Maryland Football: Ty Johnson will try to stand out

Ty Johnson didn’t play a ton as a freshman, but certainly made the most of his opportunities.

Johnson could be a huge part of Maryland’s offensive attack in 2016 despite a very crowded backfield.

It shouldn’t have come as a huge surprise that Johnson burst onto the scene as a true freshman and saw success. During his time at Fort Hill (Md.), Johnson had 4,851 all-purpose yards and 65 touchdowns.

He rushed for 3,363 yards (14.7 yards-per-carry) and 43 touchdowns and led Fort Hill to a 37-3 record during his high school career. Johnson also led the Sentinels to back-to-back 14-0 state championship seasons during his junior and senior campaigns.

Johnson was one of the most accomplished backs to ever play high school football in the state of Maryland. However, it was uncertain as to how much playing time he would see as a freshman in College Park.

The Terrapins already had Brandon Ross and Wes Brown anchoring the top of the depth chart. In fact, Ross ended up having a career year in which he rushed for 958 yards and 10 touchdowns.

However, Johnson saw action right away as he played in the season opener against Richmond.

Johnson carried the ball 10 times for 83 yards and a touchdown. On his first collegiate drive, Johnson racked up 40 yards on five carries, including a two-yard touchdown run on a read-option pitch.

It was evident from the very beginning that Johnson possesses elite speed and superb vision. Those are two very valuable tools for a running back and they’re the kind that can’t really be taught.

Johnson only registered double-digit carries in one more game during the 2015 season. In a 35-17 Maryland win over South Florida, Johnson registered 10 carries but only accumulated 30 yards on the ground.

Johnson’s best game came against Rutgers in the 2015 season finale. While he only had two carries, the former Fort Hill standout made them count.

Johnson busted off touchdown runs of 43 and 44 yards respectively.

The first one came in the second quarter when the Terps were trailing the Scarlet Knights 24-3. Quarterback Caleb Rowe began out of the shotgun formation and ran a traditional read-option play.

He ran to the outside and drew the Rutgers defense in before pitching the ball off to Johnson, who took it the rest of the way for the touchdown.

In the third quarter, Maryland was trailing by a slim 31-20 margin and was in need of a big play.

Rowe took the snap out of the shotgun once again and deposited it right into the chest of Johnson on a halfback draw play. Johnson displayed his excellent vision as he took the ball straight up the middle between the hash marks for a 44-yard touchdown run.

The pair of long touchdown runs displayed two of Johnson’s most positive attributes in speed and vision.

On the first touchdown run, he tightroped the sideline and used his speed to get past the Scarlet Knight defenders. On the second big rush, Johnson ran straight up the middle and showed off his tremendous field vision.

Johnson finished the 2015 season with 35 carries for 250 yards and three touchdowns.

The sophomore running back will enter training camp competing for playing time with Brown and Virginia Tech graduate transfer Trey Edmunds. Johnson had a terrific afternoon in the Red-White Spring Game in April as he rushed for 167 yards on just 11 carries, which included a 64-yard touchdown run.

By all accounts, Brown and Edmunds were also impressive during spring practices despite less-than-stellar showings in the Spring Game.

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Each back brings a different skillset to the table, so all three will likely see time this fall. However, it’ll be interesting to see if Johnson can make some noise similar to last season.