2015 Big Ten Thorpe Award Watch: William Likely

Maryland’s pass defense was extremely porous in 2014. The Terrapins surrendered an average of 234.3 yards per game, second only to Indiana for the worst in the Big Ten. Maryland not only gave up yardage, but it had trouble keeping opposing offenses out of the end zone as well, giving up 19 passing touchdowns, 11th in the conference.

Despite the much-maligned defensive secondary, head coach Randy Edsall had to be pleased with the performance of one particular player: Sophomore defensive back William Likely.

Likely was an outstanding hard corner last season. Along with Ohio State’s Vonn Bell, Likely lead the Big Ten with six interceptions. However, Likely returned two of his interceptions for touchdowns, totaling 170 yards, whereas Bell did not score at all. Likely has a nose for the ball whether it is in the air or on the ground. He broke up nine of the 15 passes he defended, and tallied 83 total tackles in 2014.

As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Likely is only 5-foot-8. He is easily the smallest player on the field, but he is a versatile, physical corner. He has the speed to stay in the hip pocket of any deep threat when the offense wants to stretch the field and also has the toughness to stop any goal line slant as well as the jumping ability to defend a fade to the back corner of the end zone.

Likely has the potential to be a dark-horse candidate for the Thorpe Award in 2015. If he can turn in the kind of performance he did last year and make a few more plays on defense, Likely could be gaining national attention as the season progresses.

Brooks Hooley is a Junior Big Ten Football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @brookshooley.