Eight straight defeats to answer for
Maryland’s 2025 season split cleanly in two. Four wins to open, then eight consecutive defeats to close. It was a second straight 4-8 finish for Mike Locksley, and the arithmetic behind the collapse keeps pointing at one player.
Malik Washington started every game as a true freshman. He finished with 2,963 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions, a respectable line for someone thrown in that early. The problem sits in the distribution rather than the totals. Washington threw at least one interception in each of the final six games, which is precisely the stretch when the Terrapins stopped winning.
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Locksley takes the handbrake off
Maryland host Hampton on Saturday in College Park, and their coach has spent the build-up explaining why year two should look different.
“A year ago because we knew we were throwing him in there inexperienced, we probably were a little more conservative,” Locksley said at the Terps’ media day. “But I can tell you that the way he was taught and the things that he learned a year ago will benefit him now that he’s in a system that fits his skill set including his ability to use his feet to make plays.”
Washington has help. DeJuan Williams returns as the leading rusher from last season with 501 yards, and the receiving group pairs Kaleb Webb with transfer Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding.
Hampton bring a shutout with them
The Pirates are 1-0 after a 45-0 win over Virginia University-Lynchburg, their first shutout since 2017. Freshman Amari Pryear came off the bench and ran for 132 yards on eight carries, an average of 16.5 per touch. It was a first game in charge for Van Malone, and it went about as well as first games go.
Saturday is a different exercise entirely. This is Hampton’s first meeting with a Power Four opponent.
“For us, it’s about playing mistake-free football because Maryland can make you pay,” Malone said on Monday. “As we roll into practicing for this game, what I want to tell our players is we don’t have to be perfect, but we have to be better than we were last week.”
Perfection is not the standard in College Park either. Eight wins across the last two seasons says as much.
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