As preseason football camp is now complete and the Terps step up preparations for No. 12 Cal, listen to what beat writer Greg Schimmel and columnist Eric Detweiler thought were the biggest surprises of camp.
Among other topics discussed: the validity of the coaches’ claims that Da’Rel Scott and Davin Meggett could actually split carries this season, the unsettled offensive line situation and our podcast with no title. (Help us out!)
With no more Coleman and Toliver, is it Dee Liles' time to shine?
The 2009-10 Terrapins’ women’s basketball schedule was released Friday and it’s predictably conservative.
With all members of the 2006 National Championship now gone from College Park, it’s clear coach Brenda Frese wanted to ease her team into the ACC schedule. And “ease” into it they will.
Before they start their ACC campaign on Jan. 7 in Raleigh against N.C. State, the Terps will play away from Comcast Center just three times, and two of those games are within the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan area.
In-N-Out Burger's infamous "animal-style" burger. Photo courtesy of Rachelleb.com.
Roughly two years ago, a curly-haired sophomore from California emerged as the Terp football team’s quarterback, carrying the team to a 34-24 comeback win at Rutgers on Sept. 29, 2007, after an injury to starter Jordan Steffy.
Later that week, he got to address the media as the team’s new starting quarterback, and he came out wearing a bit of Cali flair in the form of an In-N-Out Burger T-shirt.
The Terps haven’t hit the West Coast since the Emerald Bowl that December. But in a week, Turner will be “Goin’ Back to Cali.” And he’s doing it B.I.G. with a “Juicy” burger from his favorite chain.
Terrapin football coach Ralph Friedgen cancelled this evening’s scheduled practice, bringing preseason camp to an end after this morning’s session.
Friedgen said he has been pleased with the Terps’ effort the entire camp, so he closed camp after 28 practices instead of the typical 29.
“We’ve had a good camp. I feel like they’ve done everything they can do,” Friedgen said. “Winter, spring summer, two a days; now it’s just time to come back and see where we are.”
The Terps have the day off Sunday, and then will practice each day this week until they fly to California on Thursday.
The Terps named captains before the season for the first time in Friedgen’s tenure, and Friedgen announced who players voted for Saturday.
The Terrapin volleyball team won it’s season opener against Stony Brook last night 3-2.
The Terps were led by sophomore outside hitter Maddi Lee, who had 24 kills and a .449 hitting percentage, both career highs. Her kills helped the team gain momentum at crucial points in the match, including her six that came in the second game helping the Terps win 25-21.
The team also had significant contributions from the freshman class. Kara Bates had 20 kills, 10 digs and a .385 hitting percentage. Taylor Jones accounted for 54 assists and 4 blocks, while Sam Rosario had 19 digs, a team high.
Overall, the match was a back and foth affair that finished with an exciting fifth set where the Terps prevailed 15-9. The match ended on a Stony Brook attack error made by Jeanette Gibbs.
The Terps play again today against Youngstown State at 1 and Villanova at 7.
Look for a more detailed report of all this weekend’s action plus a season preview for volleyball in Monday’s edition of the Diamondback.
Jakob Engelke is the Diamondback’s Terrapin Volleball Beat Writer. He can be reached at engelkedbk@gmail.com
You know you’re in preseason mode when one of the most exciting things to note thus far about the Maryland men’s soccer team — besides their torrid preseason goal-a-game pace — is the new threads (or kits, for the football-literate) coach Sasho Cirovski’s boys sported today on Ludwig Field.
So while Thursday’s match against Villanova wasn’t exactly a delightful display of “the beautiful game,” it still had its share of good aesthetics.
Certainly among them was the game’s lone goal, a 20-yard left-footed volley from senior midfielder Drew Yates that found its way past a diving Chris Bresnahan. (“I don’t know where that came from,” joked Yates, a natural “righty.”)
Yates has played probably more or as many minutes as any of the team’s non-defenders, and if you ask him, he’ll tell you he wants this to be his team. More on that below as I empty out the notebook:
Offensive coordinator James Franklin has developed a reputation for trash talking with the Terps' defense during training camp. Photo by Adam Fried/The Diamondback
Coach Ralph Friedgen wasn’t satisfied with his defense the other day.
They weren’t flying at the ball enough, so Friedgen pulled out a traditional punishment and made them do up-downs, a military drill where players stand, then drop to a crouch, then do a push-up and stand back up.
When the defense got back on the field, things were a little different. In a drill where quarterback Chris Turner was not supposed to be hit, anchor Deege Galt knocked the senior signal caller to the ground. Then “World War III” started breaking out, according to Friedgen.
The Terrapin football team’s third and final scrimmage of preseason camp was closed to the media this evening, so we had to rely on Coach Ralph Friedgen and a few players’ recollections about what happened.
Friedgen said he was pleased with the team’s performance and effort tonight, and said the defense played extremely well.
Linebacker Alex Wujciak said everything clicked for the defense, and he said defensively he thinks the Terps are ready for gameday.
The first-team offense played mostly against the second-team defense and the second-team offense played mostly against the first-team defense. Friedgen was happy with the Terps’ kicking, punting and return games, but said the Terps struggled with some kickoff coverage.
Travis Ivey is a big, big man. He’s one of the few Terp football players that makes me feel small.
His role this season is similarly enormous.
With Dion Armstrong transferring out of the program and Joe Vellano recovering from stress fracture surgery that has him sidelined until Oct. 3, an already thin defensive tackle position is looking like it could be a crippling weakness for the Terps.
Right now, Ivey is the only defensive tackle with any in-game experience. He’s also the only player who started the spring at the top of the depth chart. That’s fine with him though.
“I look at myself as a player that shouldn’t have to come out, anyway,” Ivey said. “I was preparing myself to play every rep, so if I have to play 100 snaps on Saturdays then it is what it is. It would be nice to have some guys to rotate in, but at the end of the day, I don’t want to be out of the game.”
Right now, the only DTs on the Terps active roster for the Sept. 5 opener at Cal are Ivey, A.J. Francis, Ian Davidson, Zach Kerr and Obum Akunyili.
It’s not likely Danny O’Brien or C.J. Brown will take any snaps for the Terps this fall, but both true freshmen quarterbacks have made the kind of strides so far that could provide some stability in future years.
“I think both of them are far ahead of most kids coming in,” coach Ralph Friedgen said yesterday. “So I’m encouraged by both these kids. I think both of them are good players.”
O’Brien and Brown are members of a recruiting class that has already made its impact in camp – as many as eight true freshmen may get some playing time this year, significantly more than in years past for the Friedgen-era Terps. Quarterbacks, of course, are rarely ever expected to contribute right out of high school. But this pair has turned some heads to the future.
Both were three-star recruits according to Rivals.com. And both came in known for their athleticism along with their arms.
Right now, Friedgen seems to be higher on O’Brien, a North Carolina product who is more of a traditional, pro-style quarterback. But he also hinted at Brown’s potential as a dual-threat signal caller.
“I think O’Brien’s a little further ahead intellectually; I think Brown may be a little ahead physically,” Friedgen said. “Definitely, O’Brien gets us out of the huddle better. He’s doing a good job. In fact, today, we were struggling with red zone drills. He came in, and in his four reps, he hit the right guy, did the right things.”
If either plays this year – which would only happen if Chris Turner and JaMarr Robinson went down with injuries – it seems as though O’Brien would be the guy. Right now, though, it’s more interesting to question whether either could push Robinson for the starting job in 2010 or 2011.
Adi Joseph is The Diamondback’s football beat writer. He can be reached at ajoseph@umdbk.com or followed @adijoseph.