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Maryland‘s second season in the Big Ten didn’t go as well as their inaugural, but every cloud has a silver lining and for the Terrapins, it was defensive back/return specialist William Likely.
The soon-to-be senior from Belle Glade, FL has seven career interceptions, though he’s known by many for his explosive plays in the return game. Likely has six career kick/punt returns for touchdowns, which gave the Terps a spark that they struggled to find from their offense. The staff experimented with Likely on offense in 2015, but it’s his defensive contributions that will be essential if the team wants to improve on a 3-9 record.
The Terps will be moving forward with new head coach, D.J. Durkin, and the former Michigan defensive coordinator is probably counting his lucky stars that Likely decided to return for his senior season. The secondary will have no other returning starters, while defensive linemen Yannick Ngakoue and Quinton Jefferson opted to forego their senior year. Ngakoue led the team in sacks and tackles for loss. Likely and junior linebacker Jermaine Carter will lead the defense in 2016.
Likely also cited his education as a reason for his decision to remain at Maryland, tweeting that it’s his primary focus, which is certainly admirable.
Maryland ranked ninth in the Big Ten in scoring defense and 11th in total defense this season. Offensively, the Terps didn’t have much going on either, ranking ninth or worse in both major offensive statistical categories.
The team had a lot of distractions in 2015 with the midseason firing of head coach Randy Edsall, but I’m sure they wouldn’t use that as an excuse. According to 247Sports, the Terps have the eighth ranked recruiting class in the Big Ten and the 41st ranked class in the country. Durkin may have to greenlight a few of his top incoming freshmen, which includes four four-star recruits, to add a little bit of depth to the roster.
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