COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The curtain call wasn’t as natural without a dugout, but Jeshaun Jones still made sure his quarterback would be the center of attention. As the camera found them sitting on the bench after Taulia Tagovailoa’s 50th career passing touchdown — a mark that set a Maryland football record — Jones grabbed Tagovailoa’s arm and raised it.
He then pointed to his quarterback, pulling him to his feet, urging the crowd at SECU Stadium to praise Tagovailoa while they still can. The immediate future for Tagovailoa likely still involves the Terps next season, despite being draft-eligible. But for Maryland, a school that has been devoid of a quarterback of Tagovailoa’s dependability for the last decade or more, it’s never too soon to heap on appreciation.
Moments earlier, Tagovailoa found Jones over the middle for that 50th career touchdown pass — a pass that propelled Maryland far out of reach of Rutgers. The Terps wound up earning their seventh win of the season, 37-0, behind that quarterback and a defense that shut out a conference opponent for the first time since 2008.
