Indiana Football Coach Curt Cignetti Knows Maryland Quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. Well

Curt Cignetti tried to recruit Billy Edwards Jr. when he was head coach at James Madison. Now Cignetti has to find a way to stop the Big Ten’s leading passer.

Maryland Terrapins quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. (9) throws for a first quarter touchdown against the Michigan State Spartans at SECU Stadium. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – If you’ve watched the Big Ten in recent years, you may have assumed going into the 2024 season that Maryland might be taking a step back given the departure of long-time quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa.

Tagovailoa had been at Maryland since 2020, ascending to a starting role in the second half of that season after he transferred from Alabama. He finished his Maryland career with 11,256 career passing yards, 76 touchdown passes and a 67.1% completion percentage.

Tagovailoa was particularly hard on Indiana in the annual Big Ten East Division meetings between the two schools. In four games against the Hoosiers, Tagovailoa completed 61.7% of his passes for 1,311 yards and 10 touchdown passes against 3 interceptions. All of the picks occurred in the 2020 contest.

Tagovailoa’s eligibility ran out, and he’s playing in the Canadian Football League with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. So Indiana can breathe a bit easier as it prepares to face Maryland Saturday, right?

Think again.

Tagovailoa’s replacement, Billy Edwards Jr., has picked up right where Tagovailoa left off.

Edwards, who spent two years as Tagovailoa’s back-up, is taking maximum advantage of his turn at the helm of the Terrapins offense. He leads the Big Ten Conference with 1,155 passing yards. He’s thrown 8 touchdown passes against 2 interceptions, and his 288.8 yards per game average is second only to Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel among Big Ten passers.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is very familiar with Edwards – he tried to recruit him when he was head coach at James Madison.

“I've known Billy Edwards for a while. My first year at JMU, he was the guy we had targeted. I sat with his dad in my office a couple times,” he said.

Cignetti didn’t get Edwards, who initially went to Wake Forest before he transferred to Maryland, but he still respects his game.

As he should. Edwards’ hallmark in 2024 has been his consistency. He’s completed at least 65.1% of his passes in every game. Even in the Terrapins’ lone loss – Michigan State beat them 27-24 on Sept. 7 at Maryland – Edwards completed 76.5% of his passes for 253 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Edwards’ quarterback rating of 162.8 is seventh-best in the Big Ten. Among the quarterbacks Edwards trails is Indiana signal-caller Kurtis Rourke, who has a rating of 194.1 – second only to Penn State’s Drew Allar at 218.3.

“You know, he can make all the throws. He's got a lot of snaps under his belt,” Cignetti said. “They'll also run him, and obviously he's a threat when he gets out of the pocket as well as when he drops back and escapes the pocket.”

Edwards has rushed for 296 career yards. He has 69 rushing yards in 2024.

It helps that Edwards has some impressive targets. Wide receiver Tai Felton already has 41 catches for 604 yards and 5 touchdowns in just four games. Felton’s reception haul is second-best in the nation behind Nick Nash of San Jose State, who has 50 catches.

Wide receiver Kaden Prather has 21 catches for 203 yards and 2 touchdowns. Four other Maryland players have at least five catches.

“It's also going to be the best receiving corps we've seen up to this point. Probably the best quarterback we've seen up to this point. So it's the best football team we've seen up to this point,” Cignetti said.

The Terrapins (3-1) will come to Bloomington with the confidence of having handled the Hoosiers (4-0) in recent seasons.

Maryland has won three in a row in the series – rolling up total offense of 472, 442 and 503 yards in the last three meetings. After close losses in 2021 and 2022, the Hoosiers lost 44-17 in College Park, Md., in 2023.

“You guys remember the game last year. It wasn't much of a game. So I'm sure they're going to come in here pretty confident, and they've got a lot of the same guys. So looking forward to playing,” Cignetti said.

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