Sidney Stewart is starting to look less like a breakout and more like a problem offenses have to plan around.
Pro Football Focus College put the Maryland edge rusher No. 9 in quarterback pressures among all Power Four defenders this season, and that slot says plenty about how far his game has come. Stewart already has 12 pressures, and he’s getting there with the kind of edge work that can wreck a drive before it really starts. Speed, leverage, violent hands - it’s all showing up on tape and showing up in the numbers.
What makes the ranking stand out is the company he’s keeping. Stewart is tied with Kansas State’s Darien Whitaker Jr., who also has 12 pressures, and he sits just behind Clemson’s Will Heldt and Miami’s Armondo Blount, who both have 13.
He’s also ahead of Oregon’s Matayo Uiagalelei, who matches him at 12 pressures. That’s a crowded tier of disruptive defenders, and Stewart has carved out a spot right in the middle of it.
The Terps have already seen how disruptive he can be when everything clicks. After a quiet opener against Hampton, Stewart answered with six total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble at UConn. It was the kind of outing that shows off the full package: getting off the edge, finishing in space, and creating a turnover that can swing momentum in a hurry.
He didn’t pile up the same kind of numbers against Virginia Tech, but Maryland still had to account for him. Through three games, Stewart has eight tackles, 1.5 TFLs, a sack, and a forced fumble. The production is real, but so is the way he’s forcing offenses to keep one eye on him every snap.
That steady pressure is part of what has made him such a valuable piece for Maryland’s defense. Stewart isn’t just winning with athleticism.
He’s showing stronger hands, better pad level, and a growing feel for what’s coming before the play develops. When he’s on the field, the Terps have a defender who can tilt drives and create mistakes.
For Stewart, the rise didn’t start this season. As a true freshman in 2025, the Joppa, Maryland, native made an immediate impact and collected FWAA Freshman All-American, On3 True Freshman All-American, and Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors. He proved early that he could beat veteran linemen and affect games from the edge.
Now he’s building on that foundation in 2026. The flashes have turned sharper, the technique has cleaned up, and the pressure totals keep climbing. Maryland has a young defender who is moving from promising to proven, and the rest of the Power Four is starting to feel it.
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UCLA brings a different sort of challenge into the matchup, one that can expose any team still searching for answers up front. Marylands ability to clean up the details will matter just as much as any schematic adjustment, especially against a Bruins rushing attack that figures to test the Terps discipline and tackling early. The concern for Locksley is clear enough: the fix has to show up soon, but there are still enough moving parts to make this one feel like a real measuring stick. [Read more 🡒]
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Now, that same chess brain has found a place in the Terrapins locker room, where Noyes can play blindfolded against teammates and still keep track of the board through pure visualization. He uses a teammate to relay the moves, a quirky setup that says plenty about how far his focus has come and why Maryland has a specialist with an unusual edge beyond the field. [Read more 🡒]
Maryland May Have Found The Answer In Its Rebuilt Receiver Room
Maryland entered the 2026 season having to piece together a rebuilt wide receiver room after multiple departures, and through the first three weeks the early return has come from an unlikely place in the lineup. Junior transfer Chris Durr Jr., who arrived from Wyoming, has quickly become the Terps most productive pass catcher, leading the team in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns as the offense searches for stability.
Mike Locksley has already singled out Durrs work ethic and the way he has handled the opening stretch, which matters for a group still trying to establish its pecking order. For Maryland, the bigger question now is whether Durrs fast start is a sign of a dependable answer at receiver or just the first chapter in a room that is still sorting itself out. [Read more 🡒]