Player Profile: Max Bortenschlager
The Terps lost starting quarterback Tyrell Pigrome for the year in the first game of the season. The Terps lost their backup quarterback Kasim Hill in the third game of the season. Now Maryland looks at sophomore Max Bortenschlager to lead the Terrapin offense.
Bortenschlager took over after the Hill injury in the UCF game. Maryland would drop that game 38-10 at home. At the time, the loss didn’t look good with the main focus being that Hill suffered a torn ACL. The UCF loss followed a big upset over top 25 ranked Texas on the road and a big blowout win over Towson at home. Bortenschlager looked rough, throwing two picks and missed multiple open receivers. He went 15-26 for 132 yards and a TD in the game. Maryland fans got extremely nervous as they will have to run the remainder of the season with an unproven QB leading the way. Then came the Minnesota game.
Bortenschlager looked good in the first Big Ten Conference game as Maryland took down Minnesota, 34-21. Bortenschlager threw 2 TD’s, 18-26 and 154 yards for his effort, with zero interceptions. That quickly turned doubtful Maryland fanatics into hopeful fans again.
Bortenschlager graduated from Cathedral HS in Indiana, a very big school that produces many division one athletes. Max led Cathedral to the 5-A Indiana State Championship as a Junior. He became a 3 star recruit as he passed for 2,270 yards and 21 TD’s in that championship run. As a Terrapin, Bortenschlager appeared in two games as a freshman in 2016. He made his first career start at #19 Minnesota and immediately put himself in the Maryland record books. He threw a 92 yard TD pass to DJ Moore, the second-longest pass in Maryland history.
Bortenschlager will have to keep his composure and play like he did against Minnesota if the Terrapins have a chance to keep rolling strong. With Big Ten play here, it only gets more difficult as the year continues. Maryland faces their biggest test of the year at #10 Ohio State tomorrow, kickoff is 4pm.
