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Maryland Football: Perry Hills is the most important player
Maryland struggled down the stretch this season and the absence of Perry Hills was a big reason for that.
With that being said, Hills is easily the most important player on either side of the football for the Terrapins in the Quick Lane Bowl.
Hills missed two full games (Minnesota & Nebraska) and left three games early due to injury. The Pennsylvania native dealt with shoulder injuries throughout the second half of the season.
The Terps had a 6-1 record in games that Hills finished.
From a numbers standpoint, Hills was actually one of the top passers in the nation. Obviously, he didn’t have enough passing attempts to qualify to be one of the leaders in the completion percentage category.
The senior signal caller completed 107-of-162 passes (66 percent) during the 2016 season. In terms of the Big Ten, Hills would’ve had the highest completion percentage if he had qualified.
Obviously, we’ll never know what his percentage what’ve been if Hills would’ve played all 12 games or anything even close to that. Michigan’s Wilton Speight had the highest percentage (62.5) as he completed 183-of-293 passes on the season.
Talent wise, Hills just makes the Maryland offense run a lot smoother.
The Terps have had the likes of Max Bortenschlager, Tyrrell Pigrome, and Caleb Rowe see time under center this season. Needless to say, when each one was running the offense, the unit was sacrificing something.
Bortenschlager and Rowe aren’t known for their running ability while Pigrome isn’t a phenomenal passer.
Hills is the perfect fit for Walt Bell’s offense and he showed why when he was healthy this season. Maryland really cut down on the turnovers (Hills threw just three interceptions).
The Terps signal caller didn’t force anything when passing the football, but he remained confident in his running ability. Hills rushed for a career-high four touchdowns despite only registering 78 carries in limited action.
Hills can run any read-option formation to perfection. While he doesn’t have a great arm, he still has sling the ball in addition to opting to run as well.
With Hills being a threat to pass or run, it keeps opposing defenses on their toes. If Hills does choose to throw, he has plenty of weapons to toss the ball to in star wideouts Levern Jacobs and D.J. Moore.
Boston College has a very strong front seven, which is why Hills’ play is going to be so crucial in the Quick Lane Bowl.
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