Bruce Campbell is turning pro. Adam Fried/The Diamondback

ESPN’s Joe Schad reported this morning that Terrapin junior left tackle Bruce Campbell will leave College Park for the 2010 NFL Draft.

At 6-foot-7, 310 pounds Campbell has the size and athleticism to merit serious first round consideration, even after a season when he was forced to sit out three games with turf toe and knee injuries and the Terps’ offensive line struggled. (Our Eric Detweiler detailed Campbell’s various injury issues back in October.)

“I feel I can be something special and this is best for me. I have good size and I can protect the quarterbacks’ blind side. I played defensive line in high school so I can also think like a defensive player, which is an advantage,” Campbell told Schad.

Campbell’s departure no doubt leaves a big hole in the Terps’ line for next season. He was the Terps’ anchor. In the few times the Terp offense showed potential this season – that 17-point second quarter against Clemson comes to mind – Campbell was at his best.

ESPN’s Scouts. Inc rated Campbell as the No. 24 overall prospect in the draft and the No. 4 tackle. And those numbers could improve if Campbell gives a solid combine performance, in the tradition of former Terps Vernon Davis, Darrius Heyward-Bey and numerous others.

Aaron Kraut is The Diamondback’s sports editor. He can be reached at akrautdbk@gmail.com.

Coach Ralph Friedgen told reporters this afternoon on a teleconference he is “very thankful for the opportunity” to return and coach the Terrapin Football team for at least one more season.

Friedgen met with Athletics Director Debbie Yow on Sunday and Monday to discuss the state of the program and Yow called Friedgen this morning to tell him he would be retained.

“I hope I wasn’t just judged on this year,” Friedgen said. “But I think it shows the confidence the administration has in me and our program. I’m willing to repay that with everything I have.”

When asked how he made his case to Yow, Friedgen said he focused more on his vision for the future rather than on defending his past.

He said he mentioned the number of true freshman and redshirt freshman who played significant snaps this season and how much he expects the team to improve.

Friedgen’s current contract expires after the 2011 season.

“Next year’s team will have a chance to be good,” Friedgen said. “But I think the following year we have a chance to be really good.”

Friedgen said he has met with Yow after each of his nine seasons as head coach, as it is Yow’s policy to meet with all of her coaches after their seasons end.

But Friedgen said he obviously realized what was at stake this season, and said he had been concerned during the season about possibly losing his job after the season.

“I’ve been in this a long time and it comes with the territory,” Friedgen said. “I know when we’re not winning games we’re not making a lot of people happy. Our fans, our alumni, our administration, but more importantly myself.”

Finally, Friedgen said he has not had a chance to fully evaluate his staff yet and he has not made any decisions yet about a change in personnel.

He said he will meet with his assistant coaches over the next few weeks and continue to evaluate everything in the program.

“[Yow] called me this morning and said to me ’Are you ready to move on?’” Friedgen said. “I said ‘Yes, I am.’ We were both excited and said ‘Let’s get to work.’”

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

The following is the Athletics Department’s official statement regarding the retention of Coach Ralph Friedgen, sent out through its media relations office at approximately 11:20 on Tuesday morning.

FRIEDGEN TO REMAIN TERPS HEAD COACH
Recruiting class and returning players a cause for optimism
 
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Ralph Friedgen will remain the head coach of the Maryland football program.  The decision comes after a comprehensive evaluation of the program, including detailed assessments of the 2009 season, recruiting and personnel.
 
“Coach Friedgen and I are in complete agreement on the expectation to return the football program to its competitive stature,” said Director of Athletics Debbie Yow.  “He has assured the University and fans of his intentions to do whatever is necessary to become a top 25 program again.  The efforts of our young team in 2009 were appreciated by Terps everywhere and many believe the squad improved considerably towards the end of the season. Coach Friedgen will continue his careful evaluation of staff, players and recruiting results, as the team moves into the offseason.  He continues to have my full support.”

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The regular season is over and the ACC will be sending seven teams to bowl games this season. Clemson, Boston College, and Florida State from the Atlantic Division; and Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Miami, and North Carolina from the Coastal.

When all was said and done, the conference shook out much like it did last season. There was a lot of parity and unpredictability from week-to-week, and there were also a lot of solid programs. But there still aren’t any national title contenders, and never was that more evident than Saturday, when an underachieving Georgia team gashed ACC favorite Georgia Tech.

For the Terps it was a season to forget. Last week’s frustrating loss to Boston College left the program at 2-10 and in some serious turmoil heading into next season. Heads have already rolled in the conference as Virginia has already let coach Al Groh go, and there is speculation Ralph Friedgen is next.

In case you missed it, editor and power rankings contributor Aaron Kraut gave some solid reasons why “The Fridge” deserves another shot in today’s edition of The Diamondback.

He also still has Clemson at the top of his power rankings…

It’s been just as long a season here at Terrapin Trail as at the Gossett Football Team House. We even failed to show up last week, which was inexcusable. But we have enough guts to come back with a strong finale.

(more…)

No matter the result of Saturday’s season finale against Boston College (the Terps lost 19-17), the question for postgame availability was obvious.

Will Ralph Friedgen remain the coach of this team next season?

It’s quite possible nobody knows the answer, not even AD Debbie Yow or other top-level administrators charged with making the final call. Friedgen will meet with Yow first. He said he wants to discuss some ideas he has for improvement “both from an offensive and defensive standpoint.”

It’s hard to predict if that means assistant coaching changes, a different offensive philosophy, both or neither.

Friedgen said he wants to be here next season, and as has often been the case during this difficult year, he got emotional. For evidence of that, check out the video below:

Aaron Kraut is The Diamondback’s sports editor. He can be reached at akrautdbk@gmail.com.

Much like the Terps’ entire season, the last quarter of the year was sloppy, kind of boring, and ultimately dissatisfying.

The Terps never really did anything to make it look like they might come back, and they have now completed the first 10-loss season in the history of the program.

The Terps finish 2009 2-10, 1-7 in the ACC, and on a 7-game losing streak.

Jamarr Robinson found Torrey Smith for a 28-yard touchdown pass with 1:34 to play, but by then it was too little, too late for the Terps.

Before the late, essentially meaningless touchdown, the highlights of the quarter were three turnovers on downs on failed 4th-and-1 attempts.

The Terps got stuffed from the BC 37 when Davin Meggett tried to convert about a minute into the quarter.

Then Eagle running back Montel Harris didn’t make it from the Terps’ 26.

Finally, Robinson came back in at quarterback for the Terps and tried a QB keeper with less than five minutes to go from the Terps’ 29 that had no chance after a tremendous play by an Eagle defensive lineman.

Eagle kicker Steve Aponavicius put  it out of reach with a 42-yard field goal four plays later to make it 19-10 BC with 3:59 left.

And so ends our online game coverage of the 2009 Terrapin football team. Check the paper Monday for the game story and again later in the week for the season recap.

Whether he stays or goes, we will have all the postseason Ralph Friedgen news as it develops over the coming weeks.

Hope you enjoyed it. Too bad the Terps just weren’t good this year.

It is officially basketball season.

Greg Schimmel is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Football Beat Writer. He can be reached at schimmeldbk@gmail.com. Follow him on twitter at http://twitter.com/Greg_Schimmel.

Nobody scored and not much happened.

A long, disjointed, sloppy, penalty-ridden drive by Boston College chewed up about half of the quarter, and ended in a missed 30-yard field goal attempt by Steve Aponavicius.

It was Aponavicius’ first miss on either a field goal or an extra point attempt all season.

When the Terp offense finally got on the field, Chris Turner was back in at quarterback.

The Terps gained two first downs on a 15-yard run by Da’Rel Scott and an 11-yard screen pass to Adrian Cannon but then stalled and had to punt.

The Eagles went three-and-out on their next possession and the Terps were driving as the quarter ends.

The last quarter of the season will start with the Terps facing a 2nd-and-11 from the Eagles’ 47.

Greg Schimmel is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Football Beat Writer. He can be reached at schimmeldbk@gmail.com. Follow him on twitter at http://twitter.com/Greg_Schimmel.

With starting quarterback Chris Turner wearing a heavy coat on the sideline, Jamarr Robinson led the Terps 69 yards in 9 plays on their first touchdown drive of the game.

Da’Rel Scott scored on a 6-yard run through the right side of the line to tie the game at 10-10 after the extra point with 11:43 left in the half.

The teams then exchanged punts, and a personal foul penalty on Terp safety Antwine Perez for a late hit helped along the Eagles’ next drive which ended with a 36-yard field goal by Steve Aponavicius to make it 13-10 BC with 3:43 left in the half.

Aponavicius added a 23-yarder as time expired to make it 16-10 at the half.

One half is all that’s left of the 2009 season. The Terps will need to come from behind to avoid record-setting loss No. 10.

Greg Schimmel is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Football Beat Writer. He can be reached at schimmeldbk@gmail.com. Follow him on twitter at http://twitter.com/Greg_Schimmel.

Chris Turner got the start at quarterback, his first action since he sprained his MCL against N.C. State on Nov. 7

Turner looked sharp on the Terps’ first drive, leading the offense deep into Eagle territory and setting up a 32-yard field goal by Nick Ferrara with 11:57 left in the quarter that made it 3-0 Terps.

It was the first time the Terps scored the first points of a game since Sept. 19 against Middle Tennessee.

The teams then traded punts, and a shanked one by Ferrara gave the Eagles the ball at their own 41. Eagle quarterback Dave Shinskie found wide receiver Colin Lammond for a 66-yard catch and run for a touchdown on 3rd-and-17.

Lammond ran right by Terp cornerback Anthony Wiseman after making the catch and streaked down the sideline for the score to give BC a 7-3 lead with 6:55 left in the quarter.

Eagle kicker Steve Aponavicius added an 18-yard field goal with 55 seconds left in the quarter to make it 10-3. Terp safety Terrell Skinner made a nice tackle to stop Eagle running back Montel Harris from finding the endzone the play before on third-and-goal from the 1.

Backup quarterback Jamarr Robinson entered the game for the Terps’ last drive of the quarter and handed the ball off twice. Turner has his helmet off and is wearing a heavy coat.

Greg Schimmel is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Football Beat Writer. He can be reached at schimmeldbk@gmail.com. Follow him on twitter at http://twitter.com/Greg_Schimmel.

A colleague in the press box told us Chris Turner will start today’s season finale against Boston College.

Turner suffered a sprained MCL three weeks ago at N.C. State, and was listed as probable on the weekly injury report the Terps released Thursday.

Jamarr Robinson was also listed as probable with an unspecified leg injury, and had been seen on campus this week wearing a walking boot.

Both Turner and Robinson are participating in pregame warmups, so both are apparently available to play.

Safety Kenny Tate, who was listed as doubtful Thursday with a high ankle sprain suffered two weeks ago against Virginia Tech, is not in uniform and will not play.

In other developments, it’s only about a half hour before kickoff and there are maybe 5,000 people in the stands according to a very rough estimate.

You could head down the stadium now and have about 20 rows to yourself in nearly any section.

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