I talked with offensive coordinator James Franklin this evening for a story I am working on for Monday’s paper about quarterback Chris Turner.

Over the course of our interview/discussion, I asked Franklin about what the process was like for him last year to decide between Turner and Jordan Steffy (and to a lesser extent Josh Portis) as the Terps’ opening day starting quarterback.

Tactfully, and without ever calling anybody out by name other than Turner, Franklin implicitly admitted the coaching staff made a mistake by not going with Turner right away. Here are some of the more interesting sound bites from his three-minute answer to my question.

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We came into preseason camp knowing the Terps had question marks in four areas hit hard by departures last year: Linebackers, wide receivers, defensive linemen and offensive linemen.

At this point, as the team enters the final stretch of camp before regular game practice starts next week, I think it’s safe to consider those first two units answered for.

Alex Wujciak has shown minimal signs of any lingering effects from his spring knee surgery, and according to coach Ralph Friedgen he’s improved entering 2009. With Adrian Moten returning and a few younger guys (Demetrius Hartsfield and Darin Drakeford to name two) entering the fray, let’s consider any major concerns there resolved for now.

You get the feeling that the wide receiving corps has broken down in much the same manner. There are a handful of guys who can play, even if it took some time before one specific player (Adrian Cannon) started receiving special praise from Friedgen. And after No. 1 receiver Torrey Smith broke out of his funk in Sunday’s scrimmage, things look on the up and up there.

In terms of the defensive line, Dion Armstrong’s departure hurts. But with a new scheme and an experienced secondary, the Terps should be able to bring it along slowly, or at least partially cover for any of its’ inadequacies.

The offensive line won’t be as lucky. It’s a group that will have to break in three new regular starters, none of whom have actually ever started a game before. That’s where sophomore Andrew Gonnella (slated to start at left guard come Sept. 5) comes into the picture.

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There was hardly anything of interest discussed after this morning’s practice, so I am going to go ahead and revisit something coach Ralph Friedgen talked about on Monday.

Running back Da’Rel Scott earned First-Team All-ACC honors after last season, but Friedgen said yesteday that No. 2 back Davin Meggett has been closing in on Scott so far during preseason practice.

This might be a ploy to motivate Scott, but the interesting thing about it is that Friedgen said he thinks Scott has been playing pretty well.

He’s just that impressed with Meggett.

“I think he’s a lot faster this year. Last year he weighed about 225 or 226 and now he’s about 213,” Friedgen said. “I think he’s a better back right now.”

“Da’Rel’s doing OK. I’d like him to run a little lower,” Friedgen added later. “It’s nothing that Da’Rel’s not doing it’s just that the other kid is doing pretty well. They both played last year. [Meggett's] just so much more physical.”

With Gary Douglas performing well in the scrimmage Sunday, Morgan Green still hanging around and true freshmen Caleb Porzel and D.J. Adams ready to make an impact, the Terps are going to have a tremendously deep group of running backs for years to come.

If they can find consistency in the young offensive line, the Terps’ runninng game could do some damage.

Greg Schimmel is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Football Team beat writer. He can be reached at schimmeldbk@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Greg_Schimmel

Today we’re debuting what will be a weekly Tuesday feature here on TerrapinTrail.com, ACC football power rankings as voted on by members of our staff.

As always comments and rational debate are encouraged.

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Remember a week ago when Terp coach Ralph Friedgen made a number of changes on the depth chart at both the right guard and left guard positions?

There probably are people out there who studied those moves intensely, trying to memorize the first and second teams before the season starts.

Well, throw it all out the window.

Mostly based on the players’ performances in Sunday’s scrimmage, Friedgen announced some more changes on the inexperienced front line after Monday’s late afternoon practice. Follow the jump and pay close attention.

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I might as well have asked Davin Megget if he enjoyed playing football. He almost look insulted by the question. “I was wondering how much, if at all, you were into go-go music,” I inquired during media day on Aug. 10 at the Gossett Team House.

That jumped off a two-minute discourse revolving around the genre. Meggett schooled me on the top artists (“Now it’s All-Stars, XIB, CCB, UCB.”), the perception of go-go amongst teammates (“Everyone on the team has that one song that they’ve heard, and kinda like.”), and the local reaction to go-go-friendly rapper Wale (“A lot of people want go-go to go worldwide, others want it to stay local.”)

Praise the lord, I was able to capture it on my FlipCam. Catch the video after the jump. My favorite part was Meggett’s reaction after I admitted to my Massachusetts heritage 30 seconds in.

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After rightly being pushed back 20-or-so hours to avoid the rain, the Terrapin football team finally had its second scrimmage of the season Sunday afternoon. As a hot, sunny afternoon at Byrd Stadium turned into a hot, sunny evening, the intrasquad tilt seemed to drag a little bit.

But here is the CliffsNotes version of what we learned, broken down into five convenient lessons:

1. Keeping Chris Turner safe is very important to Ralph Friedgen. The Terp coach has a solid stable of running backs, and as he decides how to divide playing time, it seems pass protection skills will be a major factor. And with questions on the young offensive line, it’s hard to blame him. After the scrimmage that featured an improved running attack, Friedgen openly discussed the pass protection flaws of a trio of backs fighting for field time – Caleb Porzel, D.J. Adams and Gary Douglas. Friedgen couldn’t have been happy when, after two consecutive carries in a no-huddle offensive possession Sunday, running back Da’Rel Scott was completely run over by blitzing Darin Drakeford as Turner looked to pass.

2. The kicking competition is still very much on. Once again, there’s drama surrounding the Terp kicking game. Redshirt freshman Mike Barbour still seems to control his own destiny. But by missing his last three kicks of the scrimmage, while true freshman Nick Ferrara hit from 37- and 45-yards out late, it certainly gives Friedgen something to think about as he heads into the last two weeks of practice before the season starts. It’s safe to say a Terp kicker won’t have an opportunity to miss his first six attempts of the season and keep his job – a la Obi Egekeze last season.

3. Bruce Campbell is a beast. Maybe not a revelation, but the 310-pound tackle showed his versatility on the most entertaining play of the day. When freshman De’Onte Arnett slapped the ball from Turner’s hand, Campbell scooped it up, found some daylight to the outside and picked up a head of steam before several defenders finally wrestled him to the ground about 20 yards down field. Torrey Smith’s take? “That was one of the funniest and scariest things I’ve ever seen. Bruce is a mammoth.” Yep.

4. It was not a good day to be Dave Sollazzo’s visor. The Terp defensive line coach angrily spiked his white

Dave Sollazzo is intense.

head gear twice in a row early in the scrimmage. The always-intense coaching staff brings its ‘A-game’ to the scrimmages when they can get right in their players faces after a poor play. It might be worth the price of membership into the Maryland Gridiron Network (MGN) or Terrapin Club just to get the chance to watch -and listen to- animated coaches such as Sollazzo, defensive coordinator Don Brown and offensive coordinator James Franklin without a bustling stadium drowning it all out.

5. Friedgen knows what he wants to get out of each scrimmage session. It would be really exciting to see the first team offense and defense go at each other at full strength often in these scrimmages, but that’s not what you get. Established guys such as Alex Wujciak, Phil Costa and Da’Rel Scott weren’t pressed into heavy duty Sunday as Friedgen made extra effort to let many of his younger players try to create some separation at the bottom of his depth chart. The running game looked better. And as a bonus, wide receiver Torrey Smith produced after Friedgen aired disappointment in his rising star early in the week. Mission accomplished.

Eric Detweiler is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Football Team columnist. He can be reached at edetweilerdbk@gmail.com

PASSING: Turner, 13-for-20, 113 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, Robinson, 6-for-14, 76 yards, O’Brien 1-for-5, 29 yards, Brown 0-for-1 0 yards.

RUSHING: Douglas, 16-for-105, Green, 10-for-56, 1 TD, Meggett, 5-for-45, 1 TD, Scott 4-for-33, Porzel, 6-for-26, Adams, 8-for-17.

RECEIVING (Leaders): Cannon, 4-for-39, Smith 2-39, 1 TD, Logan, 1-for-29 Tyler, 2-for-22, McCree, 2-for-15, Furstenburg, 2-for-5.

TACKLES (Leaders): Franklin 8, Hughes 7, Walker 6, Hartsfield 6, Tate 5, Murray 5, Wujciak 5, Wright 5, Wiseman 5.

SACKS: Moten, Hartsfield, Anderson