Against Michigan State on Saturday, Maryland football running back Lorenzo Harrison earned the first start of his freshman season, netting 105 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries.

The production helped the Terps earn an 11-point victory against one of the four teams to make the College Football Playoff last season and also earned Harrison an individual distinction — Big Ten Rookie of the Week — the conference announced Monday.

“It’s well deserved,” coach DJ Durkin said on a conference call Monday morning. “He’s been playing really well for us. Good for him, good for us.”

This season, the DeMatha Catholic High School product has rushed 65 times for 502 yards and five touchdowns. He scored in each of the Terps’ first four games, becoming the program’s first rookie to reach the end zone via rushing in that span.

Harrison’s yardage could been higher, Durkin joked after beating the Spartans, because Harrison’s juking, weaving style makes him difficult for defenders to corral and bring down on first contact.

“If we added up Lorenzo’s side-to-side yards,” Durkin said after Saturday’s game, “he may have had 400 yards.”

Harrison’s production has come as part of the Terps’ deep backfield rotation. Despite losing running back Trey Edmunds to a foot injury earlier this season, Durkin listed five running backs as co-starters on last week’s depth chart.

“It helps all those guys be able to stay fresh and be able to run the way they are, so we’ll continue to keep the rotation going,” Durkin said. “But obviously, [Harrison’s] very productive for us, as well as others, so we’re going to continue to adjust that rotation based on production.”

Running back Ty Johnson also surpassed 100 rushing yards against Michigan State, marking the first time this season two Terps runners have reached that milestone.

While Harrison fumbled late in Saturday’s second quarter, positioning the Spartans for a field goal — Michigan State would end up trying an unsuccessful fake attempt — Durkin expects his freshman’s burst to continue this weekend against Indiana.

“He’s playing like a veteran,” Durkin said. “We’re certainly not going to contain him or slow him down or put limits on [him].”