Jack Griffin is a senior offensive lineman who will be playing his last home game as a Terrapin this Saturday against Florida State. After starting the season opener against Delaware, Griffin and teammates Phil Costa and Jaime Thomas have settled into a three-man rotation at right guard. Griffin sat down with us for this week’s edition of Meet the Team.

Terrapin Trail: The team’s media guide describes you as a “blue collar performer.” What does that mean to you?

Jack Griffin: I take pride in that. I try to come out every day and just work hard and, I might not be the most vocal leader, but I try to set an example for the younger guys, just working hard every day in the weight room and out on the field.

TT: You spent your first two years with the Terps at defensive tackle, and you made the switch to the offensive line and redshirted your junior year. Does having that experience along the defensive line help you as an offensive lineman?

JG: I think it definitely does. I know a little better what the defensive lineman’s trying to do, and I can key their stances and just little things a lot better, I think. Also, it’s a different mentality on defense. I think that helped me too, just being more attacking and stuff like that.

TT: What was your initial reaction when the coaches first came to you and asked you to switch positions?

JG: At first, my initial reaction was probably, I was a little concerned. I wasn’t too sure how it was going to work out, but in high school I played both ways and I got recruited by just as many schools for offensive lineman as I did defensive line, so it wasn’t too much of a big deal.

TT: Which of the two positions do you prefer?

JG: I’m not too sure anymore. If you’d asked me a couple years ago, I would have probably said d-line, but I’ve been playing o-line for so long, they’re different. On the o-line, you’ve got your own separate team within the team. You’re working with the other guys and that’s really cool, I like that a lot.

TT: As a senior, in addition to being a player you’re a leader and in some ways a coach to all the younger o-lineman, so how do you balance preparing yourself for gameday but also preparing these guys to take over in the future?

JG: I think it actually helps you prepare for gameday. Guys will be asking you questions, “what do you do on this play,” or “what do you do in this situation,” and it kind of keeps you sharp mentally, having to answer those questions. It’s almost like getting quizzed by someone when you’re studying for a test.

TT: Obviously Saturday means a lot to the entire team, but as a senior, what special significance does Saturday hold for you?

JG: It’s our last time at Byrd, we’re never going to play another game there, and I think all the seniors just want to leave there with a victory. If we win this game, we’ll be 7-0 at Byrd this year, and that was one of our goals coming into the season. And just for the overall season, it’s just the next step to our ultimate goal, which is going to the ACC Championship.

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By the way, if the rap/fight song on the homepage of www.feartheterps.com didn’t freak you out enough, make sure to check out the “Great Football” video under the “Terp Mission” tab and listen to Requiem for a Tower turn into Lil Wayne’s Go DJ! Bliss.

jnewmandbk@gmail.com

Coach Ralph Friedgen asked that we hype two of the Terrapin football team’s fan initiatives, so here it is…

The Terps will hold another open practice for students on Friday at 3 p.m. in Byrd Stadium. Same as last week, students can get in with a University ID.

Also, the Terps launched a new Web site, www.feartheterps.com. The rap-style fight/recruiting propaganda song that greets you there is amusingly ridiculous.

schimmeldbk@gmail.com

You’ve got tiebreakers, head-to-heads and piles of teams with various credentials – none of whom look like the kind of squads you’d expect in a game like the Orange Bowl.

The ACC football conference is a mess right now. It needs some clarification. Time to break down each team’s chances to reach the conference title game.

ATLANTIC DIVISION
MARYLAND
We’ll start at home. The Terps are looking like the kind of team – oh wait, no one knows what these Terps are looking like. One of the most erratic squads in the country has proven one thing for certain – they win at home. They control their own destiny at this point with a home game against Florida State and a road matchup at Boston College remaining. If they win both, they’re Atlantic Division champs. If they win one, they win the division still IF Wake Forest can take care of B.C. in Winston-Salem, N.C., this weekend. If not, they’re headed to a mid-level bowl game for sure.

BOSTON COLLEGE
Similarly, the Eagles control their own destiny. But this team that keeps beating teams unexpectedly after flying through a weak nonconference schedule unbeaten can’t win the division if they lose either of their two remaining games. So it’s simple: win at Wake Forest and beat Maryland at home, and you’re in. Otherwise, try again next time.

WAKE FOREST and FLORIDA STATE
After everyone realized Clemson was a flop, the Atlantic Division was expected to come down to these two teams. But Riley Skinner hasn’t met expectations for the Demon Deacons, and Florida State blew a prime opportunity by losing at home to B.C. Now, Wake’s hoping to beat Boston College and then have B.C. knock off Maryland. Florida State’s hoping to beat Maryland and have B.C. beat Wake, then have Maryland beat B.C. See, it’s so simple … right?

COASTAL DIVISON
Where things are 100x more complicated

MIAMI
The Hurricanes are in the driver’s seat – win out and go to Tampa. The issue, then, becomes if they don’t do that in their games against Georgia Tech and N.C. State. If the Canes win and North Carolina loses this weekend, they’re in regardless of next weekend. If it comes down to a three-team tiebreaker after Miami beats GT but loses to N.C. State, the Hurricanes will also win the division based on their strong 4-1 divisional record and head-to-head win against Virginia Tech. If they lose to Georgia Tech and beat N.C. State and end up in a three-way tie, Miami will have to hope Virginia is that third team (along with the Yellow Jackets, who would have a 5-3 record if they beat Miami). If it’s Virginia Tech or North Carolina, it’s no dice for the Hurricanes. And if you thought that was confusing…

VIRGINIA TECH
Despite one of the most awkward quarterback situations in recent memory, the Hokies are still the second-most likely team to take the Coastal Division. They need to win out and have Miami lose to Georgia Tech, and then they’re golden.

VIRGINIA
Perhaps Virginia has the toughest road, but it might be the easiest to explain. Virginia must beat Clemson and Virginia Tech and have Miami lose twice.

NORTH CAROLINA
Once a favorite, the Tar Heels are not sitting pretty. They win the division if they win their remaining two games against Duke and N.C. State (which they should, in both cases). They also need Miami, Virginia AND Virginia Tech to lose at least once, each. Have fun with that.

GEORGIA TECH
Georgia Tech can’t afford any three-way tiebreakers. They’ll need Virginia, Virginia Tech and North Carolina to all lose while they beat Miami. But remember, Virginia and Virginia Tech do play each other. So, maybe?

DUKE
Well, if you’re still confused, Terp fans, take solace that the Blue Devils aren’t going anywhere near Tampa. With that, I bid adieu.

ajosephdbk@gmail.com

Some observations compiled during the Terrapin men’s basketball team’s 73-49 win against Youngstown State…

-Same starting lineup as the Bucknell game for the Terps. Eric Hayes, Greivis Vasquez, Cliff Tucker, Landon Milbourne and Braxton Dupree. It looks like this is what the Terps will be going with for awhile.

-After the teams met at center court for the opening tip, the players were called back and started shooting around again. The public address announcer apologized for the temporary delay while “We work through the electrical connections for the scoreboard.” The scoreboard behind the baseline above the student wall wasn’t working. They couldn’t get it on, and after three false starts, they tipped off at 8:08.

-Tucker missed two layups, Milbourne missed a short putback, Dupree got a shot blocked and Vasquez threw a stupid one-handed pass that got intercepted — all in the first three minutes. The Terps missed their first six shots.

-Milbourne is playing well. He’s showing a more complete offensive game than he’s had in the past, hitting the mid-range jumper and still slashing to the basket. He also took a charge on defense.

-Everybody still loves Jin Soo Kim. The freshman forward knocked down a three, then responded to huge cheers by pumping his fist (in the first half of a game against Youngstown State, mind you) and momentarily forgetting to get into position for the Terps’ full court press.

-Vasquez finally started showing flashes of his ability late in the first half. He was quick off the dribble, grabbed a couple of steals, and started making smarter passes. Maybe he’s starting to remember that he’s not good enough to simply show up and be the best player on the court. But if he puts some effort into it, he clearly is.

-You know the Terps are starting to play well when they get baskets in transition. They’re sprinting up and down the court late in the first half getting easy layups. The penguins are having trouble keeping up.

-The Terps are still getting very little production from any of their big men. Dupree, Jerome Burney and Dino Gregory have been virtually non-factors in each of the first two games. The Terps can play a transition and guard-oriented game against these early-season cupcakes, but you have to wonder how they will hold up against bigger teams that just pound away at them.

 -This game is dragging in the second half. Too many fouls, not enough good plays.

-Penguin head coach Jerry Slocum is sitting on the bench with his legs folded with eight minutes left in the game and his team down 28. I guess he’s thrown in the towel.

-The “fan cam” panned the student section during the eight-minute media timeout. The student on the screen who looked most excited to be here was the girl putting on her coat to go leave.

-Another lopsided win for the Terps, but far from a perfect effort. 2-0.

schimmeldbk@gmail.com

At this point, most Terrapin fans know the importance of this Saturday’s matchup against Florida State. Right now, the Terps control their destiny, and a win against the Seminoles will keep it that way.

“I’m really hoping all the Terps fans come out for this game, because I think it’s going to be one of the bigger games we’ve played in Byrd Stadium,” coach Ralph Friedgen said at his weekly press conference.

Friedgen said Florida State, which leads the conference in total offense, defense and sacks, will be one of the toughest opponents his team has faced, and exercised caution by twice knocking on the podium’s wood before praising his offensive line, which has given up 15 sacks this season, third best in the conference.

When asked why he decided not to follow through on his threat to begin practice at 5 a.m. following the Virginia Tech loss, Friedgen said he has learned to rely more on his veteran players to get the team back on track following dispiriting losses after years of emulating his father, who coached his son in high school and wouldn’t allow him to eat dinner following losses. Friedgen even remembered his father telling him that he would “never date an older women again”after his team lost a rivalry game at which Friedgen’s date, one year his senior, was present.

“Sometimes I battle myself and my immediate reaction to things,” said Friedgen, who added that he almost divorced his wife following the 1973 season, when the Citadel, where Friedgen was the defensive line coach, went 3-8.

“I thought that was what you were supposed to do,” Friedgen said, but only half-jokingly.

Friedgen briefly choked up when discussing his senior players, who will play their last home game Saturday, and compared his team to the country when discussing it’s resiliency in tough situations.

“We’re going through tough times as a country right now,” Friedgen the Filosopher said. “But if we just keep staying the course and keep working, we’ll work our way out of it, just like we always do.”

As for the players, they expressed excitement with their position, and relished the opportunity to play their way into an ACC Championship game. For seniors like center Edwin Williams and Jeremy Navarre, Saturday’s game will be even more special as they say goodbye to the crowd at Byrd Stadium.

“It really hasn’t hit me yet,” Navarre said. “It’ll probably hit me Friday night and I’ll just head back to the hotel, and the last time walking down Terp Alley. So right now, it really hasn’t hit me. When it does hit me, it’s just going to fire me up that much more. I’m definitely looking forward to this game.”

jnewmandbk@gmail.com

James has won the second-to-last copy of NCAA Football 09 by EA Sports for providing the best comment of the last several weeks.

TerrapinTrail.com’s comments have gone down, so I did not feel it appropriate to pick one after just a week, but James’ gets points for insightful analysis.

These are the articles that need to be in the diamondback. Drive analysis is great. That being said, the thing that killed us was our weak defensive line. We have a great recruiting class and some young players on defense where I think our secondary is going to be one of the best in college football, and we always have a solid linebacking corp. The question is whether we can get more physical up front. Right now, we have 8 freshman defensive lineman with an average weight of 290 lbs, so it’s clear that Friedgen is trying to beef up and hopefully some of them step up. I love players like Navarre for our team, but with a larger line, the offensive line won’t be able to throw us around like they did yesterday and some of the blockers will be held up, allowing the linebackers to roam freely and make the plays. Our problem against the run was that their line was able to just knock us back, opening up big holes while sometimes getting blocks on our linebackers so that they couldn’t make plays. As far as offense is concerned, our line needs to be more physical there as well. I think we should run Meggett a lot more because of his ability to stick it in the middle.”

There is only one copy left, and it will be handed out before exam week.

ajosephdbk@gmail.com

After beating then-No. 17 North Carolina 17-15 on Saturday, the Terps are back in the top 25, ranked at No. 22 in the latest AP poll, the highest of any ACC team. North Carolina fell to No. 25, and Miami is ranked No. 23.

The Terps are 25th in the latest BCS Standings, the second-highest amongst ACC teams behind the Tar Heels at No. 22.

jnewmandbk@gmail.com