Redshirt Freshman RB Roman Hemby has been named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for a second time after his 179-yard, three-touchdown performance in Saturday’s 31-24 win against Northwestern. His first selection came after Maryland beat Buffalo in week one, where Hemby had 117 yards and two scores.

With backup QB Billy Edwards getting the start in place of an injured Taulia Tagovailoa and RB Antwain Littleton sitting out after hyperextending his knee in pregame warmups, Hemby was called on early and often to carry the Terps’ offense.

Following the Northwestern game, Hemby has set a career-high in carries in back-to-back weeks. 

“I can’t really determine how many carries I get in a game, but what I do with those carries is all on me,” Hemby said. “As the increasing opportunities come, I just have to be grateful and do my best to help this team win.”

Hemby helped the Terps clinch bowl eligibility as he ripped off a career-long 75-yard touchdown to put the Terps up 31-24 with just 3:22 left in the game.

 “Roman Hemby came through big. Big runs, big-time plays. He showed exactly what we talk about with his ability to hit the home run,” head coach Mike Locksley said. “It couldn’t have happened at a better time when we needed it.”

Coming into the 2022 season, the RB position held uncertainty following the departure of Senior leading rusher Tayon Fleet-Davis. However, Hemby has filled the hole better than anyone expected. He saw minimal time during his redshirt year, only appearing in two games against Howard and Virginia Tech in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. He scored a touchdown in each of those games.

Now the certified RB1, Hemby has 681 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground, with an additional 239 receiving yards and one touchdown. With four games left in the season, he is on pace for a 1,000-yard season, but he isn’t getting ahead of himself.

“To have a 1,000-yard rusher is a goal that we have set as an offense, and we’re well on our way, but there’s a lot of things that we can get cleaned up, and we’re gonna do everything we can to get that done,” Hemby said.

The Terps take their most recent win into a bye week before they face off against Wisconsin on Nov. 5.