Maryland Terrapins Football

The Maryland Terrapins defeated the NC State Wolfpack 16-12 on Friday afternoon in what was a huge defensive battle in the Duke's Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Terrapins quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa completed 19-of-37 passes for 221 yards and one touchdown against two interceptions in the win. He also rushed for just three yards on nine carries.

Octavian Smith Jr. caught Tagovailoa's lone touchdown pass and finished the day with three catches for 34 yards.

The Maryland defense played a great game, holding NC State to just 296 total yards and no touchdowns. The defense also forced two turnovers as Fa'Najae Gotay and Jakorian Bennett picked off Wolfpack signal-caller Ben Finley.

While Maryland won the game, all CFB Twitter could talk about was head coach Mike Locksley wearing a big hat to shield himself from the ensuing mayo dunk:

While Locksley didn't get the full mayo bath, fans can still celebrate that he led the Terrapins to a second consecutive bowl win following a victory in the Pinstripe Bowl last season.

Maryland improved to 8-5 on the season with the win. It marks Locksley's second straight winning season with the Terrapins. He took over as head coach in 2015 after a stint at New Mexico.

Two former Maryland football players have reached settlements with the school stemming from their lawsuits accusing former head coach DJ Durkin of subjecting them to an abusive, toxic environment. 

Per the Associated Press, Gus Little and E.J. Donahue received $200,000 each in their settlement agreements with the Maryland Attorney General’s Office. 

Durkin was fired by Maryland on Oct. 31, 2018, one day after he was reinstated by the program. 

The Terrapins originally placed Durkin on administrative leave in August 2018 following the release of an ESPN report that contained allegations of a "toxic coaching culture" in the wake of the death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair earlier in the year. 

Multiple people connected to the program, including two players on the roster at the time, said in the report there was a "coaching environment based on fear and intimidation" under Durkin. 

Per ESPN's Heather Dinich, McNair "showed signs of extreme exhaustion, had difficulty standing upright while running a set of 110-yard sprints and was found to have a body temperature of 106 degrees at a local hospital before he died of heatstroke suffered during a football workout" in May. 

In September 2018, Little and Donahue were among a group of Maryland players and people connected to the program who told Rick Maese and Roman Stubbs of the Washington Post about their experience with the Maryland football program and Durkin. 

"I don't know if I'll be able to get back to the point that I was before I came to Maryland," Donahue said.

Little said, "I lost my love for the game. It wasn't a game anymore."

Per the AP, Little and Donahue filed a lawsuit against the University of Maryland in August 2019 that alleged the program had a "toxic culture of cruelty, humiliation, (and) degradation."

Durkin, former strength and conditioning coach Rick Court and former head trainer Wes Robinson were named as defendants.

Durkin spent two seasons as Maryland head coach from 2016 to 2018. 

Little and Donahue both attended the university from 2015 to 2016. They transferred to James Madison University prior to the 2017 football season.     

Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant made a great moment even better as Maryland defensive lineman Greg Rose surprisingly received a scholarship.

Durant joined the team on a video chat and revealed the news to Rose in front of his excited teammates:

Rose spent last season as a walk-on after transferring from Lackawanna Community College, appearing in just two games. During the spring, he was one of four players to earn the Scott McBrien Outstanding Non-Scholarship Player Award.

It was apparently enough for the senior to earn himself a scholarship for 2021.

Durant, meanwhile, provided a shoutout to his hometown team after growing up in Prince George's County. Though he played his lone collegiate season at Texas, he still appreciates the local school.

"I grew up 10 minutes from the campus so you always got deep love for the University of Maryland," Durant told the team.

The state of Maryland unanimously approved a $3.5 million settlement from its flagship university to the family of former Terrapins offensive lineman Jordan McNair nearly three years after his death, per ESPN's Heather Dinich.

McNair collapsed from heatstroke during a team conditioning session on May 29, 2018. He died two weeks later at the age of 19.

"This has been a painful fight, a very emotional fight," Marty McNair said. "These three years have been painful, however, I know that it prepared us for a larger- scale, nationwide advocacy to stop this from happening and truly make a difference. The only way we really can do this is not by talking effortless at people, but really to implement legislation and policy.

Investigations by ESPN and Maryland officials revealed a toxic team culture under then-head coach D.J Durkin and led to school president Wallace D. Loch publicly accepting "legal and moral responsibility" for the team's inability to "quickly diagnose and properly treat McNair's heatstroke," per Dinich.

Following McNair's death, Durkin was initially put on administrative leave, then returned to his position before public pressure led to his firing in October 2018. Strength and conditioning coach Rick Court resigned in August 2018. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has since hired Durkin as an assistant coach. 

Wednesday's settlement includes a partnership between Maryland and the Jordan McNair Foundation "to educate the public and athletic programs across the country about topics such as heat exhaustion, concussions, mental health and nutrition." The school will also contribute nearly $300,000 each year for the next decade to establish a student-athlete safety program on campus.  

"This victory today shows a lot of people that—guess what?—it can be done," McNair said. "If there's a wrong to their child or a loss of their child due to negligence along the way, it is possible to get a victory."

The University of Maryland has reached a $3.5 million settlement with the parents of Jordan McNair, a sophomore offensive lineman who died after suffering heatstroke during a conditioning session in May 2018. 

According to ESPN's Heather Dinich, the school's settlement must be approved by the university board at a January 27 meeting. 

"Marty [McNair] and Tonya [Wilson] are relieved that this fight is over and are eager to put this behind them as they continue to mourn Jordan's death," attorney Hassan Murphy said in a statement.  "They are committed to channeling their grief and loss into the work that remains to protect the lives of student-athletes around the world by educating them about the signs and risks of exertional heat stroke through the Jordan McNair Foundation."

The law firm of Murphy, Falcon & Murphy will continue to work with McNair's parents on reforming Maryland tort law to raise the state's recovery payments from $400,000. 

McNair, a 19-year-old Maryland native, was forced to run sprints after he began showing signs of physical and cognitive decline on the field due to heatstroke. The school found Maryland's athletic failed to "quickly diagnose and properly treat McNair's heatstroke," leading to his death. 

Subsequent findings resulted in the firing of head football coach D.J. Durkin and the resignation of strength and conditioning coach Rick Court after the program was found to use abusive and humiliating tactics. 

"The university accepts legal and moral responsibility for the mistakes that our training staff made," Maryland president Wallace D. Loh announced in August 2018. 

The settlement marks an important step as McNair's family continues to mourn its loss and works to honor his memory. 

Linebacker Terrence Lewis is heading to Maryland after announcing his commitment Saturday. 

Lewis verbally committed to the Terrapins during NBC's All-American Bowl Declaration Show. 

Ranked a five-star recruit in the class of 2021 by 247Sports, Lewis is considered the top inside linebacker in the country, the fifth-best player in the state of Florida and the No. 16 overall prospect in the country.

He had previously committed to the University of Tennessee before reopening his recruitment in late November. 

"There's no love lost [and Tennessee is] still my top school as of now," Lewis tweeted. "But I need these next couple weeks to explore my options to make sure I make the best decision for my future."

The Miami Central star also held offers from Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida State and LSU among other top programs. 

247Sports' analyst Andrew Ivins compared the 6'1", 200-pound prospect to Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Lavonte David while projecting him as a second- or third-round NFL pick:

"Muscled-up defender with minimal, if any, body fat. Longer arms. A bit light, however, in the lower half. By far one of the more athletic linebackers in the class. Flies around the field chasing after ball carriers. Speed allows him to be a difference maker outside the hashes. Solid tackler for someone with his build that understands the importance of using leverage. Gets home on a blitz more often than not. Has flashed the ability to flip his hips and run in coverage, but hasn’t been asked to cover many tight ends at the high school level. Short-tempered player that can find a mean streak. Embraces contact." 

With Lewis' commitment, he becomes the Terps' first five-star prospect. 

Maryland head coach Mike Locksley is in the process of rebuilding the program. The team has finished under .500 in each of his first two seasons, but the 2-3 mark in 2020 did include wins over Penn State and Minnesota. 

Adding Lewis to the roster is a huge win for an under-the-radar Big Ten program. He can step in immediately and anchor the defense that will be looking to improve in 2021 after allowing 32 points per game this season. 

Maryland Athletics announced Thursday that Saturday's football game against Michigan State has been canceled and won't be rescheduled because of COVID-19 concerns.

Terrapins head coach Mike Locksley is among the members of the program who've tested positive for the coronavirus. The group also includes 15 players over the past seven days.

"I am gutted for our team and for our fans," Locksley said. "This team is eager to play and compete and continue the growth we've seen this season. This virus is testing our players and coaches right now, but I have no doubt that we will emerge as a stronger unit for having gone through this together. As for me personally, I am feeling strong, with only minor symptoms. I will continue to lead this program virtually, and our game preparations for Indiana will begin immediately."

It's the second straight canceled contest for Maryland. The Terps' clash with third-ranked Ohio State scheduled for last week was also called off after they paused football activities following the initial rise in COVID-19 cases within the program.

The Terrapins' last game was a 35-19 victory over Penn State on Nov. 7 that moved their record to 2-1.

They have three games remaining on their regular-season schedule:

• Nov. 28 at Indiana
• Dec. 5 at Michigan
• Dec. 12 vs. Rutgers

Meanwhile, Michigan State (1-3) is coming off a 24-0 loss to the Hoosiers. This will be its first canceled game amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Spartans get an extra week of preparation as they prepare for back-to-back home games against ranked opponents in No. 19 Northwestern and No. 3 Ohio State, both of whom are currently undefeated.

MSU will finish the regular season with a trip to face Penn State on Dec. 12.