SB Nation - Morgan Green

Maryland Football Season Review: The Forgotten Terps

Ben Broman — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:51:48 -0000

Remember these guys? There's more than a few guys that, after putting together solid seasons in the past or being lined up for major playing time in the spring or fall practice, suddenly fell off the face of the earth, even though Maryland might've needed them at their position.

This is their story.

Morgan Green, RB

Ah, the curse of Steve Slaton returneth. Morgan is a big, powerful, physical guy with breakaway ability, as he should against Nevada in the bowl game last year; why, then, didn't he play? There were the opportunities to do it, particularly after Da'Rel Scott got injured, and could've saved a redshirt. It got so bad that D.J. Adams - another true freshman - passed him on the travel squad team and knocked him down to the practice squad. Consider that: they'd rather burn a freshman's redshirt late in the year in a lost season than play Green.

Perhaps it stems from practice, which Ralph preaches oh so heavily. Green's been rumored to be average at best in practice. He's also been rumored to be less than tough, which Ralph also doesn't particularly like. His case is a strange one indeed, considering who he replaced.

Lansford Watson, TE

The biggest missing link, in my opinion, Watson's absence was as cryptic as it could be. A one-time five star WR, Watson was placed behind the good but unspectacular Tommy Galt on the depth chart, and seemed to be behind Devonte Campbell before long, too. Despite never being injured and being a huge threat in the passing game, he couldn't get on the field.

One big reason for that is Maryland's inability to either pass or run block, which made Galt's pass blocking a necessity. Still, Maryland needed his big plays, and him seeing the field more would've been a very welcome sight.

Emani Lee-Odai, WR

It wasn't too long ago that ELO was slated to take over a starting WR spot across from Torrey Smith and Adrian Cannon. Then an ankle injury struck, and, despite solid output even when injured, he dropped down the depth chart like a rock. He ended up at the very bottom, surpassed by Kevin Dorsey and Kerry Boykins.

Why did ELO disappear? Probably the injuries. His lower body seemed to be made of glass, and even though he was never officially on the injury report, he was damn close several times. His inability to be at 100% meant he was always below full-strength and, thus, less effective than others. I wonder if he'll be able to find his way into the lineup next year, when healthy.

Haroon Brown, FB

It's not like Maryland used a ton of fullbacks anyway, but Brown really did just drop off the face of the earth. He went from being Cory Jackson's primary backup to basically no one. He couldn't get on the field anywhere, and the explanations for his absence were weird. At least he could've been used on special teams to save one of the many wasted redshirts.

With Jackson gone next year, Brown could have a shot to actually start. That'll be an interesting battle, though I expect the FB to get less and less use as Maryland goes away from the Power I use.

Matt Furstenburg, TE

Furst scored a TE in Maryland's first game that would be recalled on a hold. After that, it seemed his playing time was recalled, too. Although he was on the injury report for a week or two, he was healthy the majority of the year, but was surpassed quickly by Devonte Campbell, and couldn't find the field after that. He was listed as receiving time in every game he was healthy in, but that was mostly on special teams, as he had only one catch on the year.

I liked Furstenburg and thought he could turn into a very good receiving TE. Devonte Campbell didn't blow the doors off the place, so I'm a little confused about his absence.

Maryland Football Season Review: RB

Ben Broman — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:27:59 -0000

More photos » by Phil Coale - AP

23 days ago: Maryland running back Davin Meggett, center, runs for fourth-quarter yardage as Florida State defensive tackle Everett Dawkins, left, and linebacker Nigel Carr, right, move in to make the tackle during an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, in Tallahassee, Fla. Florida State won 29-26.(AP Photo/Phil Coale)

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Starting today, we're going to run down the season, unit-by-unit, reviewing Maryland's worst season since the Civil Rights Era. We'll finish off with the reader-voted Terperlatives. Today, we review the running backs.

There were three positions Maryland knew they were loaded at coming into the season: running back, wide receiver, and safety. None turned out as well as they had expected, but it could be argued that, of them all, the running backs were the most disappointing.

Was it the running backs themselves? The terrible offensive line? Something else entirely? We can't quantify how much of what is to blame, but it's safe to say the first two definitely contributed. Da'Rel Scott and Davin Meggett didn't become entirely ineffective on their own, but Bruce Campbell wasn't stripping Scott, either.

Da'Rel Scott

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
2009 - Da'Rel Scott	7	85	425	60.7	5	4	12	101	14.4	8.4	0

Maryland's leading rusher, star player, and darkhorse ACC POY candidate (yes, really), Scott's season was supremely disappointing. Not necessarily because he was bad, but rather because he was hurt.

Scott was on target for a great year coming into the season, and it never really materialized. Despite a few nice games against Cal (most of which didn't matter) and MTSU and an average one against JMU, he failed to impress like he did last year. Those issues were compounded by constant fumbles, which prompted him to get benched for much of the following game. Then, against Clemson, he got hurt, and was out until the Florida State game - that's five games. He looked good against FSU, and okay against Boston College. Still, when reviewing the whole thing, it wasn't a great year for DRS, injury or not.

The question is, as I said above, whether or not that's on him or the line. Certainly, he can't be expected to excel when there's no wholes. At the same time, the fumbles that were ultimately his downfall weren't the line's fault, and you just have to hope that that's not a recurring issue.

He'll be the starter next year, I'm almost certain. He deserves it, and without C.J. Spiller, will be one of the best backs in the conference if the offensive line shows up, provided he holds onto the ball.

Davin Meggett

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
2009 - Davin Meggett	12	99	337	28.1	3.4	6	14	175	14.6	12.5	1

Remember this play? This play set off the legacy, so to speak, of Meggett, who had an outstanding freshman campaign. Just about everyone fell in love with his downhill, no-nonsense style, and I considered him as a possibility to challenge for the starting spot. Regardless of his position on the depth chart, it was clear he deserved a lot of carries.

Well, until he started the season. Despite Scott's absence giving him the starting spot for most of the year, he was quiet and mostly ineffective. Unlike last year, he seemed tentative, not quick and decisive, and the oh-so-commong ten-to-twelve yard runs were few and far between.

Much like Scott, I don't think it was his doing. A solid OL gave him the comfort of being able to be decisive and quick; with a poor offensive line, he had to wait longer for holes to develop, and they just weren't there. Like Turner, his disappointing season wasn't entirely on him; he's just not that elusive, and that doesn't go well with a poor offensive line.

I hope to see a return to the Meggett of old next year, and I think we'll get it. He was a joy to watch last year, but a pain this one. With a full-strength Meggett and Scott, Maryland will be loaded at RB again next year. Again, though, this will all be dependent on OL improvement.

Gary Douglas

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
2009 - Gary Douglas	5	16	81	16.2	5.1	0	6	78	15.6	13	0

This one's tough. Douglas showed some stuff when Scott was injured and Meggett was ineffective; he's shifty and probably the most complete back out of everyone on the roster. He had 81 yards of total offense against Wake Forest, and looked plenty good doing it. He would slowly drift away to Caleb Porzel, who we'll get to later, and eventually get injured against Duke. After the injury, he was done for the year, despite being healthy against VT.

Douglas will be facing an uphill battle to get any playing time from now till when he graduates. D.J. Adams and Porzel are there, and will dominate the playing time in the future. Next year belongs to Scott and Meggett. Douglas, despite his complete game, won't see much PT unless he's surprisingly impressive.

Caleb Porzel

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
2009 - Caleb Portzel	5	30	75	15	2.5	0	3	24	4.8	8	0

Ah, the dreaded Porzel redshirt. Porzel burnt his redshirt, worth its weight in his gold - not saying that much, he barely reaches 150 - on 30 carries and 75 yards. I would've been fine with it had he been used more, but he rarely got carries, and it's tough to call his burnt redshirt anything other than a waste.

Next year, with all the RBs back and the introduction of D.J. Adams, Porzel won't see a lot more time. He's extremely dangerous, though, and it's up to the coaching staff to find ways to get him the ball in a Brian Westbrook sort of way; slot receiver, screens, anything.

Morgan Green

Who? Green, despite below-average performances from everyone else, never saw the field, and the curse of Steve Slaton continues.

The Future

It's bright. Everyone returns, and D.J. Adams makes his debut. If the line is okay, these guys could be very, very good. Multiple back sets should be common, because they have the depth to do it. As I said earlier, Porzel should be a slot receiver and get a lot of screen passes and punt returns. Adams very well could be the goal-line back. I wouldn't mind seeing Meggett and Scott in the backfield at the same time.

The possibility of a triple option attack has been bandied about, but I don't think it's possible, nor would it be particularly effective. That said, a few triple option and spread plays will likely find their way into the playbook if the starter turns out to be Robinson, Brown, or Burns.

Examining Maryland's In-State Football Recruiting History

Ben Broman — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:02:55 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

Kenny Tate has been one of Maryland's few highly ranked in-state recruiting successes.

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It's a bye week, which means it's lots of random and kind of pointless research. Today's topic: in-state football recruiting. Sadly, this didn't prove a lot, so it's more my worthless thoughts than real information, but read on if you wish.

If you follow Maryland recruiting at all, you probably know that in-state recruiting has been less than stellar, both this year and in the past four or so years (the last real good year was in 2005, five years ago, when Maryland landed 7 of the top 10 in state; sadly, they included guys like Morgan Green, Jeff Allen, Anthony Wiseman, and the dreaded Melvin Alaeze; if Maryland turned out that performance a year later, we'd have Penn State's defense right now).

But I digress. Back to the relevant in-state recruiting stuff: the majority of good (not great) teams, which is what Maryland should try to be, land around 25% of their top 15 in-state players. For instance, Pitt has landed 28% of the top 15 Pennsylvanians over the past five years. Illinois, while they haven't reaped the benefits of it this year, have hit that 28% mark as well. Virginia Tech does, too. South Carolina gets 24% of theirs. Most elite schools can afford, both literally and figuratively, to recruit outside their states: Maryland can't. For Maryland, the key to winning should be in-state recruiting.

As part of diagnosing the problems with the program, it would make sense to analyze this, which Heather Dinich already blew apart. And while I already blew apart the offensive and defensive line recruiting, it's worth noting that in state recruiting can't be called disastrous, at least not historically. Maryland does have trouble pulling in top targets - they haven't landed a #1 in-stater since Wesley Jefferson in 2003 - but they aren't miles away from the Pitts and South Carolinas of the world, both of whom are currently in the top 25 and could be considered programs similar to Maryland (except for the AD, some would argue [I wouldn't, but that's irrelevant]).

In fact, the Terps have pulled away 20% of the top 15 the past five years - not an outstanding number, but not terrible and better than some top 25 programs, like Ole Miss. The problem has been landing the best of the best in-state, which very few non-elite programs can do, and developing the players they get.

For the first part, Maryland's last number one was, as was said earlier, Wes Jeff. He left early for a job in police enforcement. The only other top 2 player they landed were Melvin Alaeze, and we know how that turned out, and DeOnte Arnett, who is yet to prove himself (or have a chance to prove himself). They've also landed Tre Covington, who was a disappointment, and Kevin Dorsey, who hasn't made much of an impact in his first season, who were #3s. Other than that: nothing.

Like I mentioned earlier, Maryland's best in-state class was in 2005. Making up 70% of the top 10, it included guys like Anthony Wiseman, Morgan Green, Jeff Allen, Jamari McCollough, Jeremy Navarre, and Darrius Heyward-Bey. Of them all, Hey-Bey is the only one that really blossomed into a star. The others probably underachived based on their ranking (which we know isn't guaranteed, but more often than not is a good indicator).

The exact opposite happened for Penn State the following year. They grabbed almost the exact same class out of Maryland, only theirs included Navorro Bowman, who had over 100 tackles last year and is one of the best linebackers in the country, instead of McCollough; Aaron Maybin, who was dominant and a first round pick last year, instead of Allen; and Phillip Taylor, a starting DT, instead of Morgan Green.

I'm not trying to blame anyone here, especially not the players, but the results are pretty damning for someone. Is it that Maryland got bad luck? Did Friedgen and his staff fail at developing the players? I don't really know, but it wasn't really the recruiting at fault.

The lack of player development is pretty well seen in the starting lineup itself this year: only two starters on offense are actually from Maryland, and one of them is Paul Pinegar, a former walk-on. At least seven starters on defense are native Marylanders, but 9/22 isn't a great ratio.

Just to clarify, I'm not trying to say rankings are everything: Maryland's found plenty of in-state diamonds in the rough (like Davin Meggett), and that's necessary too. But I still hold that rankings are mostly important and a highly ranked player will turn out better than a lower ranked player 7 times out of 10, given the same coaching. Nor am I saying that the Terps should only recruit in-state; as long as they get the players, it doesn't matter where they're from. But if they really want to take the next step as a program, which will allow them to successfully recruit out of state on a regular basis, they'll need to start being stronger in-state.

But I digress again.

One of things that showed up in the offensive line recruiting breakdown was that this year was most dependent on 2006's recruiting (and because 2006 was so bad, 2007's to an extent as well), last year on 2005's recruiting, and so forth. Looking at 2006 and 2007's in-state years, it should come as no surprise that those were the worst of the past five years, and that 2005 (in 2008 we won eight games, remember) was the best. In 2006, the Terps only landed three top 15 players - Adrian Moten was one, but so were Drew Gloster (who missed a year and switched positions) and Pha'Terrell Washington (academic casualty). In 2007, it was just two, and Devonte Campbell, who's seen slow development, was among them.

But outside of that year, the in-state recruiting has been pretty solid. 2008 and 2009 were both solid bounce back yeas, grabbing five and four, respectively. Sadly, this year likely won't qualify with the likes of those.

While it's not over, unless Maryland makes a very strong push with some of the remaining uncommitteds, it's looking like Iowa and Wisconsin will have more top 20 Marylanders than Maryland will. Iowa and Wisconsin: these aren't really big draws, either football-wise or location-wise (although Iowa is undefeated, they don't have all that much tradition and it's in Iowa).

There is some good news, though: 2005, Maryland's stellar recruiting season, occurred with James Franklin as recruiting coordinator. That was his last year as RC; he would leave shortly after to become the Packers' WR coach. He was replaced by Dave Sollazzo, who has been average at best. Franklin is now back, but has a lot of stuff on his plate as OC, leaving less time for recruiting. Perhaps, if he is instituted as coach, he hands the playcalling over to an OC and acts as a program CEO, giving him more time to get out on the trail and pull the recruiting back in. Hopefully.

Maryland Minute 10.09.09 - MD/Wake Previews

Ben Goldstein — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 01:52:28 -0000

The crowd won't be as a Terp friendly on Saturday but hopefully the outcome's the same.

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MD/Wake Preview - MD Official Site

Sounds like Ralph is looking for his team to pick up some 'swag' this weekend.

"The team's that have the confidence - you talk about the swagger - they have that inner confidence that they're going to win," Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen said after Thursday's practice. "And that's what we have to develop. We have to get to that point where we know what we have to do to be successful."

D1SCOURSE is Smellin' a Terps Victory

21-20 MD says Pat Stevens.

This is really a coin flip, and the Demon Deacons don't help anyone guessing since all four of their games against major-college teams have been decided by a touchdown or less. An interesting stat: Maryland is 16-4 all-time in what once was called Groves Stadium, and has not lost back-to-back games in Winston-Salem since 1967-68.

Dinich's Take on the Game...

From Ralph:

"This is a very, very big game for us playing on the road," said Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen. "I think it’s very important that we win those games to stay in contention for a championship. It would help us keep growing. … I think getting a win in Winston-Salem could give us some momentum and hopefully get us going this season."

A win tomorrow would definitely be huge because after Wake is a very winnable game at home against Virginia. If the Terps manage to start 3-0 in the ACC, talk of Tampa may not be so far-fetched...

Fridge Adresses the Morgan Green "Controversy"

"There's not really an issue. We haven't given up on Morgan. We just see these other kids coming on," the coach said. "He's kind of doing the same thing, he hasn’t really progressed."

Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

NC State Lands Top 50 Player for 2010

Why is this important? Because the 2010 recruiting classes in the ACC are going to be insane. As good as Maryland's class is, it's probably 5th best in the conference. Cant stress enough how big a commitment from Tobias or Leslie would be.

Frese: Tchatchouang will help UM immediately - Recruiting Report

Who's Tchatchouang? A freshman forward from France who could have a significant impact this season. Here's what Brenda had to say about this year's team:

"I think with nine freshmen and sophomores on this roster, it’s going to be a youthful blend," Frese said. "But I’m just impressed with how hard they’ve been working as a team. The majority of these players do not have a lot of basketball games under their belt, but that will be a fun part to watch this season. I’m excited to watch them grow together."

Recruiting Report: Weekly recruiting roundup

You know the drill.

More on the Running Back Situation: Coaches Sending Conflicting Messages

Ben Broman — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:14:11 -0000

Okay, on one side we have Ralph Friedgen, the head honcho, who says:

"I don't know. We'll have to see [about playing the freshman]," Friedgen said. "They're progressing, but they're still blowing a few pickups. They're working hard. I don't think we'll start them, but we may play them. I don't know how long."

Doesn't exactly sound like Ralph is planning on playing either D.J. Adams or Caleb Porzel. Not closing the door, but it's safe to say they aren't in the plans at the moment.

On the other hand, we have offensive coordinator James Franklin, who says:

"We're planning on doing the same thing this week with Davin, Gary and D.J. (Adams) and possibly (Caleb) Porzel playing," said offensive coordinator James Franklin, who didn't include Morgan Green on the list.

So MG is definitely still out, but it sounds like D.J. is 100% penciled in, while Porzel is a definite possibility. Before you write it off because Ralph has dominion, remember that Franklin can make personnel decisions, too, and at the very least, Fridge will take his opinion into consideration.

If I had to bet on it, I say D.J. Adams gets in the game next week, but that's just a guess.

Now, here's one plea: please, please, please do not burn both of their redshirts. That's a huge waste, messes up the spacing of the roster, and deprives both them of an extra year of development when it's unnecessary to use both of them. Scott is only one back, and Green is still on the team, right?

Also, if they get used, they need to be used. They need to get some kind of meaningful playing time. Burning redshirts isn't something that should be done lightly; actually, that's how Wake Forest does it, and that's why they're actually good. We don't need another Cameron Chism or Matt Furstenburg situation on our hands here.

Okay, off the soapbox. Betting on Adams, hoping for Porzel, and praying against both.

What Would You Do About the Running Back Predicament?

Ben Broman — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:01:42 -0000

More photos » by Tony Avelar - AP

Davin Meggett will start. But what after that?

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Maryland is in quite a pickle at the moment. As you probably already know, Da'Rel Scott is out until at least until the FSU game with a broken wrist, which is over a month from now. That leaves Davin Meggett, who has a solid year on his hands but not as the primary back and has struggled this year, Gary Douglas, who was impressive in spring practice but is yet to see significant playing time, and Morgan Green, who was highly regarded but has fallen off the pace and is now on the practice squad, as Maryland's only non-true freshman RBs.

There's also the highly regarded true freshmen D.J. Adams and Caleb Porzel, both of whom could factor in. Of course, the issue there is burning a redshirt for what would likely be limited playing time in just a few weeks.

According to Ralph, Green "isn't out of the picture, but we want to see these young guys." Right...so no Morgan, then. If that is indeed what happens, here's the situation: Meggett is 100% starting, and Douglas is 100% the #2 man. Past that...it's questionable.

There's three different possible routes here. The first, most conservative, is simply sticking it out without burning either of the freshmen's redshirts. If worst comes to worst and Ralph needs to go deeper than #2, head down to Green. Pretty basic, but also gives them an extra year of growth.

If Ralph does decide to play one of them, you can bet that only one will see the field (otherwise, something got messed up somewhere). In that case, is it Adams or Porzel? Adams is the bigger, more reliable power back, more Meggett than Scott. Porzel is the prototypical, Jahvid Best-ian college back: undersized, ridiculously quick, and ultra-shifty. If we were doing the overplayed "Thunder and Lightning" combo, Adams is Thunder, Porzel is Lightning.

Playing Porzel makes more sense than playing Adams, regardless of who is actually the more talented player. We already have a version of Adams; our version of Porzel is hurt. Ergo, Porzel better replaces what Scott vacated, so he should play.

Unfortunately, Porzel himself is hurt, too. He's been out of commission the past few weeks with a leg injury, generally a pretty important aspect for a running back. He's supposed to be back at it this week, but he may not be at 100%, or may be rusty from reduced practice time.

So there's a bit of a problem. The player who makes the most sense to play is hurt. The other player is talented, but presents nothing Maryland doesn't already have. Of course, Maryland doesn't have to play one; maybe it's not even practical for the Terps to give one a shot, as Scott would be back within a month in the best-case scenario, and it's rare for a third string RB to get much playing time.

Quite the dilemma, huh?

[Note by bbroman, 10/07/09 4:07 PM EDT: I didn't check my RSS reader 'til after posting this; I swear I didn't mean to steal the idea from Terps Insider. But it's already posted, so it's staying.]

Poll

What would you do about the RB situation?

Don't burn a redshirt and play Morgan Green.

92 votes

Play D.J. Adams

13 votes

Play Caleb Porzel

26 votes

131 votes | Poll has closed

Da'Rel Scott Has a Broken Wrist, Will Likely Miss Year - Where to Go From Here?

Ben Broman — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 21:21:17 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

3 months ago: Maryland running back Da'Rel Scott (23) rushes against James Madison defensive tackle Ronnell Brown, second from right, during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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The saddening word comes from Jeff Barker:

RB Da'Rel Scott broke his wrist.

Coach Friedgen said he's probably out for the season. Scott had over 1,000 yards last season.

Much like the Jerome Burney injury, this type of thing is always sad. Luckily, Scott will be able to come back next year and keep his NFL hopes alive, but this is a terrible injury, both for him and the team.

Now, Scott had been losing PT every game thanks to fumbling issues, so he won't be missed as much as, say Chris Turner would be. But he's still Maryland's best, most dangerous running back, without question.

This means Davin Meggett will claim the starting RB spot full-time. I also expect Gary Douglas to see a serious increase in playing time, even more than he did today, to make up for Scott's carries.

This also means that it's highly probable either D.J. Adams or Caleb Porzel burns their redshirt. Porzel would make the most sense, as he's the most dangerous and most like Scott, but he's been injured for awhile and may be rusty. Don't be surprised to see Adams out there in the near future.

Oh, whats that? Morgan Green? Well, Steve Slaton's replacement (I know, I know...not the whole story) is now on the practice squad, and Adams is above him on the depth chart. Certainly a monumental fall for Green, but you have to play the best player.

Anyway, it's a sad injury for DRS, and our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.

Maryland Minute 9.24.09 - Campbell and McCollough Probable, Hippo Update

Ben Goldstein — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:19:35 -0000

Props to bbroman for all the links and analysis today.

Campbell and McCollough probable - D1SCOURSE

Good news, everyone!

"I think both of those guys are probable," coach Ralph Friedgen said. "How much they play will probably be a game-time decision. I think both of them are a little further ahead than we thought they'd be."

Hippolyte Tsafack Update

Interesting:

``He’s the real deal," Willard said. ``He has great work ethic, a great pair of hands and can shoot it a bit." It’s no wonder that Memphis coach Josh Pastner has been to see Tsafack a couple times already in the fall, Virginia coach Tony Bennett has made the short trek to stop by and assistants from UCLA, West Virginia and Western Kentucky have also made the trip.

That's surprising to hear, but Hippo's still below the Big 3 plus Collier.

Zags Updates Harris

Don't take too much from this, but:

In the coming days, Tobias will cut his list down and then take his official visits. Look for UConn, Kentucky and Syracuse to be three of the schools in the mix down the stretch.

The photo caption says those three are his top three. Just a word of advice: I doubt that's right. At all.

Key freshmen should see more time this season - Diamondback

Mostly about Isaiah Ross, but also about the whole issue of playing freshmen. My favorite quote, as unrelated as it might be:

"It’s time to just play like a mature team and win football games," senior quarterback Chris Turner said. "The whole ‘young’ thing is not an excuse anymore. … There’s too much at stake for guys to say that ‘I didn’t know this,’ or ‘I didn’t know that.’"

Sadly, Wild Turtle Isn't a Go

We've wondered aloud about this a few times, but it looks like the dream is over. Patrick Stevens noticed our question about having Torrey Smith run the Wild Cat, and asked James Franklin about the possibility. The answer made me sad.

"Yeah, we used a guy in that offense last year; it didn't go very well," Franklin said. "Could you do those things with Torrey? Yeah. What you have to be careful of as a coach is you try to do so many different things that you do nothing well. Right now, I'd like us to get good at some things and then you can expand. To be honest with you, if you watch the tape and study, we're doing a lot of different things. We're picking our spots and trying to find ways to be creative and have a chance to be successful."

Comparing the Portis Package to the Wild Cat is laughable, but I suppose it makes sense other than that. Still...darn.

Gary Douglas Moves Ahead of Morgan Green on the Depth Chart

He won't get any reps anyway, but it's still interesting.

Terrapin Baseball Primer

I can't wait for baseball season with Bakich. The first year will be tough, but the program is moving in the right direction.

CFN Picks Rutgers, 28-24

Sounds about right, though I'm expecting closer to 6.

Brown's Review of Each Game - Terrapins Insider

Short version: bad, bad, and bad.

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: ?

Second Scrimmage Storylines: Kicking Battle, Offensive Return, Caleb Porzel

Ben Broman — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:49:35 -0000

In case you hadn't heard, Maryland held their second scrimmage of the year today, and there was quite the outpouring of news. Need a rundown? Here's the big stories (note: all of these links are from Twitter. Beware if you don't like it):

We Were This Close To Having a Kicker - Yeah, that close. Mike Barbour, the leader after last week's scrimmage, looked to have wrapped the job up after a couple kicks. After all, after hits from 30, 46 (or 50), 36, and 39, how could he not have it? Well, he finished up poorly and missed a couple kicks, and Ralph said he "solidified the job and then opened it back up again." Darn, we were that close. If I had to bet, Nick Ferrara is his main competition right now, though that may not be correct.
The Return of the Offense - Maryland's offense has basically been miserably bad. But today, that wasn't really the case. Jeff Barker teased us with the notice that, while the D is still better, the offense is catching up. After all, they scored on their first drive (Turner to Smith for a 34 yarder). Plus, the running backs started to catch fire, with good days from all.
Caleb Porzel Makes an Impression - After Chris Turner called him "faster than the speed of light", my expectations raised for the speedy true freshman running back. I wasn't disappointed. He had a 35 yard TD run with a couple of nice moves, and Friedgen said he thinks "we're going to play the kid somewhere because he's so electric. I'd say there's probably an 80% shot his redshirt is burned.
Individual Performances - Among the guys that were seen fit to mention for good games: Torrey Smith, Morgan Green, Eric Franklin, Travis Baltz, and Gary Douglas.

That's it for now. Pat Stevens had the first full report out, and subsequent ones will be in the MM.