It’s Friday night, Maryland and Virginia are tied in this renewed rivalry matchup, and Taulia Tagovailoa is not a happy quarterback. During the third quarter, officials dare to call his long scramble just short of the first-down marker. Tagovailoa knows that he stretched out far enough for the spot, but he’s not directing his fire toward the refs who got the call wrong; rather, his own sideline when he notices members of the punt team taking the field.
Maryland
Perspective | Taulia Tagovailoa’s big decision is paying off for Maryland
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He reflexively holds up both hands as an unmistakable signal to the coaches: Stop! Then, he motions for head coach Michael Locksley to throw a challenge flag. He’s approaching the sideline, not even a visor and the Terps’ black face shield can mask his frustration, and he’s still aggressively miming the act of pulling an imaginary flag from his waist. The redshirt senior quarterback who’s learning how to master his emotions is becoming, well, emotional.
But Tagovailoa — who without argument will leave College Park as the best to ever play quarterback for the Maryland Terrapins — has a point. Locksley knows it, too, and eventually so do the officials who call their own review, reverse their error and give Maryland the first down. Three plays later, Tagovailoa does a very Tagovailoa thing where he fakes the handoff, scampers out of the pocket and while still on the run, launches deep to any receiver ready for a home-run play.
He connects with Jeshaun Jones for this 64-yard touchdown. The blowout is on, with Maryland breezing to the 42-14 victory and a 3-0 record that’s still a work in progress. But now, Tagovailoa is smiling and racing down the field to celebrate, spreading his arms out as though he just might take off and fly. He was right: the fourth-down call should’ve been challenged. Just like he was right: he should’ve returned to College Park for moments like this.
“At Maryland, obviously, we’ve been through a lot of ups and downs, been through a lot of stuff together over here,” Tagovailoa told me after going 19-of-30 for 342 yards, the 13th time he’s surpassed 300 passing yards in his college career. “I felt like there was no reason for me [to leave].”
Technically, Tagovailoa had 1.5 million reasons to leave. In the merry-go-round era of the transfer portal, players have more freedom of movement than ever before. Adding in the monetization of the open market that benefits some higher-profile student-athletes, there’s a natural enticement to find better opportunities for name, image and likeness deals. With a famous and unforgettable last name (older brother Tua plays for the Miami Dolphins) and an armful of Maryland records (Taulia owns the honors in passing touchdowns, passing yards, total offense, completions and completion percentage), he could’ve capitalized on his fame and sought a larger platform elsewhere.
Recently, Tagovailoa, now a 23-year-old college graduate, revealed that he had been offered $1.5 million to transfer to an unnamed SEC team. And he turned it down. To him, there’s no price tag on the “unfinished business” he has left to do in Maryland.
“I have Coach Locks. He’s a very great coach, a very offensive minded coach who loves me, he loves all his players and will go to the ends of the earth for them. I just didn’t see myself [going] — whatever money offered me, it didn’t matter to me. It was more so about being with the guys in the locker room,” Tagovailoa said. “And then another part of it was, just my legacy. This is something I can bring my kids to, when I have kids. Or, like my family. This is my home … We have unfinished business. I want to win the Big Ten championship and I want to do it with Maryland.”
This is where he’s grown up. The Tagovailoa family moved from Hawaii to Alabama following Tua’s college career with the Crimson Tide. Family comes first for the Tagovailoas so if one left for the mainland, pretty soon several Tagovailoas would follow suit, making their home in Alabaster, Ala. Though Taulia initially committed to follow his brother’s footsteps at Alabama, he transferred to Maryland in 2020. His brother moved on to the NFL, his parents remained in Alabaster while Taulia went about honing his skills in the Mid-Atlantic.
The Taulia experience has had its highs. Through the first four weeks of the 2021 season, Tagovailoa enjoyed early Heisman buzz with more than 1,300 passing yards, 10 touchdowns against one interception and a 75.5 completion percentage rate. He also possessed the highest passer rating while under pressure among Division-I quarterbacks.
But the experience has also come with its share of lows. In Week 5, that season, Tagovailoa tossed five interceptions in a conference loss to Iowa. One mistake spiraled into another, and another, and another, and became emblematic of Tagovailoa’s greatest area of growth: he had to learn how to move on from bad plays and get out of his own head.
“I’ve been with Coach Locks, he knew I was a hothead and I get very emotional. When we score, I’m up. I’m amped up. When we’re down, I’m hard on myself,” Tagovailoa said. “I meet with Coach Locks every night and he would always talk with me about stuff like that. … He knows I can do the football stuff. It’s really just the mental side of being a quarterback, and having the skill set of a player but the mind-set of a coach when you’re playing quarterback. It’s a continuous thing that I’m still working on.”
Friday night presented another test. Virginia stunned Maryland by scoring on its opening two drives, so as Maryland worked back from the deficit, little sparks of unease flared up — like Tagovailoa showing how badly he wanted Locksley to challenge the wrong fourth-down call. His instincts paid off, but after taking a 21-14 lead, he tried another one of those very Tagovailoa things on the Terps’ next series, spinning out of pressure and trying to create magic out of nothing. This time, however, he spun one too many times and held on to the ball just a touch too long, taking a 16-yard sack on third down.
When Tagovailoa walked back to the sideline, Locksley kept his quarterback close for a quick summit.
“Self-correct,” Locksley said, asking for the quarterback’s evaluation.
“Bonehead play,” Tagovailoa responded.
“It’s great for him to be able to self-correct without me having to have that type of conversation,” Locksley said. “That ability to communicate when he comes off, what he didn’t do right, what he did wrong but also keep his emotions about him to where the next series, that one bad play [doesn’t] turn into two.”
Though Tagovailoa has quarterbacked Maryland to consecutive bowl wins, the next test will come next week in next week’s conference opener in East Lansing. Over the past two seasons, the Terps have struggled against the upper echelon of the Big Ten, losing all eight matchups against the likes of Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin. Though he had plenty of financial reasons to leave, these Big Ten opponents are all reasons Tagovailoa needed to stay.
“Nowadays in football, a quarterback is judged how many games you win. You can have all the yards in the world, all the touchdowns in the world but if you’re winning six games or seven games, it’s just that’s not it,” he said. “I think that will complete everything for me personally and also for this team — to win games, win 10 games, win 11 games and play in a really big bowl game, make the playoffs. The sky’s the limit for us. I feel that that’s what we can do and that’s why I came back.”
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Maryland
3 Takeaways from the Spartans’ Victory over Maryland
![3 Takeaways from the Spartans’ Victory over Maryland 3 Takeaways from the Spartans’ Victory over Maryland](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3540,h_1991,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/spartan_nation/01j796ara6amt9mb880d.jpg)
The Michigan State Spartans under head coach Jonathan Smith are 2-0 thanks to a road win against a tough Maryland team, 27-24.
Resilience might be the word to describe this squad so far. The Spartans made some big blunders against the Terrapins and still found a way to battle back. The gritty performance might have been enough to get the Spartans into a bowl game.
Here are three takeaways from the Spartans’ win.
Aidan Chiles: Very Young, Very Talented
Chiles looked vastly improved from the home opener against Florida Atlantic. Again, he looked like an 18-year-old quarterback.
Chiles got not just his first passing touchdown as a Spartan, but three passing touchdowns to go with 24 of 39 passing and 363 yards. He also had three interceptions, which very nearly cost the Spartans the game.
Chiles has about as strong an arm as any quarterback to wear the green and white in recent memory. He is dangerous when he is on the move.
Perhaps a critique is that he should try to make more plays with his legs, he has seemed cautious to these first two games. The first pass rusher to get to Chiles likely won’t bring him down — Chiles has a great feel for the pocket and he is quite slippery.
Chiles overcame some poor mistakes and throwing mechanics (his feet tend to get wide and it factors into his overthrows) to lead the Spartans in the most critical of situations against a sturdy Maryland defense.
Huge game for Chiles, who showed why the hype was so promising.
Can the Spartans Stay Healthy on Defense?
Already, this Spartans squad is beaten up. Dillon Tatum, a key defensive back, lost for the season. Wide receiver Alante Brown, whose injury allowed for Nick Marsh to announce himself to the world, lost for the foreseeable future. Kristian Phillips at guard was huge.
During the Maryland game, several Spartans were beat up. Few even had to go into the tent on the sideline. It will be crucial for the Spartans to remain healthy, especially on defense. Most especially in the defensive backfield.
The Spartans are very confident in their young defensive backs — Justin Denson Jr., Andrew Brinson IV, and Jaylen Thompson can all be very good players, but they need more time to develop.
If more Spartans fall to injury, the defensive backfield could get very young.
Nick Marsh is the Real Deal
Marsh was the recruiting gem of 2024, the best player in a class with plenty of good talent. A highly-rated four-star, Marsh was the No. 107-ranked player in the class by 247Sports. Marsh, of course, stood out in fall camp like the high-profile recruit he was.
6-foot-3, 208 pounds, Marsh already had a man’s body. At just 18 years old.
“Possesses the size, athleticism, and multi-sport profile that projects very well in the long term,” 247Sports’ Gabe Brooks wrote. “Traitsy mismatch wideout with high-major impact potential and the ceiling to develop into an NFL Draft candidate.”
With the loss of Brown, Marsh was asked to step up. Step up he did — eight receptions for 194 receiving yards and a touchdown. Wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins might have his next in the line of Jalen Nailor, Jayden Reed and Keon Coleman.
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Maryland
Maryland, D.C. and Virginia get more money for house calls for moms and infants – WTOP News
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The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration will provide an additional $23.1 million in federal aid to the agency’s national Home Visiting Program in the District, Maryland and Virginia.
More money is on the way for a home-visiting health care program designed to provide better care for pregnant women, new parents and infants.
The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced an additional $23.1 million in federal aid to the agency’s national Home Visiting Program in the District, Maryland and Virginia.
The extra money is the first time in a decade that the program has received an increase in federal funds, HRSA administrator Carol Johnson said.
“What those resources mean is that we’re able to support nurses, social workers and trained home visitors, and help with those early days of being a new parent,” Johnson said. “All of this has been shown to really make a difference in kids’ outcomes. Kids are so much stronger because they get these kinds of supports.”
Johnson said the program’s success hinges on convenient health visits in a comfortable at-home setting.
“When you’re a new parent, if you have to take off from work and take a few buses to get to an appointment, you’re probably not going to do it,” she said. “But if that person comes to your house and they’re full of resources and knowledge, it’s going to make a huge difference to you.”
Rockville, Maryland-based HRSA spearheads the national program, teaming up with local health organizations to target and reach parents.
Home health care workers can provide breastfeeding support, safe sleep tips and developmental screening for babies. They can even help parents find key services like affordable child care or job and educational opportunities.
“It’s changed my life,” past program participant Fatima Ray said.
Ray said she was introduced to the program in 2015 when she needed help with her infant daughter. She and her husband were first-time parents and stumbled through the first few months with a newborn.
“It felt good, like I had someone on my team,” Ray said. “Those questions you forget to ask the doctor sometimes, she would answer them.”
The experience impressed Ray so much that she became a home health visitor. She is the maternal health coordinator at Primo Center, a homeless shelter for families in Chicago.
“The same care that was given to me, I just want to pass it on,” Ray told WTOP. “I know how much it made a difference in my life. Home visiting matters.”
President Joseph Biden signed bipartisan legislation in 2022 that doubles funding for the program over five years. The move was part of a campaign promise to lower risks linked to pregnancy and improve maternal health, especially among women in rural, tribal and low-income communities.
The national home visiting program will receive $440 million Maryland’s local programs will get $10 million of those funds. Virginia is slated to receive $11 million and D.C.’s home visiting programs will see a $2.5 million increase.
“This will push home visiting forward a lot more,” Ray said. “It’s just going to help tremendously.”
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Maryland
Watch Aidan Chiles, Nick Marsh talk MSU win over Maryland
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Michigan State won a big time road game over Maryland, improving their record to 2-0, and giving head coach Jonathan Smith his first Big Ten conference victory as the head man of the Spartans.
A big part of that win was the connection between Aidan Chiles and Nick Marsh, and more specifically their 77-yard touchdown connection tying the game 24-24 late in the fourth quarter.
Chiles and Marsh spoke to the media after the team’s win, which you can watch via Spartan Mag on YouTube:
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on X @Cory_Linsner
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