Maryland football’s defensive line is ready to take charge in 2026
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Testudo Times’ position previews for Maryland football have covered the program’s quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end and offensive line rooms. With the offense complete, we turn to the defense and begin with the trenches, the foundation of what the Terps will hope to do on defense this season.
As Walt Whitman undoubtedly would have surmised if he were still alive today, Maryland’s defensive line is large, and it contains multitudes.
In 2025, the Terps found success in the pass rush, with their 2.25 sacks per game seventh-best in the conference. However, Maryland allowed 175.6 yards of rushing per game, the 99th-best mark in the FBS. Opponents consistently earned four or five yards to keep the script positive in 2025.
The group’s composition was strikingly multitudinal as well.
On the interior defensive line, it was the experienced players who shone. Journeyman Cam Rice earned honorable mention All-Big Ten status in his final season of college football, while junior Dillon Fontus was a steady presence that shored up the attack.
On the edges, it was the youth that stood out. Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis combined for 13 sacks on their way to freshman All-American honors, earning national recognition and big-money offers to stay in College Park.
Maryland will be without three of those four starters in 2026. Rice graduated, Fontus transferred to Syracuse, and Mathis suffered a season-ending injury in early August. Needing players to fill all sorts of roles along the line, head coach Mike Locksley and the Terps went back to the same well ahead of 2026.
On the interior, the Terps added an infusion of veteran experience, fleshing out a core necessary for the grueling Big Ten schedule. On the edge, the Terps added the highest-ranked prospect the program has ever seen in local five-star Zion Elee.
This defensive line group had possibly the most talent added of any position room in the program; Maryland will hope that will translate to sustained on-field success and won’t contradict itself.
| Name | Year | 2025 Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Sidney Stewart | Sophomore | 12 games, 32 tackles (20 solo), 10.5 TFL, 7 sacks, 1 FF, 7 QBH, 2 PBU, 1 forced safety |
| Zion Elee | Freshman | High school (5-star) |
| Nahsir Taylor | Sophomore | 11 games, 19 tackles (8 solo), 3 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 QBH |
| DD Holmes | Redshirt Sophomore | 9 games, 9 tackles (5 solo), 1 FR, 1 QBH |
| Jianni Davis | Freshman | High school (3-star) |
| Zahir Mathis | Sophomore | 11 games, 35 tackles (22 solo), 8.5 TFL, 6 sacks, 3 QBH, 1 PBU, 1 blocked kick |
| Name | Year | 2024 Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Eyan Thomas | Redshirt Junior | 12 games, 27 tackles (12 solo), 3 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 1 PBU, 2 QBH, 1 FF |
| Lavon Johnson | Senior | 7 games, 5 tackles (3 solo), 1 TFL (at Texas) |
| Derrick LeBlanc | Redshirt Junior | 8 games, 13 tackles (7 solo), 2 TFL, 1 PBU, 1 fumble recovery (at UCF) |
| EJ Moore Jr. | Junior | 11 games, 4 tackles (2 solo), 1 QBH |
| Joel Starlings | Redshirt Junior | 11 games, 7 tackles (5 solo), 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 QBH |
| Bryce Jenkins | Sophomore | 8 games, 9 tackles (6 solo), 1 TFL |
| Jayvon Parker | Redshirt Senior | 1 game, N/A (at Washington) |
| Armon Parker | Redshirt Senior | 8 games, 8 tackles (5 solo), 1 TFL, 1 sack (at Washington) |
| Daniel Owens | Redshirt Senior | 7 games, 3 tackles (1 solo) |
| Joshua Simmons | Redshirt Sophomore | N/A |
| Delmar White | Redshirt Freshman | N/A (redshirted) |
| JaMarcus Whyce | Freshman | High school (4-star) |
| Cam Brickle II | Freshman | High school (3-star) |
An edge on the edge
With Mathis lost for the season to injury, Stewart becomes the undisputed top dog — or bull — in the defensive end room. His return to the program following a breakout 2025 campaign was a victory for the Maryland coaching staff, and he will almost undoubtedly repay them in kind on the field this season.
Stewart will likely be joined by Elee on the first wave, although defensive coordinator Ted Monachino will be willing to mix and match his pieces. Speaking to the media before Mathis’ injury, Monachino said his goal with Elee was to put the youngster in positions that maximize his strengths. That may have indicated a tradeoff of a slightly lower number of snaps for a greater potential impact; with more snaps available, some will almost undoubtedly go Stewart’s way.
But the coaching staff remains incredibly high on the “second-string” edge rushers, Nahsir Taylor and DD Holmes. Each found success in limited snaps last season, with Taylor in particular displaying a penchant for getting to the quarterback. The fall-off in Mathis’ absence
Three-star freshman Jianni Davis rounds out the edge-rushing room. While he is the son of former Maryland great Vernon Davis, Jianni’s inclusion on the roster is fully of his own merit — he stood out at Bishop McNamara and was named the 31st-best player in the state by ESPN. There is a realistic pathway to him earning playing time in 2026 given what the Terps got out of other three-star freshmen edges last year.
Interior transfers
Lavon Johnson made his big-time move away from College Park in the 2024 offseason, transferring to Texas ahead of what could have been a productive 2025 season. However, like fellow gone-and-back Terp Preston Howard, Johnson failed to establish himself and achieve consistent game time and was back to College Park ahead of his final season.
Johnson brings a veteran presence to the interior that is needed following the departures of Rice and Fontus; so too does Derrick LeBlanc, the redshirt junior UCF transfer who put up positive numbers in the Big 12. Both are expected to be among the starting rotation for the Terps.
The redshirt senior Parker twins, formerly of the University of Washington, bring added size to the team, but their challenge will be remaining healthy for the entirety of the season. The 320-pound Armon didn’t play a snap of regular-season football until last year, when he competed in eight games for the Huskies. The 330-pound Jayvon dealt with a season-ending injury four games into the 2024 season and played just one game in 2025.
Big men returning
Eyan Thomas had the most snaps for Maryland of the group last year, with his 397 trailing only Rice and Fontus. The former FCS player took a step up for the Terps last year and proved his quality, which should lead to prominent playing time in 2026.
EJ Moore Jr., Joel Starlings and Bryce Jenkins are the other returners who had at least 100 snaps for Maryland last year. Moore and Starlings project similarly as more hybrid-profile players that will find their home in the B-gap or toward the fringes of the line. Jenkins, meanwhile, is a pure people-mover at 6-foot-6 and 350 pounds. The former four-star was the Terps’ best run stopper last year, and the team will need more of the same from him in 2026.
Maryland’s coaching staff briefly attempted to convert Daniel Owens into a tight end in 2025, not an encouraging sign for most players. He was still listed as a tight end on the team’s website until early August, when he was flipped back to a defensive lineman.
Joshua Simmons and Delmar White have not played a snap for Maryland before, and given the bodies ahead of them, their paths to playing time look difficult. Freshmen JaMarcus Whyce and Cam Brickle II have not played for Maryland either, but they are in a different scenario. Either player could see some game time, but the majority of the interior defensive linemen Maryland recruits redshirt early in their careers.
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