COLLEGE PARK — Billy Edwards Jr. waited his turn. It took longer than expected to come.
He redshirted as a freshman at Wake Forest to begin his career, then transferred to Maryland. What he hoped would be a one-year stint as a backup turned into two seasons on the Terps’ sideline. But when Taulia Tagovailoa’s eligibility finally ran dry, Maryland was still unwilling to fully trust Edwards and brought in more competition.
A summer-long battle for the starting quarterback spot ended with Edwards as the victor. The competition will extend into the season — three quarterbacks played Saturday as the score widened. But for his first time as a Terp, Edwards had no one else in his way.
The redshirt junior led Maryland to a 50-7 win over UConn to open the first season of the post-Tagovailoa era with a dominant victory. Patience like Edwards possesses is rare in college football’s modern landscape, where transfers and name, image and likeness deals are plentiful. He’s finally reaping the rewards from waiting.
“I’ve been here two years, and every game I’ve trained myself like the starter,” the quarterback said. “It was rewarding, but at the same time I feel like I’ve prepared for this.”
Edwards, who found out Sunday the job was his, finished 20-for-27 passing with 311 yards and two touchdowns Saturday. North Carolina State transfer MJ Morris, who was given three drives, was 3-for-4 for 13 yards. Third-stringer Cam Edge also saw time and threw a touchdown pass.
Edwards led a quick scoring drive on Maryland’s first possession, completing all four attempts capped by an 18-yard touchdown strike to Tai Felton to put the Terps up seven. Each of Edwards’ three passes on the next drive were caught before Nolan Ray ran for a 48-yard score.
“This is why I came here,” Edwards said. “This is stuff I’ve dreamed about my whole life.”
The Terps’ offense slowed from there as three second-quarter field goals sent Maryland into halftime leading 23-0.
Edwards returned from the break and reignited the attack. A 17-yard completion to Felton set up a 4-yard rushing score by Roman Hemby that put the Terps ahead by 30. Morris entered and led a drive that ended in a punt, then Edwards and Felton needed just one play to find the end zone again.
Felton, Edwards’ preferred target throughout the afternoon, caught a short pass and eluded UConn tacklers along the home sideline for a 75-yard touchdown. The pair of Virginia natives’ relationship goes back to high school. Saturday, their first time starring together, resulted in Felton posting a career-high 178 receiving yards.
“I was telling him myself how proud I am of him,” Felton said. “Just seeing everything he’s been through, the adversity has been through, to see how hard he worked this whole time. It’s definitely a blessing to have him.”
Against an inferior opponent with more important ones looming, Maryland didn’t ask much of its quarterbacks. Edwards attempted just six passes beyond 15 yards but completed five of them. And he had a sound running game to lean on — the Terps posted their most rushing yards in a first half of coach Mike Locksley’s tenure and finished with 248. Edwards was responsible for 39 of those.
Morris, Edwards’ counterpart in the position battle, was unimpressive in his debut. He entered for the first time on the Terps’ fourth possession and completed both of his attempts in a drive that ended in a punt. He returned after Edwards handed him a four-touchdown lead but failed to score in three chances before exiting after a blow to the head early in the fourth quarter.
Maryland entered with a plan to get Morris a few chances, Locksley said. The NC State transfer, who joined Maryland with three years of eligibility remaining, never capitalized.
Edwards likely had a head start anyway but spent his summer distancing himself further from Morris. The incumbent’s Maryland tenure until now consisted of only injury replacement starts and occasional looks in short-yardage packages. He played 15 games over his first two seasons, tallying 436 passing yards, 227 yards on the ground and 12 total touchdowns.
“It’s so hard in today’s society because of the pressures that some of these kids have on them,” Locksley said. “Everybody wants it now.”
He started the Terps’ Music City Bowl win over Auburn in December after Tagovailoa opted out, giving Maryland its first look at its future at the position. Edwards was pacing the competition then and never relinquished that lead.
That didn’t change Saturday. Edwards starred in his long-awaited debut as Maryland’s full-time starting quarterback. He could have left at any time during the past two seasons but remained confident his turn would eventually come.
Morris is still lurking and waiting for an Edwards slip-up. He hasn’t had one yet.
“It’s his job,” Locksley said. “He’s our quarterback. We’ll ride with him.”
