Is Maryland football in danger of wasting QB Malik Washington? | ANALYSIS

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Malik Washington keeps getting better. That is what makes this possibility so uncomfortable.

Is Maryland in danger of wasting him?

Three games into his sophomore season, the quarterback looks more composed, more accurate and more in command of the Terps’ offense than he did as a freshman. At the same time, Maryland’s results have remained stubbornly, almost painfully, familiar.

Against Virginia Tech on Saturday, with the Terps unable to establish a running game and forced to play from behind, Washington completed 30 of 43 passes for 359 yards and three touchdowns.

Not a bad night. Maryland lost, 35-26.

Washington is now 1-9 against Power Four opponents. Maryland has been outscored 320-205 in those games. The lone victory came last season against Wisconsin, which used three quarterbacks that afternoon and finished 4-8.

A loss to UCLA and first-year coach Bob Chesney on Saturday would drop Maryland to 2-2 in the most consequential season of Michael Locksley’s eight-year tenure.

Wins and losses do not belong to quarterbacks alone. The failure against the Hokies certainly did not fall on Washington.

But the 10-game sample against major-conference competition is enough to make that one question increasingly difficult to ignore.

Washington is not just another talented quarterback passing through College Park. For a program that has spent years trying to keep the area’s best players from leaving, the Spalding graduate and Glen Burnie native represents the ideal outcome.

“He is very passionate about the state of Maryland,” said Aaron Campbell, who has worked with Washington as a quarterback coach since eighth grade and at Spalding. “He’s very passionate about being from here, wanting to put on for this area.”

People outside Maryland are noticing him, too.

Washington threw for a program freshman-record 2,963 yards last season, then earned an invitation to serve as a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy this summer. NFL draft analyst Todd McShay left the camp saying that, physically, “nobody had his arm.”

Even the coach who just beat him came away impressed. After Virginia Tech cornerback Jaquez White questioned Washington’s accuracy earlier in the week, coach James Franklin rejected that assessment.

“I don’t know why you’ve watched the film from the week before — the guy completed 18 straight passes — and make a comment like that,” Franklin said. “He’s one of the better quarterbacks in the country, and we’re fortunate to get out of here with a win.”

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The numbers show the same progression.

Through three games, Washington has completed 83 of 116 passes for 892 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions. His completion percentage has jumped from 57.7% last season to 71.6%, with his biggest improvement coming between 10 and 19 yards. He completed 45.7% of those throws as a freshman. This season, he is 19-for-25 — 76%.

“The game has slowed down for him tremendously,” Campbell said.

The offense around him has required some improvising. Lead running back DeJuan Williams has not played since the opener because of a knee injury, leaving Maryland without a conventional running game.

That helps explain why 26.7% of Washington’s passes have been thrown behind the line of scrimmage, up from 17.7% last season. “We look at those passes as runs,” Locksley said.

Wyoming transfer Chris Durr Jr. has been the biggest beneficiary, catching 28 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns. Nineteen of those catches have been either behind the line of scrimmage or less than 10 yards downfield, totaling 120 yards. But he has also been dangerous farther downfield, with eight catches between 10 and 19 yards for 112 yards.

That is where Maryland’s usage of Washington becomes interesting. At the intermediate level, where Washington has been at his best, 21.6% of his attempts have gone — almost exactly the national rate.

Farther downfield, Maryland has been more conservative. Only 12.1% of Washington’s attempts have traveled at least 20 yards, compared with a national average of 16.1%.

That does not necessarily mean the Terps should simply throw deep more often. Washington is only 4-for-14 on those passes, and Campbell cautioned that the raw numbers miss context.

The more important question is what Maryland can put around him.

Saturday provided the clearest warning yet. Virginia Tech controlled the line of scrimmage, scored touchdowns on five of its first six possessions and built a 35-14 lead. Washington kept playing clean football, bringing Maryland back with two fourth-quarter touchdown drives and no turnovers, continuing a three-game stretch in which the Terps’ offense has yet to turn the ball over.

It wasn’t enough.

That should worry Maryland.

McShay has already publicly raised the possibility that Washington could eventually command enormous NIL money elsewhere. The precise number is speculative. The larger point is not. A 6-foot-5 quarterback with Washington’s arm, production and improvement will have options.

Maryland spent years trying to keep a player like this home.

It finally did. And 15 starts later, the uncomfortable part is wondering whether the program will become good enough around him before the opportunity is gone.

Have a news tip? Contact Michael Howes at mhowes@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/Mikephowes.

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