Maryland Minute 8.11.10 - Notes From Maryland's Second Day of Practices

Terrapins Insider - Torrey Smith among standouts after second Maryland practice
Alongside Travis Hawkins, Avery Graham, Trenton Hughes, Joe Vellano, A.J. Francis, Adrian Cannon, D.J. Adams, Da'Rel Scott, Davin Meggett, C.J. Brown, and Devin Burns.

Pretty long list, but a few thoughts: that Dexter McDougle wasn't listed and Trenton Hughes was probably means that Hughes has a leg-up on that battle, at least early on. Also, I wouldn't be surprised to see C.J. Brown make a move on Danny O'Brien as the #2. He has more physical talent than anyone else at QB, and if he figures out the offense he'll be very good.

Tracking the Terps: More on C.J. Brown
If Jamarr doesn't work out after the first couple of games, I wouldn't mind - or be surprised at - seeing CJB or DOB.

"The guy I see improving at the quarterback position is C.J. Brown," Friedgen said.

...

"I’ve come so far since I’ve been here -– over a year," Brown said. "I feel a lot more comfortable in the system."

Day 2 News and Notes: Tyler Doing the Little Things, White Loses Weight - IMS
Good news on Tyler, going from in academic trouble to balling in a week.

"Ronnie’s looking very good, maybe as good as he’s looked right now," coach Ralph Friedgen said. "Ronnie’s always been a talented guy. He’ll go out and make a great catch but he’d also run the wrong route or make a mental mistake, and I don’t see him doing that stuff right now."

Tyler can make some amazing catches, but would just as often drop an easy pass. If that's over, it can only be good. Oh, and this is ridiculous:

At first it proved difficult. But he eventually did so in the allotted time, and with a strict diet that included smaller but more frequent meals to quell his hunger, the redshirt freshmen left guard saw the pounds fall off. At his heaviest the 6-foot-4 White weighed close to 370 pounds. Now he’s down to 326 pounds and is looking to drop a few more.

Uh, that's about 44 pounds. Wowza.

Shawne Merriman Loaned Money to Christian Laettner, Brian Davis, Wants It Back
And he's suing them!

On Monday, Merriman filed an affidavit in Maryland that said Laettner and Davis' company, BD Ventures, owes him $3.64 million, plus $998.76 per day in interest. The amount stems from a loan Merriman and his company, S.M. Real Estate, made to the former Blue Devils' company in 2007. The loan was to be fully repaid in March 2009, but Merriman, who played at the University of Maryland, sued them in federal court in April 2009, saying he wasn't repaid as promised.

Damn untrustworthy Dukies.

USA Basketball: Sterling Reputation
An interview with Sterling Gibbs, Maryland's sole basketball commitment for 2011, from USA Basketball. He's the captain of the Youth Olympic Games USA team, which apparently only consists of four people. Anyway, it seems he's conflicted about who to root for between Maryland and Pitt, which his brother plays for.

You’re committed to play at Maryland in 2011. Ashton plays at Pitt. Pitt and Maryland play each other this season at Madison Square Garden in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. Who are you rooting for?
(Laughs) I don’t know. I think I’m going to have to go with my Maryland shirt and my Pitt hat.

Three Terps on Hermann Watch List, Soccer's Heisman
Jason Herrick and Zac MacMath made he men's list, and Jasmyne Spencer made the women's.

More Soccer News: Terps Ranked 3rd, 6th By Various Services
UMD's always loaded soccer team was ranked 3rd by College Soccer News and sixth in the coaches' poll. Excellent. 

Lakers: Steve Blake is "one of the best players we've ever had as far as physical ability"
Wow, I didn't expect that, just because we never really saw Blake as an athletic guy in his time here. But he was third in vertical jump with a step, fourth in repeat jumps, first in raw speed, first in the agility test. Nice.

Players Say Oregon Has the Best Uniforms
People always call Oregon's uniforms ugly, but I've always been in favor of going that route from Maryland - a ton of futuristic-looking unis and combos. Why?

This was an Oregon landslide (53.7%). One Big Ten star was particularly blown away. "I don't even have to think about that one," he says. "I almost wanted to transfer there just for those uniforms."

Can we do that?