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Maryland Football: Limiting turnovers has been key to success
The Maryland football team threw 29 interceptions last season.
However, the Terrapins haven’t turned the ball over through the first two games of the 2016 season.
Quarterback Perry Hills has looked nothing short of flawless during that time. Hills has completed 27-of-37 passes for 336 yards and three touchdowns.
He also hasn’t run the football nearly as much. Hills only has carried it nine times for 57 yards.
“The turnovers have definitely been a point of emphasis every day in our building,” coach D.J. Durkin said. “In order to win, you can’t beat yourself. In order to beat someone else, you have to not beat yourself first.”
Hills has made smart throws and hasn’t really forced any passes that aren’t there. It also has helped that the Terps have had a phenomenal ground attack early on.
In two games, Maryland has racked up 554 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. That is good for an average of 277 yards-per-game and 6.2 yards-per-carry.
“Every single day as an offensive group, we start with ball security,” offensive coordinator Walt Bell said. “There’s a four-minute period every day dedicated to it. Perfect snaps, perfect quarterback exchange, and every skill guy has a ball in his hand for four minutes working on protecting the ball. It’s the continuous education.”
Protecting the football definitely becomes an even bigger issue with the pace that Bell’s offense goes at. There’s often just a few seconds between plays, so those quick decisions could turning into fumbles if a player isn’t be careful.
Despite the frantic pace at times, Maryland has looked phenomenal running their offensive sets.
“I think we’ve been executing our plays well,” tight end Derrick Hayward added. “Coach Bell still wants us to go at a faster pace so the main thing for us going into this week is picking up the pace of the offense.”
The offense has been catered to Hills more than it ever has been before. He hasn’t been put in positions that he’s uncomfortable with.
The offense will certainly get a much bigger test on Friday against Central Florida. However, if they can continue to protect the football and avoid turnovers, this is a Maryland team that could definitely make some noise in the Big Ten East Division race.
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