The Terps took the field at Byrd Stadium for their first of three official intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday evening. The defense put on the red. The offense donned the white. Overall, the defense dominated, forcing a pair of turnovers and holding the offense to 17 points despite often being stuck with a short field. Friedgen said the offense was rustier than usual because he normally has a small scrimmage at practice before the first live scrimmage, but opted to do “The Oklahoma Drill”, a competitive tackling exercise, this week instead.
Here’s a look at what else happened during the 15-possession “game”…
QB Update: Junior Chris Turner got the scrimmage started with a 13-play drive that resulted in a missed 50-yard field goal by Obi Egekeze. He was 8-12 for 93 yards and coach Ralph Friedgen said afterwards he thought Turner performed a little better than his competition, senior Jordan Steffy and junior Josh Portis.
Turner’s reaction? “That’s the first time I’ve heard that all camp, so I guess that’s good, right?”
Portis was 4-9 for 69 yards with an interception that was returned 30 yards by junior cornerback Nolan Carroll for a touchdown. But he bounced back to complete the longest pass of the day, a 41-yard laser to freshman wideout Quinton McCree, which set up a touchdown.
“[Portis] just waited [on the interception]. You can’t do that, but then again he comes back and makes some plays, too,” Friedgen said. “I think he’s learning, and I see him getting better.”
Steffy was 5-9 for 76 yards, and he was picked off in the end zone by senior cornerback Kevin Barnes.
Portis was under center for seven possessions, Steffy four, Turner three and redshirt freshman Jamarr Robinson one. There’s still a lot of time for a starter to emerge, but Friedgen got a look at each quarterback in a variety of situations.
“I’m trying to evaluate all of them with all teams, and then see who does what,” Friedgen said.
Scrimmage Star: True freshman running back Davin Meggett. Meggett, the son of former NFL running back Dave Meggett, burst onto the scene by scoring the Terps’ lone offensive touchdowns. He scored from six yards out on the seventh possession of the game, and he opened the 14th possession by taking a pitch up the right sideline for a 50-yard touchdown run.
“He’s got a lot of growing to do,” Friedgen said. “You can see he’s got ability, and he’s really pushing for the second team spot right now.”
Meggett finished with 73 yards on 13 carries and solidly outperformed sophomore Morgan Green, his main competition for the second running back spot. Green finished with (minus-1) yards rushing on four carries and did not get a touch after being whistled for a false start before Meggett’s first touchdown.
But Meggett was less than optimistic about the performance, guessing he made mistakes on 11 of his 13 carries.
“There’s a lot of yelling going on,” Meggett said. “Just because I scored doesn’t mean anything. I still make mistakes. I make a lot of mistakes.”
Play of the Day: Carroll scored the team’s first points of the season on the second possession of the scrimmage. He jumped a sideline route thrown by Portis, one of his roommates, and scampered untouched down the sideline for the touchdown.
Carroll, a former wide receiver, is battling for the starting cornerback position opposite Kevin Barnes.
“It was a confidence builder,” Carroll said. “But my biggest thing is I’m trying to do this on the field. I won’t feel accomplishment until I’m making the same plays when the games matter.”
Hit of the Day: On the first possession, Turner hit freshman wide receiver Ronnie Tyler near the right hashmark, but as he secured the ball reserve strong safety Drew Robinson leveled Tyler with a bone-crunching blow. The South Carolina native held on for a 20-yard completion, but it fired up the defense enough to force a failed field goal attempt on the next set of downs.
Terp Lowlights: Egekeze was just 1-3 on field goal attempts during the scrimmage. After missing wide left on his 50-yard attempt, he had a 38-yard attempt blocked by junior Deege Galt. Egekeze later made a 20-yarder and then hit both of his short field goals during the team’s goal line drill.
Tyler held on after Allen’s crushing hit, but he dropped a pair of punts as a return man. After the second muff, Allen was replaced deep by senior Danny Oquendo. Friedgen said he will try other players in the spot as camp progresses, but Oquendo, who returned punts last season before being injured, is the front runner for the spot.
“Better I find out now than against Delaware,” Friedgen said. “Right now, it’s not close. Danny Oquendo will be back there because he can catch the ball.”
Injury Update: Friedgen reported three minor injuries occurred during the scrimmage. Sophomore free safety Antwine Perez, a USC transfer, sustained a minor concussion. Offensive lineman Scott Burley received a “burner” on the last play of the scrimmage, and Carroll sat out the second half of the scrimmage after tweaking his right hamstring. Carroll said he expected to resume normal activities Monday. Linebacker Trey Covington (hamstring), defensive lineman Mack Frost (knee) and defensive tackle Bemi Otulaja (foot) were among the players who did not participate Saturday.
Up Next: The Terps will practice twice daily Monday, Wednesday and Friday this week. Friedgen said he will hold a mock scrimmage at practice Thursday without tackling. The next full scrimmage will be Saturday at the same time. All practices and scrimmages are closed to the public.
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