Previously: Maryland Offense The Terps' offense gets much of the focus. That's where the brand name players and the projectable NFL talents on this team are. But the defense? Eek. Last year Maryland surrendered 66 points to Ohio State, 59 points to Michigan, 35 points to Indiana, 31 points to Penn State, and 40 points to Michigan State. It was the weak spot of the team and in the offseason Mike Locksley changed things up, getting a new defensive coordinator, in addition to a decent amount of roster turnover. The result? It's unclear if things are any better. Maryland gave up 520 yards to SMU last week, 292 to an awful Charlotte team in Week 2, and 268 to an equally bad Buffalo team to start the season. It's only cost them 55 points in total so far, but now comes a real test in Michigan. The Film: Still the SMU tape for the reasons stated in the previous piece. Maryland's other two non-con opponents were almost as bad as Michigan's non-con slate, while SMU should be a decent(ish) team. Personnel: Chart. Click for big, or here for PDF. Maryland's defense is a 4-2-5 set-up featuring a stand-up EDGE named the "JACK". Returning starters Mosiah Nasili-Kite and Ami Finau anchor the interior spots of the defensive line. I thought both were weak links a year ago, but so far so good from them in run defense. Their reserves, Tom Akingbesote and Henry Chibueze, are a pretty clear step down in your author's mind, yet there is healthy rotation at this position. We did give the starters the "solid" distinction on the chart. Durell Nchami is the traditional end opposite Greg China-Rose at JACK, who rotates with the likes of Riyad Wilmot and Tyler Baylor. At the LB level, true freshman and St. Frances product Jaishawn Barham was a centerpiece of Maryland's 2022 recruiting class and they're throwing him into the deep-end by making Barham the starting MIKE in his first NCAA season. The results have been pretty impressive so far. The remainder of the true LBs are the same terrible linebackers from last season. Ruben Hyppolite II hasn't been as bad this year as he was a year ago, but he is a game-time decision after sustaining an injury against SMU. If Ahmad McCullough has to get significant run, that's bad news for the Terps, as he was picked on repeatedly in coverage by the Mustangs and was dreadful a year ago. Gereme Spraggins still has a great name and still is a player Maryland doesn't really want on the field, hence why Barham is the starter. Fa'Najae Gotay rounds out this positional group as mostly a name. Every so often Maryland goes into a true 3-3-5 or a 4-3-4 look. If that is the case, Tyler Baylor, mentioned also in the JACK section, can play a traditional SAM, as can VanDarius Cowan or Kellan Wyatt. Corner sees Jakorian Bennett get almost every-down snaps but after that this is a clown car rotation. Against SMU, four different corners played between 50 and 56 snaps, including Corey Coley, Tarheeb Still, Deonte Banks, and Gavin Gibson. These guys are hard to differentiate between and I would struggle to do so if asked, despite just having watched Maryland's tape. They're all about the same caliber. The safeties are much more consistent, Beau Brade and Dante Trader playing all but one snap a week ago. Brade had a pretty strong effort, while Trader was exactly the opposite. There is no one else worth discussing at this position. As you may notice, there is no star on our diagram. There will be a Dangerman section, unlike Hawaii, but I didn't feel that anyone on this defense really rises to the level required to get a star. Given how the defense performed as a whole against SMU, that feels appropriate. The other note I have in this section is that I rattled off a lot of names. Maryland rotated around 20 bodies of note in against SMU, which may have been related to how many plays SMU ran, but is worth noting. PFF had 22 different players playing at least 18% of the snaps in that one, with mass rotation on the DL and at corner in particular. [AFTER THE JUMP: Open receivers]