Quarterback Malik Washington’s path to starting for Maryland football as a freshman just got considerably clearer.
Billy Edwards Jr., who started 11 of 12 games this past fall, entered the transfer portal Thursday. It is expected that the 6-foot-3, 222-pound redshirt junior will have one year of eligibility remaining.
Despite sitting out the team’s 44-7 loss to then-No. 4 Penn State in the season finale on Nov. 30 because of an injured thumb on his right (throwing) hand, Edwards finished his first full year as the starter for the Terps (4-8, 1-8 Big Ten) ranked third in the conference in total passing yards (2,881) and passing yards per game (261.9) and eighth in completion percentage (.650).
Edwards set a school record for completion rate in a single game when he connected on 87.5% of his throws (28 of 32) in a 38-20 victory over Villanova on Sept. 21. He also carried the ball 81 times for 150 yards and five touchdowns.
But the final numbers masked an uneven ride. In the first five games, Edwards averaged 288.8 passing yards and threw 11 touchdown passes against two interceptions. In his last six starts, he averaged 239.5 yards and threw only four touchdown passes against seven picks.
“Thank you to my teammates, coaches and the football staff for helping me grow, both as a football player and as a person. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to share my time as a Terrapin with all of you,” Edwards said in a statement posted on X. “I couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys to go to battle with.”
— Billy Edwards Jr (@Billy_Edwards4) December 13, 2024
Edwards’ departure opens the door for Washington, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound four-star prospect from Spalding to attain playing time sooner rather than later. Washington, who had risen in 247Sports’ individual rankings to No. 50 and is the No. 5 quarterback in the nation, became the first quarterback in Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association history to guide his school to three consecutive A Conference titles.
The Baltimore Sun’s 2023-24 high school boys Athlete of the Year, Washington completed 65.3% of his passes for 1,970 yards and 22 touchdowns and scored eight times on the ground. He has elected to sit out playing basketball this winter to concentrate on his development in football.
Still, Washington should expect to face competition before the team’s season opener against Florida Atlantic on Aug. 30. Redshirt sophomore MJ Morris, an NC State transfer who was Edwards’ primary backup, redshirt freshman Champ Long, redshirt sophomore Jayden Sauray, and freshmen Roman Jensen and Khristian Martin figure to be in the mix.
Maryland coach Mike Locksley noted that Juice Williams at Illinois in 2006 and Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa at Alabama in 2016 and 2017, respectively, started as freshmen in his offensive system. He said he did not anticipate many difficulties for Washington when it came to absorbing the playbook.
“This system is a quarterback-friendly system,” he said Nov. 19. “But the good thing is that we’ve played true freshmen, and we’ve played returning starters at the position. And the one good thing is, they’re all going to get coached, and they’re going to get coached and developed like we’ve shown in this system.”
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