COLLEGE PARK — A week after carrying the football a season-high nine times in a 27-13 victory at Virginia, Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. took off a season-low three times for 5 yards in Saturday’s 38-20 walloping of Villanova.

Edwards Jr. did most of his damage with his arm, completing 28 of 32 passes for a season-best 328 yards and two touchdowns against one interception. And coach Mike Locksley pushed back lightly on the idea that the 6-foot-3, 222-pound redshirt junior should be using his feet more and putting his body at risk.

“I don’t know if I like my starting quarterback getting hit a lot,” he said during the team’s media availability Tuesday afternoon at SECU Stadium. “On third-and-medium to get a first down? Yeah. In the red area? Yeah. Just to say we’re a quarterback run-based system, that’s not who we are, and that’s not what I’ve been in a long time. We utilize his skill set, and [offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach] Josh [Gattis] does a great job of kind of shaping a plan that fits what Billy does best, and I think right now, we’ve got it figured out. We’ll keep working to make it better.”Whatever plan the Terps (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten Conference) design will likely try to aid an offensive line featuring five players starting together for the first time. The unit might open with a new starting left tackle in Saturday’s game at Indiana (4-0, 1-0) because of injuries. For his part, Edwards Jr. said he is open to whatever strategy Gattis and Locksley craft.

“Whatever the game plan is, if it’s me having to run the ball five times or 15 times, I think it will definitely help open up the run game,” he said. “I think we have more skilled and talented players that can do better things with the ball in their hands, but that’s going to have to be a part of the game plan — just having some ability of the quarterback to help [running backs] Roman [Hemby], Nolan [Ray] and Colby [McDonald] to have better run games. And it’ll help with the O-line knowing that the defense has to account for another runner there in the backfield. Regardless of what the game plan is, I feel like I’m confident enough to go out there and do it.”

Another call for freshman left tackle?

Injuries to redshirt sophomore Andre Roye Jr. (knee) and redshirt senior Marcus Dumervil (unspecified) have created uncertainty about who will start at left tackle against Indiana.

One option involves going back to freshman Terez Davis, who filled in for Dumervil after he left Saturday’s game early. Davis, the son of former NBA shooting guard Ricky Davis and a three-star recruit from DeMatha in Hyattsville, surrendered a sack to Wildcats junior linebacker Shane Hartzell in the second quarter, but Locksley didn’t sound worried about calling on Davis again.

“Terez has put in the work to be able to go in,” he said. “Playing left tackle as a true freshman, I know everybody here can probably get it coached up, but for me, to have a true freshman play left tackle is a testament to the work that guy has done, but also the job our coaches have done to get him prepared to play. And I don’t care who it’s against. Terez is going to be a great player for us. He’s getting exposed and learning early. Gave up the early sack. Again, young player that’s playing. We’re learning and winning. The sack maybe didn’t hurt us now, but it’ll benefit us down the road as he develops.”

Accepting blame

Maryland is tied for second in the Big Ten in fewest sacks allowed with four. Indiana ranks first with only three sacks surrendered. But Edwards Jr. took the blame for a sack in the win against Villanova.

On first down-and-10 at the Wildcats’ 38-yard line, Hartzell pulled down Edwards Jr. for a 7-yard loss. The Terps eventually rebounded and got a 1-yard touchdown run by Ray, but Locksley said Edwards Jr. should have thrown the ball away, and the quarterback agreed.

“On that play, I took too long,” he said. “[Senior wide receiver] Kaden Prather fell down on his route. Coach Locks has talked about it. On play-action, you’re getting about three, 3 1/2 seconds back there to make a decision and go through your reads.”

Akingbesote becoming a force

After a quiet start, Tommy Akingbesote is beginning to perform for the defense. The senior defensive tackle made a career-high nine tackles and generated one quarterback hurry in the team’s 27-13 win at Virginia and then added two tackles (both for losses) and one sack against Villanova.

Akingbesote said his recent showings can be traced back to his performance in practices.

“I took my preparation more important,” he said. “I feel like [with] the preparation during the week, you’ll reap the benefits of the weekly preparation in the game if you work harder Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. So I just put my focus on working hard during the week, and I’ll get paid on Saturdays.”

The 6-foot-4, 316-pound Akingbesote has the frame to be a tantalizing prospect at the next level, but Locksley said much depends on the defensive tackle’s drive.

“With him, it’s the motor,” he said. “He has the size, he has the skill, and now he’s playing with the necessary motor that you need big guys to play with. I think he’s starting to understand that if you want to play at the next level, that group likes big guys that play with a motor, and I think Tommy – because of the way that he’s practicing – that’s what you’re seeing with Tommy. That maturity’s continuing with him. Now the consistency is something that we’ve got to get from him, and I like what I’m seeing so far.”