Maryland Terrapins Football

Saturday's football game between the third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and Maryland Terrapins has been canceled. 

In a statement from Maryland athletic director Damon Evans, all of his team's activities have been suspended for the time being "due to an elevated number of COVID-19 cases" within the program: 

"There is nothing more important than the health and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and staff. We realize that this news is disappointing to all of the Maryland fans out there who were looking forward to the Terps taking on an outstanding Ohio State team, but the responsible thing for us to do is pause football activities, given the number of positive cases currently in our program."

Head coach Michael Locksley said:

"We're obviously extremely disappointed that we'll be unable to host Ohio State this Saturday. It was an opportunity that our team was preparing for and excited about. However, we have and always will keep our players, coaches and staffs safety at the forefront of our decision making process. We'll continue to operate as much as we can virtually as we monitor the situation in hopes of returning to play when it's deemed safe."

Since the Big Ten structured its regular season to run through Dec. 12 with no built-in off weeks before the conference title game on Dec. 19, the game won't be rescheduled. 

Teams that don't reach the Big Ten Championship Game will play in a consolation game on Dec. 19. Seeding will be determined based on the order of finish during the regular season. 

Ohio State (3-0) is ranked third in the Associated Press Top 25 and Amway Coaches Poll. Maryland (2-1) has won back-to-back games after a 43-3 loss to Northwestern on Oct. 24.

Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa threw for three touchdowns and rushed for two more as the Terrapins defeated Minnesota 45-44 in overtime on Friday evening. 

Tagovailoa completed 26-of-35 passes for 394 yards, three touchdowns and one interception during his team's home game against the visiting Golden Gophers.

He also rushed for 64 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries, with his final rush a two-yard touchdown to give Maryland a 44-38 overtime lead.

After Maryland's extra point, Minnesota responded with a Seth Green two-yard touchdown run. However, a missed extra point gave Maryland the win.

Tagovailoa caught fire in the first quarter with three touchdowns: an eight-yard pass to Jake Funk, a 39-yard run and a 76-yard pass to Jeshuan Jones:

Maryland led Minnesota 21-7 after the first quarter, but Minnesota responded with 31 straight points, including three Mohamed Ibrahim touchdown runs in the second quarter alone.

Down 38-21, Tagovailoa went back to work in the fourth quarter, first finding Dontay Demus Jr. for a 15-yard touchdown pass.

Tagovailoa then led Maryland on two more scoring drives, which were capped by a 51-yard field goal from Joseph Petrino and a Funk 19-yard touchdown run. Funk finished with 238 scrimmage yards, including 216 on the ground off 21 carries.

Tagovailoa is the brother of former Alabama star and current Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who is making his first career NFL start Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.

ESPN compared the two brothers' second collegiate starts after the Terps' win:

Tagovailoa, a true sophomore, spent his freshman year at Alabama before transferring to Maryland. The NCAA approved his transfer waiver following his move, granting Tagovailoa immediate eligibility for the Terrapins. He'll take the field next at Penn State on Sat., Nov. 7.

Taulia Tagovailoa, brother of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, will make the first start of his college career Saturday for Maryland against Northwestern. 

Per Emily Giambalvo of the Washington Post, Tagovailoa beat out freshman Lance LeGendre to win the Terrapins' starting quarterback job. 

Head coach Mike Locksley told reporters earlier this week that he knew who would be Maryland's quarterback but wasn't going to reveal it publicly. 

"I'm just not ready to announce to the public who it is," he said. "We do know who our quarterback will be. We've had the conversations with the players that are involved, but from a competitive advantage standpoint, it really doesn't [do us] any good to announce our starting quarterback today."

As a high school recruit, Tagovailoa was rated as a 4-star prospect and No. 5 pro-style quarterback in the 2019 freshman class by 247Sports. 

Charles Power of 247Sports wrote that Tagovailoa has "Power 5 starter ability with the upside of being a highly productive college quarterback at a top program."

Maryland announced in August that Tagovailoa was granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA for the 2020 season. 

Tagovailoa transferred to Maryland after spending his freshman year playing with Tua at Alabama in 2019. He appeared in three games last season, completing nine of his 12 pass attempts for 100 yards and one touchdown. 

The NCAA has reportedly approved a transfer waiver from quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa to complete his move from Alabama to Maryland.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported the update Friday and noted Tagovailoa, the brother of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, will be eligible to play immediately for the Terrapins.

He announced his intention to transfer in May with a statement on Twitter:

His father, Galu, provided further details about the decision to Matt Zenitz of AL.com, saying the coronavirus pandemic would have prevented his son from competing for playing time with the Crimson Tide:

"It's really tough and it's nothing against Alabama. But my boys are competitive and Lia is such a competitive kid. And he wanted an opportunity to compete. He was told that he was going to come in and compete and he didn't really get that opportunity, so he wanted to use the spring to do that. But with the COVID-19 thing going on, he didn't really have the opportunity to compete. He's a competitor. He likes to work. He likes to compete on the field. And just, going into the season this year, he just felt that he wasn't given that opportunity and he wants to take it somewhere where they're going to give him the opportunity to make the best of his skill set."

Alabama's QB depth chart is led by Mac Jones, who filled in after Tagovailoa's brother suffered a season-ending hip injury last year before leaving for the NFL, and also features Bryce Young, a 5-star prospect from the 2020 recruiting class.

It would have made it difficult for Tagovailoa to earn consistent playing time.

Instead, he could have the inside track on the Terps' starting job after Josh Jackson, last year's starter, opted out of the 2020 season because of the pandemic.

Tagovailoa and Lance LeGendre, a redshirt freshman who appeared in three games in 2019, are the top contenders to take over for Jackson.

Maryland is slated to open the revamped 2020 campaign, which will feature a 10-game, conference-only schedule for Big Ten teams, Sept. 5 with a road game against Iowa.

University of Maryland head coach Michael Locksley announced Thursday he's formed the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches, a nonprofit organization aimed at helping minority coaches have a path toward upward mobility within the profession.

Locksley, 50, discussed his motivation with Jim Trotter of NFL.com.

"When I took the Maryland job last year and looked at the landscape of college football, I thought to myself, 'There's something missing. I'm on the back nine of my career and the pathway to becoming a head coach is still as difficult as when I got into the business in 1992,'" he said. "I wanted to create an organization that would be able to help prepare, promote and produce the next group of coaches coming up through the ranks at every level."

Locksley has brought in an experienced, high-profile group of coaches and executives to serve on the NCMFC board of directors:

• Bill Polian
• Chris Grier
• Debbie Yow
• Desiree Reed-Francois
• Doug Williams
• Mike Tomlin
• Nick Saban
• Oliver "Buddy" Pough
• Ozzie Newsome
• Rick Smith
• Willie Jeffries

The Terrapins' coach told Trotter he's going to work with them to show NFL teams and college programs there is no shortage of minority coaches who deserve an opportunity:

"These are all people that have either hired head coaches or coordinators or filled upper-level positions throughout their careers. They all have been at the top of the mountain, per se, in their respective areas, whether winning Super Bowls or national championships or being pioneers, like Debbie Yow and Willie Jeffries. We want to use their experiences to help us formulate and produce the list of qualified candidates, so when people say there aren't enough minorities to fill the positions that have come open over the years, we're going to produce a list of qualified people that shows there are qualified people. What's needed is opportunities."

There are only three Black head coaches in the 32-team NFL and 14 Black head coaches at the 130 FBS college football programs heading into the 2020 season, per Trotter.

"The NCMFC will remove the roadblocks to coaching opportunities for minorities through innovative programming, networking and first-of-its-kind promotion strategies," the organization's official website reads.

In January, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league understood changes were necessary.

"Clearly, we are not where we want to be," he told reporters. "It's clear we need to change and do something different. There's no reason to expect a different outcome next year without changes."

Locksley told Trotter his group isn't looking to overtake the Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation, another group created to help minority coaches in the NFL, but rather work in lockstep with all organizations trying to promote the advancement of Black coaches at all levels of football.

He expects the NCMFC will be fully operational with an initial list of candidates in four or five months, which would put those people in line for consideration during the 2021 coaching cycle.

Maryland has temporarily paused its football team's voluntary workouts after nine student-athletes and athletic department staff members tested positive for COVID-19, per Emily Giambalvo of the Washington Post.

The football team was allowed to return to campus June 15 for voluntary workouts amid the COVID-19 pandemic, per Daniel Oyefusi of the Baltimore Sun.

A total of 185 people were screened in Maryland's latest round of testing, per Giambalvo. Maryland tested 105 student-athletes in June, and all results were negative.

The NCAA canceled its winter and spring sports championships March 12 because of COVID-19.

All student-athlete activities on campuses were postponed until June 1, when the NCAA allowed football and men's and women's basketball players to return to campuses for voluntary workouts.

Schools reacted to that news in different fashions. Of note, Maryland allowed just the football team back to campus to start, per CBS Baltimore. 

A few programs have been forced to shut down because of a spike in positive tests. Ohio State paused all voluntary workouts after members on seven varsity teams tested positive, per ESPN's Heather Dinich.

UNC football did so as well after 37 people within its athletics program tested positive, per ESPN's David M. Hale.

Clemson announced six more positive COVID-19 tests Friday, per Matt Connolly of The State. That's in addition to the 37 football players who have tested positive as of figures released June 26.

The news comes amid reports that the Ivy League has shut down its athletics programs through the 2020 calendar year and the Big Ten and Pac-12 are moving to conference-only slates for the fall. 

Taulia Tagovailoa, a rising sophomore quarterback who was on Alabama's depth chart behind brother Tua last year, will transfer to Maryland:

Tagovailoa entered the NCAA transfer portal on May 8, per Matt Zenitz of AL.com, and numerous reports provided reasoning as to why.

Aaron Suttles of The Athletic said the following: "Sources indicated he talked openly of transferring on multiple occasions. The writing was on the wall."

Chris Kirschner of The Athletic added these comments: "Going back to my Bama recruiting roots, Taulia told me on multiple occasions how he only wanted to go to Alabama just because it would be easier on his parents to go to games. He didn't want to be in Tua's shadow."

Tua Tagovailoa is now a Miami Dolphin after going fifth overall in the 2020 NFL draft.

As for Taulia, Mike Rodak of AL.com listed him as the backup on the team's depth chart behind starter Mac Jones in March. Paul Tyson and Bryce Young are the team's other quarterbacks.

Jones, a rising junior, took over as Alabama's started when Tua suffered a season-ending hip dislocation on November. For the season, Jones completed 68.8 percent of his passes for 14 touchdowns and three interceptions.

The Crimson Tide went 3-1 in his starts, which included a 35-16 win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl.

Tyson is a 4-star recruit out of Trussville, Alabama, and the great-grandson of legendary Crimson Tide coach Paul "Bear" Bryant.

Young should be the quarterback of Alabama's future. 247Sports ranked him as the second-best overall prospect in the class of 2020.

Taulia has a lot of competition for the starting role, but he's an accomplished quarterback in his own right, throwing for 3,728 yards and 35 touchdowns in his senior year at Thompson High School in Alabaster, Alabama.

Of note, 247Sports listed him as their No. 5 pro-style quarterback. His list of offers included LSU, Michigan and Oregon.

Now he joins the Terrapins, where he joins a depth chart that includes Josh Jackson, Tyler DeSue and Lance Legendre. 

The Terps are scheduled to open their season on Sept. 5 against Towson, although that is dependent upon the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on collegiate fall athletics.

Roy Lester, who coached at the high school level and spent three years in charge at Maryland, died Sunday at age 96 from complications caused by the coronavirus, his family told the Baltimore Sun's Glenn Graham.

Lester's daughter, Amy Lester Greco, confirmed his death in a Facebook post.

"How blessed I am to have been his only daughter," she wrote. "I am not a perfect person but everything good about me came from this beautiful man. This is a man that 'walked the walk' & when he was talking he was absolutely hilarious!!"

Greco said in a Facebook post April 25 that Lester had contracted the coronavirus.

Lester took charge of the Terrapins in 1969, and the team went 7-25 during his brief spell. Jerry Claiborne replaced Lester in 1972 and guided the program to a stretch of six straight bowl games starting in 1973.

Maryland head coach Mike Locksley credited Lester for helping set the team up for success:

While Lester's college coaching career was largely forgettable, he racked up 260 wins as a high school coach, per the AP.

Maryland didn't officially recognize state champions in football until 1974, so none of Richard Montgomery High School's six perfect seasons with Lester at the helm resulted in a state title. Richard Montgomery's 1968 squad was ranked third in the country.

Following his departure from the Terrapins, Lester coached 15 more years across stints at Paint Branch and Magruder High Schools. His teams were crowned state champions on three occasions over that time.

Former Maryland offensive lineman Ellis McKennie III had plenty to celebrate on Monday as his father was released from the hospital after "close to a month in the hospital" battling COVID-19:

"This is hope. Hope that with tireless work from medical [professionals], support and positivity from loved ones, and a prayer ARMY, that this disease can be beaten," McKennie tweeted. "After close to a month in the hospital, 2 1/2 weeks in a coma, my dad has been released. GOD IS GOOD! STAY POSITIVE!"

McKennie had tweeted on April 11 that his father was expected to come home on Monday.  

ESPN's Tom VanHaaren relayed that Ellis McKennie Jr. was tested for COVID-19 on March 21, "which was enhancing the impact from pneumonia," and the results came back positive on March 23.

McKennie has consistently been tweeting updates about his father:

"Update: Today they removed the ventilator and my dad began breathing on his own for the first time in weeks!" he tweeted on April 6. "My mom even got to speak to him for the first time in 21 days and he said, 'I love you, I am ok.' He's not quite out of the woods but it appears the hard part is behind us."

"It was so emotional when he was released," McKennie told VanHaaren. "I was almost stunned, just speechless, that he finally got out. There were so many tough days throughout this process where I never knew if I was going to get to see my father again. I was just so happy to see him."

McKennie played four years at Maryland. He redshirted in 2015 before seeing game action as a reserve in 2016 and '17. He started three games at right tackle in 2018 and appeared in all 12 games (10 starts) last season for the 3-9 Terrapins.

According to the Terps' official team website, McKennie "became the first offensive lineman to start at four different positions (right guard, center, left tackle & right tackle) in a season since at least 1997." He was also a team captain in 2019.

Wide receiver Rakim Jarrett announced Wednesday he's switched his commitment from the LSU Tigers to the Maryland Terrapins.

Jarrett is a 5-star prospect and the No. 20 overall player in the 2020 recruiting class, per 247Sports' composite rankings. He's also the second-best wideout in next year's group.

The Washington, D.C., native previously committed to the Tigers in April. He didn't provide an explanation for the switch to the Terps.

He spoke highly of LSU's high-powered offense—led by quarterback Joe Burrow, who went on to win the Heisman Trophy—and looked ahead to his own time with the program in October.

"It's definitely exciting," he told the Washington Post. "I know nothing's going to be handed to me."

Jarrett should have a quicker path to playing time with Maryland.

Dontay Demus Jr. was the Terrapins' only receiver to record more than 20 receptions this season (41). It illustrated the need for more playmakers in passing game, which ranked 113th out of 130 FBS programs with 174 yards per game during the 2019 campaign.

In the short term, he provides a nice boost to the Terps' 2020 class as its first 5-star prospect and brings the school up to sixth in the Big Ten recruiting rankings.