QB Caleb Henderson won’t play for Maryland football in 2018

Caleb Henderson’s Maryland football playing days are over, but he will remain with the Terps in an off-field role, The Washington Post’s Roman Stubbs reported Friday morning.

The former four-star quarterback transferred to Maryland shortly before the 2016 season from North Carolina to be closer to home. After sitting out a year in College Park, Henderson looked like the favorite to take over the starting quarterback position heading into 2017. Perry Hills and Caleb Rowe had just graduated and neither Max Bortenschlager nor Tyrrell Pigrome had started more than one game. Walt Bell, who was his lead recruiter at North Carolina, was the offensive coordinator at Maryland, and could give him an opportunity to resurrect his college career.

He looked like the favorite to win the job in spring practice, but a combination of injuries and increasingly better play from Pigrome, Bortenschlager, true freshman Kasim Hill and even walk-on Ryan Brand made that impossible. Henderson only played in two games at Maryland, coming in in relief in a blowout at Ohio State and for a handful of snaps against Northwestern at wide receiver while Ty Johnson and Lorenzo Harrison ran the wildcat.

For Maryland, this move opens up a roster spot for the team to use on a grad transfer for depth purposes somewhere else on the roster. The Terps could also elect not to replace his scholarship, which would help them get under the 85-man scholarship limit.

It also leaves the Terps with just three healthy quarterbacks in spring practice. With Pigrome and Hill still rehabbing their torn ACLs and Brand no longer listed on the team’s online roster, Maryland is left with Bortenschlager, early-enrolling freshman Tyler DeSue and walk-on Legend Brumbaugh healthy right now. Both Pigrome and Hill are expected back by fall camp in August, though, and those two still seem to comprise the future of the position in College Park.

UPDATE: Henderson has revealed his side of the story.