
A defense mentored by new defensive coordinator and former Ravens outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino looked just as flustered. On the Owls’ opening drive, Maryland was flagged for five penalties for a loss of 30 yards, including an encroachment call that wiped out an interception by junior linebacker and Pallotti graduate Daniel Wingate. Only a keeper by redshirt junior quarterback Caden Veltkamp that was stopped two yards shy of the end zone and resulted in a turnover on downs bailed out the defense.
But the unit did give the Terps the first lead of the game. Freshman defensive end Zahir Mathis broke through the Florida Atlantic offensive line and hit Veltkamp just as he released a pass. The ball floated into the hands of Wingate, who cruised 20 yards into the end zone for a 7-0 lead with 6:38 left in the opening period.
Although the Owls responded with a five-play, 58-yard march capped by a 27-yard touchdown pass from Veltkamp to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Asaad Waseem to knot the score at 7, Maryland shored up its defense. The unit limited Florida Atlantic to 354 yards on 94 plays (a 3.8 average) for the game and forced six turnovers on downs (three in each half).
In addition to Wingate’s interception, the defense produced one each by junior cornerback Dontay Joyner, redshirt junior safety and Archbishop Spalding graduate Lavain Scruggs, sophomore cornerback La’khi Roland, redshirt freshman cornerback Braydon Lee, and redshirt sophomore cornerback and Calvert Hall graduate Ricardo Cooper Jr. It marked the most interceptions by the Terps since they had seven in a 42-25 clobbering at Duke on Nov. 14, 1998.
“It was great being able to get turnovers, to fly around to the ball,” Wingate said. “We had a little slow start, but we were able to bounce back with leadership and just begin getting back to what our principles are, just letting the main thing be the main thing and doing what we have to do.”
A few individuals stood out. Redshirt freshman running back DeJuan Williams, a Baltimore native and St. Frances graduate, finished with more rushing yards (54) and carries (10) than starter and redshirt sophomore Nolan Ray (25 yards on eight attempts).
In addition to becoming the first Terp to score a defensive touchdown since cornerback Glendon Miller returned an interception 44 yards for a score in the third quarter of a 31-13 romp over Auburn in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30, 2023, Wingate led the team with 10 tackles (nine solo).
Freshman defensive lineman Sidney Stewart had five tackles (three for loss) and sacked Veltkamp in the end zone for Maryland’s first safety since a 20-17 loss at Temple on Sept. 14, 2019. And redshirt freshman kicker and Richmond transfer Sean O’Haire booted field goals of 49, 24 and 42 yards, making him 15-for-15 over the past two seasons.
The Terps looked overwhelming against a Florida Atlantic opponent headed by Zach Kittley, who at 34 years old is the youngest head coach at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and that featured 55 transfers and freshman. The Owls (0-1) lost in their road season opener for the eighth straight time and have not triumphed since a 32-31 win at UAB on Sept. 2, 2010.
The day did have a couple downers. In addition to Justyn Martin’s injury, freshman offensive tackle Jaylen Gilchrist, a four-star prospect is ranked by 247 Sports as the No. 6 interior offensive lineman in the nation, suffered a leg injury before getting carted off early in the fourth quarter. Neither player returned to the game.
And Maryland was cited for 14 penalties that resulted in a loss of 100 yards. That marked the most penalties since Sept. 17, 2022, when that squad was flagged 15 times for 141 yards in a 34-27 victory over SMU.
With a game on Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Northern Illinois at SECU Stadium, Maryland will lose one day to prepare for the Huskies. Despite the team’s success against Florida Atlantic, Locksley said the Terps have room to improve.
“Happy and proud of this team for them to get back on the winning track after a long hard camp where I really think these guys worked their tails off,” Locksley said. “Obviously, with that said, we still didn’t play our best. You always see your biggest strides usually between Game 1 and Game 2. So the things that need to get corrected, I expect us to get them corrected, and that’s the penalties, that’s the sideline organization things which are very [typical] of as many new people we have involved in our program. So I’m looking forward to getting that corrected, especially here with a short week.”
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