After two home games to begin the James Franklin-era in Blacksburg as head coach at Virginia Tech, the Hokies will hit the road for their first true road game on Sept. 19 under the lights in primetime at Maryland. On Wednesday, the Terrapins, who face a key season under head coach Mike Locksley, suffered a key injury on defense for the upcoming season.
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Pete Nakos of On3 reported that Maryland star edge Zahir Mathis is expected to miss the upcoming season with a leg injury. After a tremendous freshman season that saw him make an early name for himself with the Terrapins, this is a huge blow, as Virginia Tech would have had its hands full with Mathis.
Virginia Tech Week 3 opponent already hit with tough injury news
First and foremost, the Hokies are dealing with a key injury on their offensive line: Johnny Garrett is out, a big blow to offensive line coach Matt Moore and new offensive coordinator Ty Howle. If there is any silver lining, the injury happened early enough in camp that there is time to work in a replacement.
As for Maryland and Mathis, he broke out as a freshman. The Philadelphia native registered 35 tackles (22 solo) and had six sacks, including sacks against Nebraska and Illinois, where he finished with 11 tackles. He had 8.5 tackles for a loss, according to Nakos.
This is a huge loss for Maryland. Mathis was an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten Team and was named a semifinalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award. He was heavily recruited out of high school by Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Florida State, among teams that were after him. He ended up choosing Maryland.
For Locksley, this is a make-or-break season coming up in terms of his job security. That's what makes a game against Virginia Tech and James Franklin a huge game under the lights at home in primetime. The Hokies will have two weeks against VMI and Old Dominion at home to work out the kinks and get things in the new system under the new coaching staff. This doesn't mean that a win at Maryland is going to be a layup for Virginia Tech, but it certainly changes the game plan for Moore and Howle in terms of how to handle the Terrapins' defense, especially along the offensive line.
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