After assessments of the Terps offense finished with the tight ends Wednesday, our Maryland football position previews flip the field. Also check out our quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and offensive line previews. We return to the trenches to take a look at the Terps’ defensive line.
According to Pro Football Focus, Maryland’s defense ranked 16th in the Big Ten in 2024, but the line was one of its strengths. A familiar refrain for the Terps, though: last year’s most valuable players at
the position are gone.
Maryland lost all four of its top pieces — Jordan Phillips, Tommy Akingbesote, Lavon Johnson and Taisze Johnson — to a combination of graduation, the portal and the draft. Those four combined for 87% of interior snaps under defensive line coach and defensive coordinator Brian Williams last year. Quashon Fuller, who was an effective hybrid edge rusher for the Terps in 2024, also graduated.
This season, the turned-over defensive line is helmed by 2010 first-round NFL Draft pick Corey Liuget. The former Illinois standout, who was promoted from defensive assistant to defensive line coach after Williams’ departure, will need his players to grow into their roles while he grows into his. And Liuget has several players with opportunities to grow.
After rostering just 11 defensive linemen last season, Maryland has 19 listed at the position in 2025. Six players transferred into the program, and another six are true freshmen. With four spots up for grabs in new defensive coordinator Ted Monachino’s scheme, the Terps have plenty of room for breakouts to assert themselves over the coming weeks.
| NAME | YEAR | 2024 STATS |
|---|---|---|
| Dillan Fontus | Junior | 12 games, 9 Tackles, 1 Blocked kick |
| Sedrick Smith | Redshirt Sophomore | 11 games, 20 Tackles, 3.5 TFL, 2.0 Sacks, 3 QBH (At Alabama A&M) |
| Eyan Thomas | Redshirt Sophomore | 11 games, 37 Tackles, 7 TFL, 3.5 Sacks, 3 QBH, 2 PBU (At Saint Francis (PA)) |
| Bryce Jenkins | Freshman | High School (4-star) |
| Delmar White | Freshman | High School (3-star) |
| Joel Starlings | Redshirt Sophomore | 3 games, 1 Tackle (At North Carolina) |
| Dmitry Nicolas | Redshirt Freshman | 3 games, 1 Tackle (Redshirted) |
| Joshua Simmons | Redshirt Freshman | 1 game, 1 Tackle, 2 QB hurries (Redshirted at Florida State) |
| Aaron Folivi | Redshirt Junior | N/A (Redshirted) |
| Samuel Adu | Redshirt Junior | N/A |
| NAME | YEAR | 2024 STATS |
|---|---|---|
| Cam Rice | Graduate Student | 12 games (1 start), 30 Tackles, 8.5 TFL, 3.0 Sacks, 5 QBH, 1 PBU (At Ohio University) |
| EJ Moore Jr. | Sophomore | 12 games (2 starts), 18 Tackles, 3 TFL, 0.5 Sack, 4 QBH, 1 Fum Rec, 1 TD (At Western Carolina) |
| Daniel Owens | Redshirt Junior | 9 games, 9 Tackles, 1 TFL, 0.5 Sack |
| Zahir Mathis | Freshman | High School (4-star) |
| Sidney Stewart | Freshman | High School (3-star) |
| Nahsir Taylor | Freshman | High School (3-star) |
| Dante Recker | Freshman | High School (3-star) |
| DD Holmes | Redshirt Freshman | N/A (Redshirted) |
| Akindele Dare | Redshirt Junior | N/A |
The returners
Junior Dillan Fontus, who recorded nine tackles and a blocked PAT in 2024, is the only returning Terp on the defensive interior to have played more than 20 snaps last season. By default, then, he will be an important presence for Maryland both in games and in training as the Terps look to bring along younger players.
Daniel Owens is the other important player to have returned to the Terps in 2025. In nine games last season, the 6-foot-4, 266-pound Owens had nine tackles, offering the Terps valuable size and depth along the edge.
Redshirt freshmen Dmitry Nicolas and DD Holmes and redshirt juniors Aaron Folivi, Samuel Adu and Akindele Dare round out the group of multi-year Terps. Out of the group, only Nicolas saw the field last season. Nicolas, Holmes and Folivi all redshirted in 2024, while Adu and Dare are walk-ons who have never played a down. Their chances to rise in the depth chart are far from guaranteed with the quality of Maryland’s newcomers.
The fresh faces
All six of Maryland’s freshman recruits were rated at least three stars, offering Liuget a class with buckets of upside.
Four-star Bryce Jenkins and three-star Delmar White will be the Terps’ mountain men this season. The Maryland natives weigh in at 6-foot-6, 350 pounds, and 6-foot-2, 340 pounds, respectively, and offer the big run-stopping presence that Maryland lost with Akingbesote and Phillips’ departures.
On the outside, Zahir Mathis and Sydney Stewart come highly-ranked. Mathis, another four-star, was ranked as the top player out of the state of Pennsylvania. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound end originally committed to Ohio State before ultimately choosing the Terps and could factor into the equation this season. Stewart, meanwhile, was named alongside quarterback Malik Washington as a freshman to watch by Big Ten media. A cousin of Derik Queen, Stewart has carved out a name of his own, coming to the Terps as a top-40 prospect from the state of Maryland while remaining similarly influenced by his home.
Three-star Dante Recker is an interesting profile at 6-foot-7 and 245 pounds, while three-star Nahsir Taylor chose the Terps over Georgia, Penn State and Notre Dame as part of the “#freegrandma” movement and could play a role eventually. However, the most important freshman in the Terps’ defensive line reckoning may be one who’s not even a freshman yet.
The commitment of five-star Zion Elee, who continues to rebuff interest from college football’s top programs, casts a shadow over everything Maryland does this season. Elee will not be given his spot, but it is hard to envision a scenario in which he does not earn it in 2026, giving these players extra motivation to prove themselves this year.
The green-grass chasers
Graduate Cam Rice, who has had a winding path to College Park, will likely be pivotal. The former high school quarterback walked on at West Virginia as a linebacker. From there, he transferred to West Liberty University and was a finalist for the Harmon Hill Trophy, awarded to the best player in Division II, in 2023. Another year at West Liberty was followed by an impact season at Ohio University, and Rice is back on the big stage with Maryland with nothing to lose.
Sophomore EJ Moore Jr. joins the Terps after impressing as a freshman at Western Carolina. The 6-foot-2, 292-pound defensive lineman logged 18 tackles, half a sack, and a fumble returned for a touchdown while playing all 12 games for a WCU team that finished above .500 on the year. Moore was selected as a Fourth-Team 2024 FCS Freshman All-American by Phil Steele and has every chance of transferring that form over this year.
A trio of redshirt sophomores in Sedrick Smith, Eyon Thomas and Joel Starlings all begin their Terp tenures this fall. Smith and Thomas starred at the FCS level, combining for 57 tackles and 5.5 sacks while each playing 11 games for Alabama A&M and Saint Francis (PA), respectively. Starlings spent two years in Chapel Hill with new defensive coordinator Monachino; however, he only featured in three games last season, logging one tackle.
Redshirt freshman Joshua Simmons is the final transfer on the defensive line. In just one appearance for Florida State last year, the DeMatha Catholic product logged a tackle and two QB hurries, with the return home giving him a chance for further on-field experience.
