SB Nation - Antwine Perez

Maryland Football Season Review: Defensive Backs

Ben Broman — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:00:33 -0000

Maryland will miss this man.

One of the most underrated adjustments Maryland players had to make to the new defensive scheme was in coverage, as Don Brown used less of a Chris Cosh-ian sit back and wait zone and more of an attacking press man or tight Cover 2. With athletes better suited to the zone, corners were occasionally hard-pressed to make the transition.

The DBs saw both things encouraging and things scary. Anthony Wiseman and Cameron Chism. Kenny Tate and Kenny Tate. Terrell Skinner and Nolan Carroll.

Actually, Carroll's injury is a bit underrated. I don't think he'd be changing the outcome of too many games, but he was all set up to have a breakout year, and a shutdown corner can never hurt. As it turned out, he got hurt, and Maryland was again searching for a #1 CB.

Nolan Carroll

After a great spring and fall practice period, Nolan was set to be the man in the secondary and was already a defensive leader. He was perfect for Don Brown's scheme and looked to make exciting plays without getting beaten deep. While he showed flashes in his first game, no one was all that good against Cal, and it wasn't long after (against JMU) that he broke a bone in his leg, ending his year.

A similar fate doomed another senior cornerback for Maryland last year, Kevin Barnes. Hopefully they'll have better luck in the future.

Anthony Wiseman

Originally the #2, Wiseman was forced into the starting spot directly after Carroll's injury, and the results were...middling. Despite a few big plays every once in awhile, he tended to be one of the worse corners in the secondary. Really, though, it's not his fault: his skill set just wasn't good for this defense, and he looked to have trouble man-to-man. The real blame falls on the coaches for keeping him in too long.

Like Carroll, though, I don't think Wiseman cost Maryland any victories on the year, at least not directly. He had a rough go of it, but I have nothing against him.

Cameron Chism

Ah, now this is exciting. Chism put out one of the best performances by a sophomore CB I've seen from a Terp, and showcased everything you could want: he got better as he went along, was able to shut down a few guys, and didn't drop interceptions. He had his problems - fade routes were especially rough on him, and he got bailed out by safeties more than once - but the future is bright.

You could see his progression throughout the year, too. Early on, QBs were picking on him, sending a lot of balls his way. Later, they went more toward Wiseman, avoiding Chism.

Chism will almost certainly be the #1 corner next year, and deservedly so. He's a good fit for the defense and is a playmaker.

Trenton Hughes

Despite there being an open nickel spot in the secondary, Hughes didn't see all that much memorable playing time. That's actually a good thing: also an inexperienced sophomore, he managed not to get burned and stayed in front of his man in most instances. Even though he didn't really make any great plays and there were passes completed to his side, I was moderately impressed with his performance.

He'll be the frontrunner in a very interesting battle for CB next year. He has the experience and he's nutty fast, but he's on the skinny side and an ultra-talented, bigger guy like Travis Hawkins or Dexter McDougle might serve them better.

Richard Taylor

The senior member of the group, Taylor is a sixth-year senior who was actually in grad school. Despite receiving almost no playing time in any of his previous five years, he saw major PT toward the end of the year and started rotating the nickel corner spot with Hughes. He ended up with his first INT in a clutch situation against North Carolina State, and was one of my favorites.

At the same time, he was as flawed as the rest. He consistently held his own, but that's not to say he was never beaten or that he was a shutdown corner. When Wiseman was off the field and he was on it, he tended to get balls thrown his way.

Terrell Skinner

Ever since last year's break-out campaign for Terrell, he's quietly been one of the best players on defense. He doesn't get a lot of talk as a pro prospect or as a great safety, but he didn't beaten nearly as much as his strong safety counterpart and racked up the tackles. This was his last year, and he did performed admirably with an occasionally shattered secondary. Maryland will miss his presence.

Kenny Tate

Skinner's backup, Tate is a polarizing figure. Some miss the potential he showcased on the offensive end, because he started out at safety instead of his natural WR position and decided to stay there. It makes sense, but his first two years have shown that he is a little out of place. His instincts have never seemed quite there and he made a lot of mistakes.

That said, he has a ton of talent, and two years of experience can only help. Get him out on the field as a starter and coach him up on the finer points of the position, and he has the ability to dominate. I wouldn't mind seeing him out at punt returner or even a few offensive packages including him, either.

Jamari McCollough

I will always love Jamari if only for his UNC interception. The emotion from that game, even though it wasn't all that important, was simply incredible. Luckily for us, he turned out to be a pretty good strong safety, too. Despite battling injuries all year long, he showed up and, even though he got beaten deep occasionally, was great against the run and solid in short zones. Like Skinner, he will be missed.

Antwine Perez

McCollough's probable replacement, Perez has to be one of the most exciting players on defense. A former five star transfer from USC, he hasn't seen the field much in his time at Maryland despite clearly having a huge amount of talent. Like McCollough, his finest moment came against UNC, and he showed a ton of potential late this year. If he can put together an entire year along the lines of these past few games - which I believe he can - Maryland could have one of the better safety duos in the ACC.

Eric Franklin

A true freshman who had to fill in for Perez at first and then Tate thanks to a late-season injury, Franklin didn't see a lot of playing time, and was average in the time he did see. He did have an important sack in his debut, but a few games later he allowed a big TD run after taking a bad angle. All in all, it was pretty good for a freshman safety. He'll be the primary backup at both spots next year, barring something unexpected.

The Future

Despite being surrounded by unnecessary, useless burnt redshirts all around, the defensive backs saw only one burn, and a reasonable one at that. Thus, I'm pretty excited for next year.

The good news is that Maryland will have more talent in the defensive backfield at any time next year than they had all of this year. There's more depth at the corners and more experience at the safeties than before, and you can add more talent to both of those spots. The ceiling is high.

On the bad side, there's not a lot of experience. Chism has half a year as a #1 corner. Hughes is the only other corner with any other experience, and not very much of it. Neither Tate nor Perez have been starters for any period of time. They'll have to learn quick.

The 2nd CB position won't be the most high-profile battle of the spring and fall (that'd be QB), but it will be the most entertaining (okay, maybe 2nd most there). Hughes, Hawkins, McDougle...three very talented guys fighting for the same spot. My money is on Hawkins, but that's just a guess.

The first few games will be rough as the secondary works out the kinks and figures out the right lineup. As they gain experience, though, this group will be very dangerous. When combined with a hopefully improved DL and a returning LB corps, this defense could be quite good.

Post-Year Stream of Consciousness: Random Thoughts on Maryland's Season

Ben Broman — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:03:35 -0000

I'm not yet prepared to go down the road of a ton of research and the like to review the year with basketball on it's way, but I am prepared to publish a few, mostly random thoughts on the season that was and the season that will be (that is, next year). This isn't real analysis, just whatever came to my mind. (BTW, this will be the last thing on football for awhile except Fridge). Without further ado:

First ten loss year ever. Worst year since 1967. No analysis needed.
Maryland won two games by a combined six points. Both games were won by 3. In both games, the opposing team's kicker missed two (not one, two) FGs, at least one of which definitely should've been made.
That said, Maryland also lost five games by less than a TD. A few of those games (BC) weren't all that close, but some were a play or two away.
Don Brown's first year was...okay. I don't think the problems Maryland had stemmed from the scheme, but rather the athletes and talent in house. Most of these guys were recruited and raised on Cosh's zone system, and making them go man-to-man and attack doesn't work well.
James Franklin, on the other hand, was extremely unimpressive. I'm reminded of the days when Ralph was his own OC. Offensive line aside, playcalling was so awkward - one-play Wildcats, the Jamarr Package, passing in run situations, ultra-conservative playcalls on 3rd and long - that I have no confidence in his decision-making ability as a future HC.
I love Chris Turner, but this wasn't his year. If Jamarr Robinson was back at QB the entire year, Maryland might pull out an extra win. That's nothing against Turner, but rather the OL. With Robinson, though, Maryland might not win JMU or Clemson, in which Turner was at his best. Regardless, Robinson was better suited to this patchwork OL.

On the topic of QBs, how about next year? I can't wait for the position battle brewing already. Robinson is the most experienced, but his performance this year shouldn't have given him the spot. Clay Belton looks talented and I love his potential. Danny O'Brien is the smartest of them all, but has the least physical tools. C.J. Brown is the opposite - he's fast with a cannon arm, but people have questioned his decision-making. Don't forget about Tyler Smith - who has amazing tape but average stats - and Devin Burns, who's really grown on me in his senior year as a possible starter from day one.
We can't even handicap this race, though, until a coach is decided. If it's Friedgen, the starter will likely be O'Brien or Robinson. If it's Franklin, the starter will probably be Robinson. If it's someone else, well...
The offensive line will be improved, yes, but don't think they'll transform into greatness overnight. Part of the problem was experience, yes, but another part was talent. For a former OL, Fridge has never really attacked OL recruiting, and it's hurt.
Torrey Smith's second half of the year was supremely disappointing, but his first half was wonderful. If he can put together an entire season like that, he'll be an All-American contender.
Don't sleep on Adrian Cannon or Ronnie Tyler, either. Both have shown a ton of potential. Get Tyler to catch the easy ones and don't let Cannon disappear so easily, and Maryland is absolutely loaded at WR. Remember, LaQuan Williams, Kevin Dorsey, and Kerry Boykins will all return, too.
Maryland's still loaded at RB, too. Da'Rel Scott is one of the best in the ACC, and Davin Meggett will be better with him healthy. Porzel should see time as a slot receiver once in a blue moon and get a few carries a game. Gary Douglas, unfortunately, will probably be relegated to backup status. D.J. Adams should be the goal line back. That's five guys that were three stars or better.
Does this seem overly positive? Maybe, but Maryland's stacked at WR and RB next year. Find a decent QB and an OL that isn't blown over by the wind, and next season could be very fun, especially if they land an "offensive genius" like Mike Leach.
On the other side, I'm not sure how much the DL will improve. The talent will be the same, except they'll be even less experienced, if that's possible. They lose both starting DEs in Jared Harrell and Deege Galt; you won't find me singing their praises a lot, but who's behind them are questionable. Derek Drummond was average this year. DeOnte Arnett is talented but unproven. Carl Russell couldn't get on the field. Justin Anderson and Masengo Kabongo saw most of their time at DT. I'm not enthralled with the ends unless freshman David Mackall can make as early an impact as some people think.
The DTs are slotted to be a bit better, but not a ton. A.J. Francis thankfully returns and looks to be pretty good, but the other slot is open and gaping. Travis Ivey wasn't amazing, but he was consistently solid. There's no one definitely slotted to take that spot over. Much like last year, the entire DL will probably be a position battle.
Alex Wujciak will probably be All-ACC, though I'm not sure he deserves it. Tackles are an overrated stat when the guy's behind a terrible DL, and Wujciak racked them up with ease. He's good, don't get me wrong, but he's not as outstanding as a lot of people assume. His athleticism isn't top-level and he's vulnerable in coverage and in the open field. Still, he's the best Maryland has against the run up the middle.
I'm very excited about Demetrius Hartsfield. Cinquante Neuf has the potential to be very, very good. He's athletic, physical, and is ahead of where Adrian Moten and Wujciak were their freshman years.
Cameron Chism is a legit #1 corner in the ACC (he has the talent and the playmaking ability), but who's the #2? This year, it was Anthony Wiseman, and that didn't turn out too well. My money's on the big, physical Travis Hawkins, who will probably be better than Chism eventually.
This year wasn't quite what we expected from the safeties. The seniors were okay, but Antwine Perez and Kenny Tate - the starters next year - were inconsistent. The pair is definitely talented, I won't argue that, but both have made questionable decisions and are inconsistent. If they can patch that up, they'll be among the best in the country. If not, teams will beat Maryland deep on a consistent basis.
Is Nick Ferrara really the MVP? If not for Torrey Smith's decline, I would've said no, but he just might be. Great year from the freshman. He'll be a stud in the coming years.
Some quick thoughts on the likely coaching search: Billick, Leach, London, Strong, Golden, Gill, Foster, Nuimatalolo. In that order.

Maryland Minute 10.25.09 - ACC Basketball Media Day

Ben Broman — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:17:34 -0000

Maryland's incoming big men look promising - WaPo
After reading this, I'm officially psyched for basketball season.

Greivis Vasquez Taking Over as Face of the League
Would you rather it be Kyle Singler?

Love his fiery personality or hate it, the 6-foot-6 senior has plenty of game to go with his swagger. Last year, the second-team all-ACC selection became the first Terrapin to lead his team in points (17.4), rebounds (5.4) and assists (5.0), and he's an early favorite to be named the league's player of the year this season.

NCAA Institutes New "Zero Tolerance" Excessive Celebration Rule, Greivis Vasquez Does Not Approve
Chalk us up for a solid four Ts a game now.

"Are you going to keep your emotions inside of you?" Maryland senior guard Greivis Vasquez asked. "I guess that's what they want you to do. We're just going to follow the rules. It's going to be a little tough."

Terrible, terrible rule, and completely pointless. Not happy with this decision at all.

Still haven't found the right OL combo - D1scourse
And we've tried six of them.

I said before the season that the OL would get better as the season progressed because the coaches would figure out the best combination of players. I guess not.

Antwine Perez Injury Update - Sun
There was a scary moment in the second quarter against Duke, when a mostly lifeless Antwine Perez was carted off the field on a stretcher. He's okay, though.

Duke Almost Never Wins
Seriously. Listen to this: the last time Duke beat Maryland in Durham was in 1994. The last time Duke won two straight in the ACC was in 1994, too. Wow. Their tight end said that "winning two ACC games in a row, that's really big for this program."

USA Today ACC Preview
Really good overview of all the teams. Make sure to check it out when you find the time.

USA Today Maryland Preview
Or, if you just want their take on Maryland, this is also acceptable.

Where Triple-Double Happens - RTC
Friends of the blog Rush the Court are putting together their Reasons To Love College Basketball. #13? Greivis Vasquez's triple-double.

Maryland-UNC is the 16th Best Game of the Year
Friends of the blog RTC (again) with the call:

Remember when these two met in College Park a season ago with Maryland vaulting their team into surefire NCAA status by knocking off then-#3 UNC? The Heels will be out for revenge this February who will look to expose the Terrapins young and average frontcourt. How freshmen big men Jordan Williams and James Padgett progress should be the difference with Deon Thompson, Ed Davis and John Henson on the other side.

Durand Johnson Update: Sounds Like Pitt Leads
Eh, Maryland never pressed for him. It would've been nice to get an early 2011 commit, though.

However, it looks as though his visit to Pittsburgh has certainly elevated the Panthers into the driver’s seat in his recruitment. "My biggest impression was the team, the coaches and the fans", said Johnson. "They showed me alot of love and really wanted me to be a part of the Pitt family."

Maryland-Wake Forest Report Card and Helmet Stickers

Ben Broman — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:20:59 -0000

That was a terrible game. Time to read a terrible grades post.

QB: D

No, they won't all be Fs. That's a copout. I'm going legit here. Unfortunately, that probably means they'll all be Ds.

It's not like Chris Turner had a ton of time to throw, so it's tough to really pin the woes of the offense on him, but he certainly wasn't great. He needs to realize he has to get rid of the ball as quickly as possible when the blitz comes; you'd think after four games he would've realized that. At the very least, he should call an audible when he reads blitz, like Riley Skinner did several times early in the game. We also got to see his woefully underpowered arm on a few occasions. Not one of CT's better days.

RB: D

For yet another week, it's not like they really had that much to do. Davin Meggett had 6 carries, and that led the backs. Making it worse, there were no real holes, either, so they were pretty restricted. Da'Rel Scott's presence wouldn't have made a difference, to be honest. At least Gary Douglas got in the passing game, which is where he can do some major damage.

WR: C-

Torrey Smith did have ten catches, but he only had seventy yards. That translates to doing absolutely nothing after the catch. Adrian Cannon showed some of the big play ability that many of us had expected from him early on with two TDs. Other than that, there wasn't much positive to draw from, but that's partly from Turner's arm; he underthrew one ball criminally and missed an open LaQuan Williams in the endzone. Still, they could've done more with the opportunities they had.

OL: F

If the OL was better, Turner has time to throw and the RBs have holes to run through. It's not breaking news, but there's the root of the offensive troubles. Wake had no problem controlling the game by getting to Turner, and probably should've had more sacks than they did (4). They also clogged up basically every hole for Meggett or Douglas to run through in the few attempts they had.

It all goes back to the OL.

DL: F

I'm now reminiscing about how we used to be, about four weeks ago, when the lines were ridiculously bad. Remember those days? Well, they're back.

The defense had trouble getting to Skinner even with a blitz, let alone with just the front four. A team that was previously unable to run the ball simply gashed the defensive line and had some truck-sized holes. Nothing positive to draw from this performance, sadly. The line took one huge step back after all that improvement.

LB: D+

Alex Wujciak looked good again; slow and unathletic, but good. He was back in the double-digits for tackles. Darin Drakeford got in on the action a bit too, with five tackles; that's his first real action of the season. He needs to be getting seriously enhanced reps at this point. Demetrius Hartsfield didn't look nearly as good as he had in the past few weeks, unfortunately. Really, it didn't matter what they did, though; the line was so bad that they were screwed either way.

Surprisingly, Adrian Moten didn't fare too well. He only had two tackles, not even a full TFL. He was hurt, so I'm not criticizing, but he's usually pretty impactful regardless of the line's performance. His quiet play hurt tonight.

DB: F

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.

Anthony Wiseman got picked on like a second grade nerd all day long. Wake Forest is still probably eating Wiseman toast this morning for breakfast. Insert other Anthony Wiseman joke here. He can't be the #1 corner against UVA.

Cameron Chism wasn't much better. Falling down in coverage is unlucky, but somebody's gotta take the blame there. He also missed a couple of tackles and got straight up beaten a few times.

The safeties were just as bad, if not worse. Kenny Tate, Jamari McCollough, and Terrell Skinner were basically invisible. I'm not even sure Antwine Perez played. None of them helped out against the pass, which was burning the D, and run support was nonexistant. Not a good day for this group.

Special Teams: B

Nick Ferrara looked awesome again; he could be the best since Novak, maybe even better. 50 yarders aren't easy. Torrey Smith had the 85 yard return, which set up the only first half TD. Not much else happened, but it wasn't a particularly bad day for the ST.

Coaching: F

How, in god's name, does a team come out this flat and emotionless in a game that actually has ACC ramifications? How?

Oh, and when did we decide that running the ball isn't even worth trying anymore?

Also: why do we continue to run the QB draw again and again? Haven't we learned? It has lost its effectiveness, puts Turner at even more risk, and maxes out at about six yards. Not at all worth it.

Oh, and good decision to leave Turner in instead of give Jamarr Robinson some much needed reps after the game got out of hand. Not like we're going to need to know if he can play in a couple months.

Helmet Stickers:

Adrian Cannon: I mean, he did have two TDs.
Alex Wujciak: Well, he had double-digit tackles.
Nick Ferrara: 50 yarder!
Torrey Smith: Ten catches, plus an 85 yard kickoff return. Probably regained his lead in the all-purpose yards battle.

Maryland-MTSU Report Card and Helmet Stickers

Ben Broman — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 14:38:04 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

3 months ago: Maryland linebacker Alex Wujciak (33), safety Kenny Tate (12) and cornerback Cameron Chism (22) react after losing 32-31 to Middle Tennessee State on a field goal during the closing seconds of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Browse more photos »

Here they are, folks. Feel free to critique and disagree as you see fit.

QB: B+

Tough to complain about Chris Turner's performance. He was 19-30 with 2 TDs, and his interception wasn't at all his fault. He threw some very nice deep balls to Torrey Smith and was overall very accurate on the day and made good decisions. Good day for him.

RB: C+

I wasn't particularly sure how to grade this. True, Da'Rel Scott had two fumbles that lost Maryland the game (a lot of things lost Maryland the game, actually). But he also had a 9 ypc average and 117 yards. If he isn't benched, I'm pretty certain he has at least one or two more big runs that, if they don't make up for the fumbles, mitigate their effects somewhat. More importantly, I don't think Maryland loses with another big play or two.

That said, he didn't come back in the game, and it was instead Davin Meggett who handled the majority of the carries. I like Meggett a lot, but he simply can't create, especially not when the offensive line is this porous. He was a force in the passing game, but the Terps simply couldn't move the ball on the ground when he was in.

WR: A-

Torrey Smith. Torrey Smith. Torrey Smith. That basically says it all.

Ok, I'll say more. Smith is proving what I've been saying for awhile: he has the ability to be a star. But even I didn't think he'd be this productive. Two TDs (one of which he was wide open for), five catches, and 165 is a day you expect out of your #1 receiver.

Kerry Boykins had his number called twice in the fourth quarter, one of which was a clutch catch on 3rd and 10. This was a coming out party of sorts for him; I expect he'll move up the depth chart this week. Adrian Cannon was surprisingly quiet today; this was the first time he hasn't made an impact this season. Still, Smith and Boykins alone make this performance great.

OL: D+

First the good: Chris Turner had some time to throw on some of the deep ball attempts. Bennett Fulper had a really nice pull block on Scott's 48-yard TD run. I think that's it.

After allowing only one sack last week, they gave up four this week, and if it wasn't for Chris Turner throwing the ball away under pressure a few times, it could've been seven. Likewise, Meggett had nothing to work with on the ground. The line became invisible drives at a time. ACC play will be ugly.

DL: C-

First the good: There were four sacks. According to the stats, Dwight Dasher and D.D. Kyles were held to under 3 yards per carry.

The bad: that's mostly the work of the linebackers, cornerbacks, and statistical office. The line couldn't even get close to Dasher unless there were three players blitzing. As for the running stats: Dasher's stats look worse than they should because he took a couple big sacks. Sacks in the college game subtract from the running yardage; he actually had 72 yards on 16 carries, not 26 on 4. Doesn't look so good now, does it?

LB: B

The biggest concern I had about the linebackers was Dwight Dasher's superior athletic ability. I had nightmares of him running right around Alex Wujciak en route to a 30 yard TD run. Surprisingly, that never happened. Dasher did have a 26 yard run, but that was his only big play on the day and was otherwise contained nicely. Wujciak, Adrian Moten, and Demetrius Hartsfield all looked good yesterday - Hartsfield dropped a sure interception, but made a few nice stops on Dasher. Wujciak racked up the tackles again, piling up 11. And Moten had what is surely his best day yet: 11 tackles and a 15 yard sack.

We've been expecting this kind of day out of the LBs, and finally got it. There is some reason for hope.

DB: B-

In the first game without Nolan Carroll, the DBs were a mix of good and bad. On the one hand, Cameron Chism had two interceptions, 12 tackles, and, outside of one or two bad plays, held his own. Antwine Perez had a breakout game, with five tackles, one of which was a stonewall reminiscent of his UNC stop. Trenton Hughes surprised me with a solid game as the nickel corner.

Of course, Chism did get burned a few times, most noticeably on a 35 yard pass that would set up the game-winning FG. Also, the 12 tackles are a result of getting picked on and allowing so many completions. Kenny Tate didn't have a good game - outside a sack that was mainly Wujciak's doing, he was mostly invisible, looked like he blew a deep coverage assignment, and missed a tackle on a long MTSU TD pass. Anthony Wiseman still doesn't look capable of being a #1 corner, either.

While the bad seems really bad, it's not quite as awful as it seems. For a unit without its #1 corner and starting safety, they did alright. I won't complain about it too much.

Special Teams: C+

Nick Ferrara had his first misses of the season, having one kick blocked and sending another wide. I'm okay with that - he's a freshman, so it's understandable. Travis Baltz continued his string of mediocre games, which for anyone else wouldn't be that bad. Torrey Smith wasn't his usual self on kick returns, either. It wasn't the best of days for the ST unit.

Helmet Stickers:

Torrey Smith, WR - Great day for Smith. Like I said above, he's proven he is a legitimate #1 receiver.
Adrian Moten, OLB - Moten is showing why he was selected captain even though he's a junior. Eleven tackles, a pass breakup, and a sack is a great showing.
Tony Logan, PR - Yeah, I'm giving a helmet sticker for a single punt return. Why? Because it's obvious Logan, not Tate, deserves to be back there. I like Kenny, but he's averaging somewhere around 6 yards out there and has a fumble. In Logan's one return, he had 17 yards. Plus, no one else on special teams did anything worth recognition.
Cameron Chism, CB - Yes, he got beaten deep on key possessions, and yes, he got picked on all day, but Chism did something literally no one else on Maryland's defense has been able to do - force turnovers.

Maryland-Cal: Grades

Ben Broman — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:23:53 -0000

I wanted to hold off on posting any sort of grades or report card for at least 24 hours, because if I did it yesterday, all the grades would've been Ds. But now that I've had some time to think it over and recover, these grades seem pretty sensible to me.

(Note: I don't like report cards. Ever since Chemistry, I've disliked attaching quantitative values to qualitative things. But I haven't found a better way to do it yet, so this is what I'm stuck with.)

Okay, moving on:

QB: B

The more I think about it, the better Chris Turner's play seems. No, he wasn't lights out, but he was 17-30 with no interceptions, and should've had a touchdown. He had a few really nicely thrown balls - the TD and the fade to Torrey Smith come to mind - and made some plays with his feet, surprisingly. He wasn't perfect - he threw two or three passes that very easily could've been intercepted, and consistently threw the ball behind Adrian Cannon early on, killing any chance at a RAC. That said, considering he was under pressure most of the game, it wasn't a bad performance.

RB: B+

Really, neither Da'Rel Scott nor Davin Meggett had much to work with. There was a definite lack of holes to run through, and they were forced to bounce it outside most of the time. Fortunately, they made the most of what they had and turned in really good performances. Scott had 91 yards on just 13 carries and Maryland's only touchdown of the day on a 39 yard scamper. Meggett had 37 yards on four carries for a 4 ypc average - not bad at all. While I'm expecting better in the future from this duo, considering the circumstances, I find it tough to complain.

WR: B

Wide receiver is always a tough position to grade. If no one dominated the game (ala Hey-Bey) and no one has a bunch of drops, not a lot stands out in memory. The only drop I remember is Matt Furstenburg on a post that would've gone for about 25 yards. It was a big drop, but that was the only one, so it's tough to harp on it too much. Torrey Smith was ultra-productive when he got involved in the offense - two reverses for 16 yards total, plus a really nice 29 yard fade route - but didn't get enough touches. Adrian Cannon didn't show the big play potential that a lot of people had been expecting, but he did have 5 catches for 30 yards. I'm including the TEs in this grade, and both Tommy Galt and Lansford Watson had great games. Watson might've earned a starting position with a few huge plays, and Galt was a solid blocker and receiver over the middle.

OL: F

You knew it was coming. If you looked at the rest of the grades on offense and wondered how it was that Maryland only got one touchdown out of the day, here's the answer. The line not only contributed to a number of drive-killing penalties, they allowed pressure on Turner all day long and didn't open up holes for the RBs. There's not much positive to say about the performance. Every time Maryland got a little momentum, the OLine would kill it. And it wasn't just the young guys (though they were the main perpetrators). Rick Costa and Bruce Campbell had a few penalties, and were beaten occasionally. Cal has a very good defense, but the line needs to make marked improvements if Maryland is to compete this year.

DL: D

Almost as bad as the OL, the defensive line was completely manhandled. There was no pressure on Riley except when blitzing, there was no penetration into the backfield, and most of the time they didn't even hold their ground. The one time they did get into the backfield to make a sack without help from four other biltzers, Jared Harrell let a notably unathletic QB shake him and throw a TD. Awful. I know they're young, like the OL, but if this is how the rest of the season is going to be, Don Brown has some real tinkering to do to try to make this defense stand up.

LB: C-

It's tough to expect much from a group that had virtually no protection in front of them, but if DRS and Meggs can make something out of it, I'd expect All-ACC Alex Wujciak and team captain Adrian Moten to make an impact. Unfortunately, none was made. Wujciak had seven tackles, but consistently showed his lack of speed and athleticism. Adrian Moten was surprisingly quiet outside of a sack, and Demetrius Hartsfield - who's been getting a ton of props as Maryland's next great LB - missed a few tackles and didn't have much of an impact. Overall, I expected much better out of a very talented group.

DB: C

Anthony Wiseman looked out of place, was picked on a lot, and committed a few penalties that hurt. He did have a few really nice pass breakups, but he'll have to toughen up to work well in the press. Nolan Carroll was better, and shut down his receiver for much of the day, but was beaten badly a few times and didn't look good in run support. Cam Chism saw the field a decent amount, but looked as bad as Wiseman.

Luckily, the safeties pull this grade back up, as their play was miles better. Jamari McCollough was solid before his injury (I won't forget him standing back up to make the tackle after getting hurt) and Antwine Perez was all over the place and led the team in tackles. Terrell Skinner is definitely not a cover guy and got bailed out with a dropped pass after being beaten, but no harm done, I suppose. Kenny Tate didn't have the best of days and gotten beaten deep a couple times, but he was the outlier of the group.

Special Teams: B

If Maryland fails everywhere else, the one place you can rely on is special teams. Travis Baltz had a bad day, granted, but a bad day for him is a pretty good day for anyone else. Nick Ferrara went 2-2 and was solid on kickoffs, locking up the kicking job for the foreseeable future. Torrey Smith had the killer fumble, which keeps this from being a B+, but was his solid, consistent self after that. Kenny Tate returned punts, and looked very good doing it. He adds a big play potential Maryland hasn't had there since Steve Suter. Sadly, special teams was one of the biggest bright spots of the day.

Cal-Maryland Preview: It's Game Day

Ben Broman — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:03:45 -0000

It's game day! We've waited so long...

While you can go anywhere to see a fuller, more stat-filled preview than this, here's a short look at what you can expect from the game today:

Maryland's Offense vs. Cal's Defense - The Golden Bears' defense looks to be one of the better ones this year, with 8 returning starters. The problem, though, is that all three new starters are linebackers; the Golden Bears are replacing a trio of starting ‘backers, which is probably their weakest point on defense. The defensive line and secondary should be good enough to compensate, but it's a point of interest, especially in the 3-4 defense, when much more pressure is placed on the LBs. There are quite a few great players on Cal's defense, though: Cameron Jordan and Tyson Alualu are Cal's stars along the defensive line at DE, while Syd'Quan Thompson is one of the top cover corners in the nation.

On Maryland's side, the worst thing Maryland's young offensive line could face is that 3-4 alignment. It's traditionally more confusing and tougher to handle than the traditional 4-3, so missed assignments may be plentiful. If the line can handle the different look, Maryland should look to run...a lot. Hey-Bey had his way with Thompson last year, but Torrey Smith - as much as I like him - doesn't have that ability. The passing game will probably be limited to second and third options while the running game attempts to attack the weak LB corps with 6 or 7 yard runs.

Maryland's Defense vs. Cal's Offense - Jahvid Best, Jahvid Best, Jahvid Best. That's pretty much all you need to know about Cal's offense. Kevin Riley is an adequate QB , but not much more. The WRs for Cal are probably the biggest weakness on the team. Cal's offensive line is very good, and Best benefits from having a decent amount of holes opened up for him. I don't expect there to be any problems against Maryland's inexperienced DL. After getting knocked out of the game last year, Best is probably looking to get some revenge, and he has the ability to make Maryland hurt.

I wouldn't be surprised if Don Brown took Chris Cosh's stategy of stopping Best at all costs - Kenny Tate or Antwine Perez may be a fourth linebacker when they're on the field. The secondary is experienced enough to handle an average Cal passing game; the biggest problem will be stopping Best. Of course, Brown does have a card up his sleeve - there's almost no tape on his defense, making it near impossible to adequately prepare for it.

Special Teams - Maryland and Cal are spookily similar in this category. Both had placekicking battles during the spring, and both were decided only recently. True freshman Vince D'Amato will handle the duties for Cal, and the Terps' kicker has been decided but not announced. It's very possible that both teams will sport true freshman kickers, so field goals may be few and far between. Both have great punters - the Bears' Bryan Anger was a Freshman All-America first teamer, while Travis Baltz is a Ray Guy award semifinalist. To top it off, both have electric kick returners - Best will field kicks for the Golden Bears, while Torrey Smith - the record holder for kick return yards in a single season in the ACC - returns for Maryland.

Cliff Notes Version: Too lazy to actually read that? Here's the Cliff Notes:

Cal's defense returns 8 starters, so there's a lot of experience.
All three new starters are LBs, though, so that could be an area of weakness.
Cal's 3-4 defense might confuse Maryland's young offensive line.
Expect Maryland to try to run the ball and take advantage of a weaker LB corps with 5 to 7 yard runs.
Jahvid Best is the core of Cal's offense.
Expect quite a lot of running from Cal, as Kevin Riley and Cal's WRs aren't all that great.
Fortunately, there's no DI tape of Don Brown's defense, so it's possible that Cal isn't prepared for it.
Both teams have young kickers, great punters, and explosive returners.

Position Battles Revisited

Ben Broman — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:04:43 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

Davin Meggett has played his way into contention for the starting spot at RB.

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As we entered fall practice, there were quite a few position battles brewing - actually, I counted ten - and while some have yet to be settled, progress has been made in all of them. As we're now only a week away from kickoff (one week!), all position battles - minus kicker - will probably be solved within the next few days. Here's an overview, to see how they turned out:

Backup QB: Redshirt sophomore Jamarr Robinson entered camp defending his #2 spot from true freshmen C.J. Brown and Danny O'Brien. But the position battle ended after just a couple days of practice, as Robinson proved he's come a long way since the start of spring. O'Brien and Brown fought it out for #3, and O'Brien has a slight lead, but neither should burn their shirts. Winner: Jamarr Robinson.

RB: This wasn't a position battle before camp, but Davin Meggett has challenged All-ACC performer Da'Rel Scott for the top spot. And Gary Douglas has probably surpassed Morgan Green for the #3 spot. Oh, and there's the two high-octane freshmen RBs, D.J. Adams and Caleb Porzel. There's a ridiculous amount of talent here, so the position battle is a good thing. Winners: Meggett has pulled even with Scott, but Scott will still start. Gary Douglas' great camp has moved him past Morgan Green. The freshmen will probably redshirt.

Z WR: At first, there was a huge glut of very similar players fighting for the Z spot, with not a lot of separation. But after Torrey Smith - former starter at X - moved over to the position, the problem was solved. Smith will start at Z, Adrian Cannon will take his spot at X, and Ronnie Tyler will man the slot. Former Z leader Tony Logan was passed by Quintin McCree at the position, while Kevin Dorsey - another contender at the position - moved up to X. Winner: Torrey Smith

TE: One of the few positions without a lot of clarification. There hasn't been much news on where guys stand right now. All of the major contenders - Tommy Galt, Lansford Watson, Matt Furstenburg, and Devonte Campbell - have improved in camp, but none have separated themselves. Winner: Probably Tommy Galt, with Lansford a close second

LG: Originally given to Lamar Young, the position delved into battle after a very strong showing from former walk-on Andrew Gonnella. Gonnella and Young have been tied for most of camp, but after Young's been less than 100% due to a shoulder injury, Gonnella probably wrapped the position up. Winner: Gonnella.

RT: RT has been one of the fiercer battles in camp, but it's probably done now. R.J. Dill and Tyler Bowen appeared to be the frontrunners at the start of camp, but another former walk-on - Paul Pinegar - outlasted both and seems to have locked the spot up. Bowen might've been a contender, but has been injured for most of camp, and Dill is a close second to Pinegar right now. Winner: Pinegar.

DE: I still don't know what happened here. It's confusing, to say the least. It started out with Derek Drummond, DeOnte Arnett, and Masengo Kabongo fighting for playing time. Then former anchor Jared Harrell and Masengo Kabongo switched spots; Harrell is now tied with (probably leading, actually) Drummond, while Kabongo is neck and neck with Deege Galt at anchor. Then there's the possibility to Tony Tucker, whose addition would mess up the whole equation even more. Winners: Probably Harrell and Kabongo, but only because I haven't heard much of Deege Galt.

Nickel CB: Corner was, initially, a bit of a crapshoot. But after a couple weeks, it's been pretty well narrowed down to just two contenders: Cam Chism and Trenton Hughes (Richard Taylor, Brandon Jackson-Mills, and Michael Carter are fighting for the fifth corner spot). While I don't know exactly which one is leading, and I haven't really heard much about either lately, I wouldn't feel uncomfortable wagering on Chism. Winner: Don't really know, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't Chism.

S: One of the good position battles, safety is an issue because there's too much talent. Jamari McCollough might've been the defensive MVP last year. Kenny Tate might be the most exciting, naturally gifted player on the defense, if not on the team. Antwine Perez is a former five star, and just as talented as Tate. Terrell Skinner was great last year, and is a huge playmaker. So, how do you solve this? Play them all. Winner: Maryland - you can expect a lot of three or even four safety sets.

Punt Returner: Really, it's been more of Tony Logan vs. himself than Tony Logan vs. anyone else, because there is no other legitimate contender at the moment. While I'd like to see Caleb Porzel back there, there's the issue with burning his redshirt. As it stands, unless Logan does really poorly - and there's no indication that he will - the spot is his. Winner: Logan.

Kicker: Your guess is as good as mine. Mike Barbour and Nick Ferrara are completely tied right now - you can't even really argue for one being ahead of the other. My gut is telling me Ferrara, but I have no idea what the coaches think. Winner: ?

Is Maryland Last-Place Bad?

Ben Broman — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:09:22 -0000

I know Maryland football isn't going to be great next year, but are the Terps last-in-the-ACC-Atlantic bad? Tony Barnhart looked at every major football magazine preview and listed their predictions. He then threw his own into the hat. The consensus? Maryland will finish dead last.

Athlon: Florida State, N.C. State, Clemson, Wake Forest, Boston College, Maryland

Lindy's: Florida State, Wake Forest, Clemson, N.C. State, Boston College, Maryland

Phil Steele: Clemson, Florida State, Boston College (tie 3rd), N.C. State (tie 3rd), Wake Forest, Maryland

Sporting News: Florida State, N.C. State, Wake Forest, Clemson, Maryland, Boston College

The Kickoff: N.C. State, Wake Forest, Clemson, Florida State, Maryland, Boston College

Then, when you throw in Barnhart's prediction (yet another last placer), Maryland is easily the last team in the conference, at least according to these guys. Barnhart had this to say:

Maryland: The Terps have their offense back on track with James Franklin calling the plays for QB Chris Turner and RB Da'Rel Scott (1,133 yards in 2008). But the issues last season were on defense and veteran Don Brown has been called in to fix it. He'll have to work some magic, which includes replacing seven starters, in order to keep the Terps out of the cellar.

I understand the issues at hand on the team, but he doesn't present a very convincing argument. The defense should see an improvement, not a drop. I'd be surprised if Travis Ivey and Dion Armstrong don't perform to Navarre and Bemi's level. Kevin Barnes can scarcely be called a starter, as he missed half the season anyway. Jeff Allen's departure isn't a big deal, as Kenny Tate and Antwine Perez are still there. Add in a defensive coordinator who knows what he's doing, and the defense won't be worse. Maybe not a big improvement, but probably not a decrease. The bigger issue is on the offensive line, which was mediocre last year and will be even younger now. Outside of Bruce Campbell, the entire line scares me.

Is Maryland really that bad this year? I don't think so - I'm actually expecting another bowl. But these kind of thoughts aren't exactly good omens.

Position Battle: FS/SS

Ben Broman — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 14:20:22 -0000

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Funnily enough, safety was an area of concern not too long ago. Now, there’s a plethora of talent there - if you could have too much talent at a position, this would probably be that amount of talent. All four of the players vying for the two jobs are great safeties, making this one of the tougher decisions the coaching staff will have to make. Two positions are actually being fought over - FS and SS - but they're so similar I decided to combine it into one post.

The Contenders: Terrell Skinner and Antwine Perez (FS), Jamari McCullough and Kenny Tate (SS)

Terrell Skinner: Skinner was one of the best Terps on defense last year, so I doubt he’ll lose his job this year. He was hurt for awhile, but even through that he was consistently solid, putting up 63 tackles on the year. I even picked him as the defensive MVP last year. It wasn’t a spectacular year, but he performed exactly the way the Terps needed him to.

Antwine Perez: Perez was a five star safety coming out of high school, headed to USC. After he was recruited over, he transferred over to Maryland. As his high school ranking indicates, he’s extremely talented. He doesn’t have the game experience of Skinner, but Skinner doesn’t have his talent. Skinner played so well last year, though, that Perez will really have to impress the coaches in practice to steal his spot. He'll probably have to function like he did last year - as a backup for both the safety positions.

Jamari McCullough: McCullough, currently the leader at strong safety, had one of – if not the – most memorable plays of the season last year: the game-sealing interception against North Carolina. But outside of that, the guy actually had a pretty good year. He led the team with 4 interceptions and still found time to make 37 tackles. He didn’t even start last year and he put up those numbers. That’s pretty damn good.

Kenny Tate: Everyone’s favorite safety, Tate originally was a highly touted wide receiver who switched to safety to provide depth for last year’s team. He did pretty well, so they decided to keep him there, especially with the wide receiver corps as crowded as it is. Tate is uber-talented (and I hate the prefix "uber"), but also versatile – there’s been talk of him moving to cornerback or even getting some time at linebacker. While I think it’s outlandish for him to go to LB, it’s worth keeping in mind how versatile he is. Now that he has a year under his belt, however, his PT should increase somewhat dramatically at his home position of safety.

Skinner and McCullough will probably be the starters of the group, but they may only be starters in name. The four should cycle through a decent amount until one of them shows they deserve more playing time.