Jones Out For The Season As Terrapins Try To Regroup

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Maryland manager Michael Locksley said the extremity for his squad during the bye week was to get healthy–mentally and physically.

Then helium instantly announced 2 much large injuries.

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Receiver Jeshaun Jones and linebacker Durell Nchami are some expected to miss the remainder of the season. Locksley said Tuesday that Jones had a lower-leg wounded that requires surgery, and helium said Nchami had upper-body surgery.

“We’re a squad that benignant of limped into the bye week,” Locksley said.

The Terrapins won their archetypal 4 games this season. Then their much-anticipated matchups with Iowa and Ohio State went astir arsenic severely arsenic possible. Maryland mislaid standout receiver Dontay Demus to a season-ending wounded successful the Iowa game, and Jones went down against Ohio State.

The Terps besides mislaid some games by a combined people of 117-31. Then the docket mercifully gave them past play off.

“We mislaid to 2 of the apical teams successful our league, again not being with each of our players,” Locksley said. “It shows america we inactive person a ways to spell against the elite programs, but I consciousness precise assured that we’ll get determination due to the fact that of the benignant of kids we person successful our program.”

Maryland plays astatine Minnesota this week, and these adjacent 2 games–against the Golden Gophers and Indiana–are important for the Terrapins if they’re going to get backmost connected way earlier different brutal agelong against Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan.

“I deliberation a week disconnected is thing we each needed,” backmost Taulia Tagovailoa said.

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The quality connected injuries wasn’t each bad. Locksley did accidental helium thinks linebacker Brandon Jennings volition beryllium back, and helium is hopeful that antiaircraft backs Jakorian Bennett and Kenny Bennett volition instrumentality arsenic well.

And though Demus and Jones person combined for 46 receptions and implicit 700 yards this season, the Terrapins person different susceptible walk catchers.

Rakim Jarrett has 22 receptions for 319 yards and 5 touchdowns. Tight extremity Chigoziem Okonkwo has 3 TD catches–as galore arsenic helium had implicit his erstwhile 2 seasons with the Terps.

Tagovailoa is averaging 314 yards passing per game, the Big Ten’s second-best mark. The question is whether helium tin stay astatine that level aft losing a mates important targets.

“You’ve ne'er heard maine beryllium a feline up present that cries astir losing players to injury,” Locksley said. “We’ve recruited a country of receivers that I deliberation are really, truly strong.”

Darryl Jones (14 catches for 134 yards this season) and Brian Cobbs (eight catches for 86 yards) are 2 players who whitethorn go much important for the Terps going forward. Each is successful his 4th play playing for Maryland.

Facing Iowa and Ohio State was a sobering acquisition for the Terrapins, but they inactive person a accidental to person a palmy twelvemonth comparative to preseason expectations. This is simply a programme that hasn’t had a winning play since 2014, and the adjacent mates weeks could spell a agelong mode toward determining however overmuch advancement Maryland yet makes successful Locksley’s 3rd twelvemonth astatine the helm.

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“As I told our team, we beryllium present 4-2,” Locksley said. “If idiosyncratic told america astatine the opening of the twelvemonth that we had a accidental to beryllium 4-2 astatine the halfway point, I deliberation each 1 of america would beryllium beauteous blessed with it.”