Maryland tries to avoid a two-game losing streak with a difficult trip to Happy Valley and Kevin Willard keeps three talented basketball recruits at home in this week’s “Terps Top Three”:
Banged up: Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford will be down a few of his key protectors on the offensive line for Saturday’s game with Maryland (3:30 p.m., Fox).
Starting left guard Landon Tengwall is out with a season-ending injury, as announced this week by Nittany Lions coach James Franklin. He also said talented left tackle Olu Fashanu’s status is week to week.
Fashanu, projected by multiple outlets as a first-round NFL draft pick, missed Penn State’s last game at Indiana. Right tackle Caeden Wallace also has missed time due to injury. The unit as a whole has only allowed 13 sacks this season, fourth-best in the Big Ten.
On the injury front for the Terrapins, center Mason Lunsford is a scratch against the No. 14 Nittany Lions after being in the concussion protocol and missing last week’s game at Wisconsin.
Culture shift: In 2021, Maryland felt at times like it was slogging through the bulk of the season. Two three-game losing streaks in October and November were bisected only by a three-point home win over Indiana on Oct. 30.
Maryland (6-3) has yet to lose back-to-back games this season. It is something coach Mike Locksley said Thursday that he was unaware of, but attributed to increased accountability by players to not let one setback roll into multiple ones.
“I think the way our guys go about preparing during the week, the consistency in which we prepare, that’s as important as anything … this team has continued to show up,” Locksley said.
Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa echoed those same sentiments this week.
“Knowing we have a team like Penn State that we got to go up there, [there’s] no time to get in your feelings or get emotional, think about leaving or whatever,” Tagovailoa said. “We’re all together, and we’re all ready to work and turn this thing around and get back on the right track.”
Staying home: Kevin Willard is filling out his first recruiting class as men’s basketball coach by keeping a trio of four-star players in the DMV.
Guard DeShawn Harris-Smith, forward Jamie Kaiser Jr., and guard Jahnathan Lamothe all joined the Terrapins on early signing day earlier this week. Harris-Smith and Kaiser are the No. 1 and No. 4 overall recruits in Virginia, respectively, and Lamothe is the No. 3 overall recruit in Maryland as rated by 247 Sports.
Harris-Smith played his basketball at Paul VI in Chantilly, Virginia, helping lead it to a state title and earning player of the year honors in his junior season. Kaiser averaged 20.7 points in his junior season at fellow Washington Catholic Athletic Conference school Bishop Ireton before playing at IMG Academy.
The Baltimore native Lamothe attended St. Frances Academy, where he was teammates with current Maryland forward Julian Reese. His presence helped lead St. Frances to a 35-8 record last season.
The three are a part of the 11th-ranked class in the country by 247 Sports and are the most amount of players from this region to sign with Maryland in 15 years.
• George Gerbo can be reached at ggerbo@washingtontimes.com.
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