By Stephen Pimpo

The 2014 Maryland Terrapins may not be the most dominant team in the Big Ten this season, but they will enough depth to compete in this inaugural season.

It is no secret that the Randy Edsall era at Maryland has been defined by the rash of injuries that have continued through his first three years as Maryland’s head football coach. Those injuries forced many younger players into the spotlight, and while this didn’t necessarily result in wins (13-24 in three seasons) it did result in young players accumulating a lot of playing time. With so much experience spread throughout the roster, the Terps are ready to finally benefit from their injury surplus.

“[We’re] really just putting the pieces together as a group,” said junior wide receiver Stefon Diggs. “Everybody looking good right now, everybody is working hard.”

Diggs, Maryland’s top offensive threat, sustained one of those injuries last season, missing Maryland’s final six games with a broken leg. After rehabbing all offseason, Diggs will once again be called on to anchor the Maryland offense.

“We’re going to do the things we need to do to be successful as a team and we’re going to utilize Stefon any way we can because of his abilities,” said Edsall.

Diggs will lead a talented receiving corps, Maryland’s strongest position. Along with fellow starter Deon Long, Diggs will be joined by Levern Jacobs and Amba Etta-Tawo.

Junior Marcus Leak has returned to the team after a leave of absence and has been hauling in countless deep passes in training camp.

Sophomore DeAndre Lane has been making the most of his reps in practice and former running back Jacquille Veii is reportedly making strides in his transition to receiver. Furthermore, players and coaches continue to rave about Juwann Winfree and Taivon Jacobs.

“[Winfree’s] got a lot of potential, he’s a big receiver and he’s got good feet and I like his hands so as of right now he’s looking pretty good,” Diggs said. “Also Taivon. Taivon’s still blazing.”

This kind of depth extends to almost every skill position. Behind quarterback C.J. Brown, Caleb Rowe and Perry Hills have combined for 10 starts. At running back, the three-headed monster of Brandon Ross, Wes Brown and Albert Reid will be in heavy rotation. Reid is drawing early praise for his hard work as is fullback Kenny Tate.

“Kenny’s having a real good spring,” said Edsall. “He’s stronger. He’s put on a little more weight.”

Defense too boasts this wide distribution of talent. Senior corner Jeremiah Johnson returns to pair with sophomore Will Likely, who was giving Diggs problems in practice.

The linebackers are led by Butkus Award nominee Yannik Cudjoe-Virgil and features Matt Robinson, Alex Twine, L.A. Goree, Yannick Ngakoue and Cole Farrand, who all have starting experience. Four-star recruit Jesse Aniebonam should also push for playing time. Considering the high expectations for the offense, that fact that the defense significantly hampered the offense in last weekend’s practice should bode well for the Terps. But the season is still a ways away.

“There’s new people on the field and you got to become brothers on the field and each day we’re getting better and better so I feel like we’ll be fine in a little while,” said Diggs.