Maryland Football: Will Likely ready to cement his legacy

Will Likely had the opportunity to take his talents to a host of high-profile programs coming out of high school.

However, Likely chose to come to Maryland and help build something. The senior cornerback now looks to cement his legacy in one of the toughest conferences in the country.

The all-purpose defensive back has put together quite the career since arriving in College Park.

Likely arrived at Maryland as a three-star recruit out of Glades Central (Fla.) He was expected to be nothing more than a primary backup as a freshman, but an early season injury to Jeremiah Johnson forced Likely into a starting role.

Likely held his own as a true freshman as he registered 70 tackles (51 solo), six pass breakups, and an interception. The 5’7 cornerback also accumulated 934 return yards on both kickoffs and punts with the bulk of the yardage coming via kickoff returns.

The Terrapin cornerback really made a name for himself during his sophomore campaign. Likely tallied a career-high 83 tackles (66 solo), a Big Ten-leading six interceptions, and nine pass breakups.

He also returned a kickoff and punt back for a touchdown.

While he remained a constant force in the secondary, Likely had a banner year in the return game as a junior. He posted career highs in kickoff return yards (789), punt return yards (419), and punt return touchdowns (two).

Likely returned punts back for touchdowns against Bowling Green and Richmond during the first two weeks of the season. His 233 punt return yards against Richmond broke a 76-year Big Ten record that was previously held by Iowa’s Nile Kinnick.

Maryland’s defensive anchor has his name all over the program’s record books. Likely is currently second in program history in kickoff return yards (2,014) and only trails Torrey Smith‘s 2,983 yards (2008-10). His yards-per-return average (25.49) is the fourth highest in Maryland history, trailing only Tom Brown (26.24), Stefon Diggs (25.82), and Tim Quander (25.50).

While it could be a long shot for Likely to top the overall yardage record, he could certainly move into the top three in yards-per-return at the very least.

Likely is as dynamic a football player as any coach could ever want.

In 2015, the Terps even used Likely on offense. Maryland utilized him in a variety of packages and he ended up carrying the football 11 times for 93 yards (8.5 yards-per-carry).

It’s unclear whether coach D.J. Durkin will use Likely on offense this coming season. Either way, Likely will be extremely valuable to the program.

Despite being one of the smaller cornerbacks around, Likely plays the game with a tenacity that you just don’t find every day. Almost as if he was shot with a spring, he breaks on the ball at an alarming pace and gives opposing wide receivers all they can handle.

Likely finished sixth in the Big Ten last season in pass breakups (11) and was one of just six defensive backs in the conference that averaged one or more pass breakups per contest.

This is a guy that is rarely caught out of position. He reads the quarterback’s eyes very well, which is evident in his 12.5 career tackles-for-loss.

Likely is going to be more important than ever to not only Maryland’s secondary but to the entire defense.

The Maryland secondary lost Sean Davis, A.J. Hendy, and Anthony Nixon to graduation. Likely will need to lead a group that may not have a ton of experience.

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Likely is the total package and will certainly to be playing on Sundays next fall. In his final season with the Terps, he could be the most important player on the entire team.