When Towson travels to Maryland for an in-state matchup Saturday in College Park, it will be a rare duel of true freshman quarterbacks who have arrived ahead of schedule.
Maryland’s Malik Washington and Towson’s Andrew Indorf have yet to throw an interception. Both fired three touchdown passes in their collegiate debuts. And both have guided their teams to 2-0 starts.
Washington has completed 59.0 percent of his passes for 512 yards and five touchdowns, leading the Terrapins to victories over Florida Atlantic and Northern Illinois.
Meanwhile at FCS Towson, Indorf has completed 65.3 percent of his attempts for 373 yards and four touchdowns in wins over Norfolk State and Morgan State.
Neither was penciled in as the starter heading into training camp. But both earned their jobs with impressive play in the preseason, with Indorf beating out a pair of grad students who had started for Towson the previous two seasons.
“He just took advantage of every opportunity he was given,” Towson coach Pete Shinnick said on Monday. “He has directed the offense at a very efficient level. He makes great decisions.”
One of those came when he tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to John Dunmore with 24 seconds left to deliver Towson’s 27-22 win over Morgan State last week.
“It was a great opportunity for Andrew to just kinda grow up a little bit and see what he would do in the moment,” Shinnick said. “We told him to throw it where only we could get it and give one of our best players a chance.”
Washington also rose in the clutch last week. With the Terrapins holding a tenuous 13-9 lead in the fourth quarter and facing fourth down, Washington threw a 42-yard touchdown strike to Shaleak Knotts.
“He doesn’t make the same mistake twice,” said Maryland coach Mike Locksley, who played safety at Towson from 1988-91.
At 6-foot-5 and 231 pounds, Washington has impressed with his prototype size and elite arm strength.
“He’s got great command,” Shinnick added. “He’s got a live arm. I don’t think there’s a throw he can’t make.”
This will be a tall task for Towson, which has lost three lopsided games to Maryland by a combined score of 129-26.
