NCAAF teams
Josh Moyer, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Maryland names Perry Hills starting QB

Maryland quarterback Perry Hills, better known as the dark horse candidate in a three-way QB race, has been named the Terrapins' starting signal-caller for their Week 1 matchup against FCS Richmond.

Hills beat out Oklahoma State transfer Daxx Garman and last season's backup, Caleb Rowe. In June, he was widely expected to play behind both of those quarterbacks -- but those expectations only seemed to motivate Hills.

"Honestly, it's pushed me pretty much because you always have people that don't believe in you and you want to prove them wrong," Hills said told the Carroll County Times last week. "That's the person I am. I want to prove someone wrong."

Hills, a redshirt junior, played sparingly last season and attempted just 10 passes. In 2012, however, he started seven games as a true freshman when the starter suffered a torn ACL in the preseason. He finished with 1,336 passing yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions -- before suffering a season-ending injury himself and then redshirting the next season.

The Pennsylvania native was widely regarded as the likely No. 3 QB in June, shortly after Garman joined the team. But Hills progressed quite a bit since that time and had earned the most first-team reps during last Saturday's scrimmage, where he finished 12-of-17 for 72 yards.

Coach Randy Edsall said on Monday that Hills was in the lead. Edsall had also said that Garman was on pace to be the backup, but that changed Friday when he named Rowe the backup and Garman the No. 3.

Maryland will play Richmond at noon on Saturday, Sept. 5, at Byrd Stadium.

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