It also speaks to Maryland having finally rebuilt its defensive midfield depth in the wake of both Isaiah Davis-Allen and Nick Manis graduating after the Terps’ national title in 2017. Puglise emerged as a mainstay early in his career, but the overall the lack of options has created some vulnerability exposed in the 2018 NCAA semifinals by Duke and the 2019 NCAA quarterfinals by Virginia.
Yet the Terps are older now, with Higgins (who transferred from Cleveland State before last season), Puglise and Smith all seniors. So perhaps there will be a willingness to go deeper in 2021.
It doesn’t hurt that one of Maryland’s few fifth-year seniors will be Jared Bernhardt, who planned to play football at Division II Ferris State before its season was wiped out due to the pandemic. The attackman re-inserts a major component into the Terps’ offense and also creates a little more wiggle room at that end of the field as well.