Maryland’s defense is walking into 2026 with something it didn’t have a season ago: real numbers.
That’s the difference head coach Mike Locksley kept circling back to Wednesday, and it’s easy to see why. The Terps return two experienced interior defensive linemen in Eyan Thomas and Bryce Jenkins, then stacked more bodies on top of that by bringing in four upperclassmen from the transfer portal - Derrick LeBlanc, Lavon Johnson, Jayvon Parker and Armon Parker. Add back EJ Moore and Delmar White, plus former Ohio State pledge Cam Brickle as one of the early enrollees in the 2026 class, and suddenly the middle of the defense looks a lot less fragile than it did last fall.
“The depth has given us an opportunity,” Locksley said on Wednesday.
That opportunity matters because Maryland lived through the opposite version of this story a year ago. Depth was the problem, especially during a stretch of three October losses when it showed up loudest. Now former first-round pick Randy Starks, the defensive line coach, is trying to solve a very different kind of challenge: sorting out the two-deep after several pieces were sidelined in the spring and getting everybody ready in fall camp.
“We're going to get them lined up and let them play fast and be physical,” Monachino said.
The interior isn’t the only spot with more bodies. The edge room is crowded too, and it got even more interesting with the addition of former five-star Zion Elee. He joins a group led by Zahir Mathis, Sidney Stewart, DD Holmes and Nahsir Taylor, giving Maryland a rotation with real upside and enough names to keep offenses busy.
Mathis, who proposed in January and married his wife in June, said the life change has fueled him.
“Just having my wife, she's holding me accountable to everything that I tell her and everything that I want to strive to be,” Mathis said. “It's pretty amazing to have that person in my back corner, just pushing me to be a better person, push me to be a better leader, push me to be a better player, just helping me out throughout the process.”
Locksley said at Big Ten Media Day that Elee is “as advertised,” and Monachino said the freshman is still in the learning phase as summer workouts continue.
“Zion is in the process of learning the system and learning where he fits and figuring out, okay, what are the things that I can do first?” Monachino said of Elee.
The back seven has its own veteran anchor in Daniel Wingate, who returns as the kind of steady voice coaches lean on when a room needs direction. Locksley had previously described the senior linebacker as having shades of former Maryland star EJ Henderson, and Monachino made clear how valuable Wingate is inside the meeting room.
“Danny's the one that will ask the right questions in the meeting room. Danny sees around corners and does a lot,” Monachino said of Wingate.
Wingate is also part of a front seven that has piled up more than 720 tackles and 30 sacks over the last two seasons, and he believes that experience can push Maryland deeper into the playbook. That includes new faces such as VMI transfer Stephen Dean, whom Wingate previously called “relentless,” and Rice men’s basketball transfer Jordan Williams.
“I definitely feel like the experience allows us to get deeper within the playbook. Monachino allows us to play fast,” Wingate said. “He allows us to move fast within the playbook, so just allowing him to get deeper into it to kind of mess around with offensive coordinators or the QBs, it'll be real fun.
There are still questions on the back end, especially at corner after Dontay Joyner’s dismissal. But safety looks far more settled, with former blue-chipper Messiah Delhomme joined by three Spalding products in Lavain Scruggs, Jayden Shipps and Sean Johnson.
That trio could all matter in 2025. Scruggs is trying to reclaim a starting role for a second straight year, Shipps is building on his versatility, and Johnson is working to lock down a rotation spot behind Delhomme.
“I'm teaching him the in and outs, not just learning how to do your job, but once you learn to do your job, it's easy to learn about the offense and how they can attack themselves,” Scruggs said of Shipps. He also said Johnson has the “length, strength” to play the boundary, while noting Delhomme has “grow up” and stressing the importance of communication.
“We’ve got good chemistry,” Scruggs said of the pairing.
For Locksley, the bigger point is that a young defense has already taken its lumps, and those reps now have a chance to pay off. He pointed to players like Stewart, Mathis, C.J. Smith and Delhomme as examples of freshmen who were forced into the fire and came out better for it.
“I think the big thing is this time has been a great advantage for some of these young players like Zahir Mathis and Sidney Stewart and C.J. Smith a year ago.
Like I've talked about, these guys were thrown into the fire,” Locksley said. “They learned that this league is a trench league, and it's a heavy-handed league.
And both those guys, especially like Zahir, who's a little undersized for that position, they both struggled as the season went on. Whether it was injuries, being a little nicked up, but because of the experience they got playing early, I've seen a confidence from Sidney, from Zahir, from C.J.
Smith, from Messiah Delhomme. All these young players that a year ago, were really put through some disadvantaged situations.
I really see the benefits of what we did now because of how they've been able to grow and learn [from] things they went through.”
In Other News...
Maryland Suddenly Has A Troubling Question At Cornerback
Marylands secondary took an unexpected hit this week when Mike Locksley addressed the status of veteran cornerback Dontay Joyner, a player the Terrapins had counted on for depth and experience. Joyner had just finished summer school, and his exit comes as the program is still sorting through a defense that needs answers at cornerback, where every established body matters heading into the season.
The situation is also complicated by the off-field backdrop surrounding Joyner, whose recent legal issues included an arrest and probation tied to harassment charges. For Maryland, the immediate concern is less about the past than the roster ripple effect, with defensive plans now needing to absorb another abrupt change in a position group that was already under the microscope. [Read more 🡒]