Maryland QB Billy Edwards Jr. is very familiar with Gophers defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman

Edwards is currently the Big Ten's leading passer.

Sep 28, 2024; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Maryland Terrapins quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. (9) throws a pass against the Indiana Hoosiers during the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images / Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Fresh off a career-high 373-yard performance against Southern Cal, Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. is starting to find some confidence in his first season as the Terrapins' starting quarterback. He will face arguably his toughest test of the season this week against Minnesota's fourth-ranked pass defense.

Hailing from Springfield, Va., Edwards was heavily recruited by James Madison coming out of high school. He is already very familiar with Gophers defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman, who recruited him while he had the same role with the Dukes from 2019-21.

"The defensive coordinator (Corey Hetherman) has done a great job. He recruited me when he was at JMU back in 2019, so I have known him really well," Edwards said earlier this week. "My dad was a defensive coordinator in high school, so they got along really well. Very good coach, good person, and he's done a really good job of getting those guys to play together and play really good football in their scheme."

Current Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti was the head coach of James Madison at the time and confirmed that he and Hetherman had a lot of interest in Edwards as the next quarterback of the Dukes. He wound up committing to Wake Forest out of high school before transferring to Maryland after one season.

Fast forward to 2024, Edwards is now leading the Big Ten in passing yards with 2,113 through seven games. Maryland's passing offense ranks ninth best in the entire country in total yards, but he knows that Hetherman and the Gophers defense will be a tough test.

"They play together. They play all 11 in sync. Very similar to a lot of Big Ten West teams and kinda how they go about their business defensively. They know what they're good at. They run it a lot and they run it well," Edwards said. "Just in the backend, they got a young safety (Koi Perich) that's playing good right now. They obviously got the transfer corner No. 2 (Ethan Robinson), who's playing really, really good football right now."

The Gophers enter Saturday's contest as a slight 4.5-point favorite. They will look to pick up their third straight Big Ten victory and move one step closer to bowl-game eligibility.