Retooled WR room aims to help Maryland, QB Malik Washington: ‘Get 1% better’.
MarylandNa’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding is new to Maryland football. “We haven’t played any games yet, but at the same time, I do feel like we have definitely been turning the right way on offense, especially through camp, even in the spring, summer workouts,” he ...
"We've been taking steps every day to get 1% better." Gladding, a junior, joins a wide receivers group tasked with helping the Terps improve, especially in the win-loss column.
500 record since 2023 and their first . 500 mark in the Big Ten since 2014 — the school's debut in the league.
Graduation took a toll on the wide receiver room, sapping the team of Jalil Farooq , Shaleak Knotts and Octavian Smith Jr. That trio totaled 145 receptions for 1,791 yards and 10 touchdowns and helped quarterback Malik Washington a year ago pass for 2,963 yards, the most among all NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision freshmen. Redshirt senior Kaleb Webb returns as the team's leading wide receiver with 22 catches for 318 yards and two touchdowns, with redshirt junior Ryan Manning (St. Frances) and redshirt freshman Zymear Smith combined for five receptions for 19 yards.
KEY POINTS
- Retooled WR room aims to help Maryland, QB Malik Washington: ‘Get 1% better’.
- Perhaps not surprisingly, the Old Dominion transfer has high hopes for a program that slogged through back-to-back 4-8 campaigns.
- The 6-foot-5, 201-pound Webb said frequent discussions with wide receivers coach Latrell Scott in the offseason have impressed upon him that expectations are high.
- "He kind of wanted to drill into my head that he's putting a lot of faith in me, and he's expecting me to take a big jump from Year 1 and Year 2 here," he said.