Maryland Football: Kasim Hill has a great supporting cast

Kasim Hill certainly has had a remarkable start to his Maryland career.

The transition has definitely been able easy with the wide host of talent that the Terrapins have on the offensive side of the ball.

In four quarters, Hill has completed 16-of-19 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns. He’s also added 55 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

The former St. John’s College (D.C.) standout completed his first 11 collegiate passes. It certainly didn’t hurt that he has the supporting cast that he does.

“I think the best thing that helps Kasim is that offensive line,” coach D.J. Durkin said. “Those guys are a fun group to coach. They take pride in their work and are talented. When you look at the offense as a whole, they have done a great job rallying around Kasim and helping him through it.”

Running back Ty Johnson has rushed for 256 yards and three touchdowns through two games. In addition, the star junior is also averaging a prolific 15.1 yards-per-carry.

On early downs, Johnson’s presence allows Hill to catch opposing defenses off guard. Many teams will often think that Maryland will just run the ball with Johnson, but Hill can use that as a decoy and throw the football.

For example, on the first play of Saturday’s game, Hill stood in a shotgun formation with Johnson to his right. He faked the handoff before pulling the ball back and tossing a dart to wideout Taivon Jacobs on a slant route.

Hill actually passed on the first four plays of the game. In fact, two of those went to star wide receiver D.J. Moore, who set Maryland up in Towson territory.

Moore has been a popular target for Moore and for good reason. In two games, the Pennsylvania native has caught 14 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns.

In Saturday’s win, Moore recorded seven of the team’s 14 receptions and got involved early. Having a security blanket at the wideout position certainly allows Hill to be confident on where to go when he needs to move the chains.

Hill has made some big-time throws and his teammates have certainly noticed.

“I don’t think anything surprises me,” right guard Terrance Davis said. “Kasim has been cool and calm since he’s gotten here, so when Pig (Tyrrell Pigrome) went down we knew he was going to step right in and do the job well and that’s what he did today.”

Most teams would be a little hesistant to hand the reins over to a true freshman quarterback after an experienced signal caller goes down. However, that’s far from the case with the Terps.

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As the season goes on, there will most likely be bumps in the road for Hill. However, with the way that the freshman has handled himself so far, the offense appears to be in great hands.