One of the biggest surprises in coach Randy Edsall’s two-deep depth chart for Monday’s season opener against Miami was the omission of running back DJ Adams — who finished last year with a team-high 11 touchdowns as the team’s bruising goal line back.

In today’s ACC teleconference, Edsall revealed that Adams will not play on Labor Day due to a “violation of team rules.”

Reserve offensive lineman Cody Blue will also miss the game due to the undisclosed violation.

“DJ won’t be playing in the game against Miami — he and Cody Blue,” Edsall said. “Those two guys won’t be available to play against Miami. Once the Miami game is behind us, we’ll move forward.”

Adams’ suspension leaves freshmen Jeremiah Wilson and Justus Pickett behind feature back Davin Meggett in the depth chart.

The NCAA ruled today that eight of Miami’s players have been suspended for at least one game in light of an investigation of players who received improper benefits from a former Hurricane booster, Nevin Shapiro.

Included in those that will miss Miami’s Labor Day date with the Terrapins at Byrd Stadium are starting quarterback Jacory Harris, preseason All-ACC linebacker Sean Spence and safety Ray Ray Armstrong and defensive tackle Marcus Forston.

The suspensions range from one to six games, with defensive lineman Olivier Vernon taking the cake with a six game suspension and an order to repay $1,200.

It would tend to reason that this turmoil will make the road easier for Terps coach Randy Edsall to take home a win in his first game, especially considering Miami’s dealing with a new head coach of its own in Al Golden.

Either way, Miami’s defense will be without some of its play-makers, possibly opening the door for Terps quarterback Danny O’Brien to continue his pace from last season.

Stay tuned with The Diamondback — which unfortunately had to be sent to print for tomorrow before the NCAA’s investigation was released — for updates heading into this Monday’s matchup.

With a frontcourt void of experience and bodies, first year Terrapin men’s basketball coach Mark Turgeon took an unusual route to land a late big man for the 2011-2012 season.

After scouring the country for a late signing, Turgeon turned his attention internationally where he found 7-foot-1 center Olexiy Len from Ukraine. The 18-year-old officially joined the team Monday, just two days before the start of classes, according to a team release.

“We are very excited about the addition of Alex to our basketball team,” Turgeon said in a release. “To be able to add a player with his ability so late in the recruiting calendar is good for us.”

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GERMANTOWN, Md. — The most pivotal moment of the Terrapin men’s soccer team’s 3-0 win over St. John’s Friday may have come inside a locker room at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Md.

The No. 4 Terps showed signs of season-opening jitters in the first half.  They appeared to lack their usual aggression, mustering only 3 shots on goal compared to the Red Storm’s 7.

“There was a little bit of anxiety in the first half,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “I thought we were a little bit disconnected. We couldn’t really possess the ball as much as we wanted to, and you could see a little bit of anxiousness.”

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After a lackluster preseason, the Terrapin men’s soccer team will try to prove its worth this weekend at the 2011 ACC/Big East Challenge.

The No. 4 Terps, who lost seven starters from last year’s squad, showed some early growing pains during their two exhibition games–a 4-3 nail-biter against Towson, and a 0-1 loss to unranked Georgetown.

Hopefully the kinks have been worked out, however, because the Terps will face two strong programs in St. John’s and West Virginia this weekend. They’ll play the Red Storm at Germantown’s SoccerPlex Friday, and host the Mountaineers at Ludwig Field Sunday.

Although neither team is currently ranked in the NSCAA Top 25, Sasho Cirovski’s squad will not take either opponent lightly. St. John’s returns 16 letter winners from a team that finished third in the Big East’s Red Division last season, while West Virginia is currently No. 28 in the Coaches poll.

Check back Monday for a recap of this weekend’s festivities.

As 300-pound linemen strolled down a makeshift runway in Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, the college football universe got a look at the new-look Terrapin football team.

Eschewing the “Terps” script that had adorned its helmets for years and adopting new styles like a uniform gradient, the team certainly looked the part of an East Coast rival to Oregon, which has enough uniform combinations to fill out Beyonce’s closet.

Read on below for some of the highlights from tonight’s unveiling. Click here for the full photo gallery.

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The Terrapin men’s soccer team held its annual media day at the Varsity Practice Field Tuesday. During the event, which took place less than three hours before the No. 4 Terps defeated Towson in their first exhibition of the season, coach Sasho Cirovski and several key players fielded questions about the 2011 squad. The following are some highlights from those interviews.

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The Terrapin men’s soccer team has again found itself pegged as one of the nation’s top teams for the coming season.

The Terps garnered the No. 4 overall ranking in the preseason NSCAA poll, behind only No. 1 Louisville, Akron and North Carolina. Conference rivals Virginia, Duke and Boston College all check in near the bottom of the top 25, while Wake Forest also received votes.

At issue for the Terps is the task of replacing 2010 stars Zac MacMath, Matt Kassel, Ethan White and Jason Herrick, who all departed after last year’s season-ending loss to Michigan in the Elite Eight.

Still, there’s ample talent up top for the Terps, especially up top. Rising senior forward Casey Townsend will be a marked man this season, as will Rookie of the Year midfielder/forward Patrick Mullins.

With the team’s Media Day set for Tuesday, check back later for more info.

It was confirmed months ago that the script “Terps” logo on the field at Byrd Stadium would be replaced for the 2011 season. We now may have confirmation of what replaces it.

Coach Randy Edsall tweeted a photo of a new logo being painted on the field, a tweet which was quickly deleted. The photo, however, can still be found here.

It’s tough to tell from the photo what the logo actually is, but it appears to be the new “Terrafont” logo that has been introduced as part of the new Terps’ marketing campaign. This logo is also on the field in an advertisement on umterps.com.

This logo has been heavily featured on merchandise and in advertisements, also appearing on the sign outside of Gossett Team House.

Jeremy Schneider is The Diamondback’s Terrapin football columnist. He can be reached at schneider@umdbk.com.