Top 5 most important players for Maryland football

Oct 4, 2014; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins quarterback Caleb Rowe (7) throws during the third quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Byrd Stadium. Ohio State Buckeyes defeated Maryland Terrapins 52-24. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

No. 2 Caleb Rowe

During Edsall’s tenure in College Park, C.J. Brown has been the guy running the offense for the Terps.

However, that will finally change in 2015.

Brown has finally graduated after six years at Maryland and the torch will be passed to senior Caleb Rowe. Rowe has seen action during his first three seasons with the Terps, partially due to how fragile Brown was at the position. Rowe’s biggest sample size came during the 2013 season as he played in six games with four of those being in relief of Brown. Rowe did start against Virginia as he completed 18-of-34 passes for 332 yards and a touchdown. With Maryland trailing 26-20 in the fourth quarter, Rowe engineered his first touchdown drive of the day as he capped it off with a 12-yard strike to tight end Dave Stinebaugh with 5:14 left. In his other start that season, Rowe went 20-of-46 for 287 yards to go along with three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. Maryland hung with No. 9 Clemson for the first three quarters before the Tigers broke the game open in the final stanza.

With Brown running the show, it’s been a read-option type of offense. However, with Rowe now leading the way, that should change. The South Carolina native is a traditional pocket passer that does have a rapport with these wide receivers. For example, in that Clemson game, two of his touchdown passes were to Levern Jacobs and Amba Etta-Tawo. Both wideouts will be back in 2015 and will try to replace the production that the team thought they were getting from Marcus Leak and Juwann Winfree, who both left the program over the summer.

One of the keys to Rowe’s success is how the offensive line will hold up. It’s very likely that redshirt freshmen Derwin Gray and Damian Prince will see the field this season. If this young group can reach their potential and excel, Rowe has an opportunity to be very successful in the Big Ten.