Life Without O'Brien: Updating Maryland's Scholarship Situation, Depth Chart

Let's all take a deep breath. Today was a little crazy, and for those who would like to continue the craziness - was there tampering? - I'm sure you know the threads to do it in.

That said, Maryland football has to move forward, and for the more practical among you, there are probably some questions. The biggest: what will the offense look like now? I'll hit that one later, mostly because it's too complex to do in as short a post as this'll be. But two others I can get: just how many scholarships does Maryland have open anymore, and what does their depth chart look like?

Let's start off with the first. By my entirely unofficial count, the Terps currently have 80 scholarships taken up, a number that Patrick Stevens corroborates. That's before any spring football departures, academic casualties, and playing time transfers. That number varies every year, but Maryland can't afford to have many this season. They're already operating at five below the maximum, and there's a good chance that number could be even as many as ten by the start of the season. So depth might be an issue. Hope you like your redshirts crispy.

The long-term good news is that most of that is coming off the top. There are only 14 seniors in the program, which is a little small; that means not a lot of experience, but it means that down the road Maryland should be improving with their large sophomore and freshmen classes. They'll take another big class next year but after that things should start to level out and be okay.

If you want to see the full scholarship chart, check it out embedded below the break.

The other question, rightly so, has to do with the depth chart. Maryland just lost two presumptive starters on the offensive end today, after losing another (R.J. Dill) several weeks ago. So things are a little shady, understandably. Anything at this point is guesswork at best, especially with a new coordinator who hasn't seen much film yet, and even more so given the large number of freshmen entering the program.

That said, if you don't follow football that much you might not know what Maryland's working with. If you do want names, here's a very general overview as to what the depth chart could look like come fall on the offensive end - the defense hasn't seen much attrition and with the oncoming transition to the 3-4 who knows where people will end up. Anyway, this is based off the depth chart from the end of last year and assumptions about where freshmen will likely come into the program.

QB: C.J. Brown / James Joseph (walk-on) / Caleb Rowe* / Perry Hills*
RB: Justus Pickett / Brandon Ross / Wes Brown* / Albert Reid* / Joe Riddle* / Kenneth Goins*
FB: Tyler Cierski / Kenneth Goins*
WR: Kevin Dorsey / Kerry Boykins / Nigel King / Levern Jacobs* / Malcolm Culmer*
WR: Stefon Diggs* / Devin Burns / Marcus Leak / Tyrek Cheeseboro / Amba Etta-Tawo*
TE: Matt Furstenburg / Devonte Campbell / Dave Stinebaugh / Ryan Schlothauer / P.J. Gallo*
LT: Nick Klemm / Ryan Doyle / Mike Madaras*
LG: De'Onte Arnett / Pete White / Andrew Zeller
C: Bennett Fulper / Sal Conaboy / Evan Mulrooney
RG: Josh Cary / Nate Clarke / Nick Brigham*
RT: Justin Gilbert / Jake Wheeler

A few comments: starting at the top, Brown and Joseph are the only QBs on the roster right now, and Rowe and Hills won't arrive until fall practice. That will make it almost certain that Brown is the starter, unless he gets injured or is much worse than expected.

The running back position is very fluid. People have said good things about Ross, who redshirted last year, and I could easily see any of the first four listed starting. I would guess that Brown and Pickett are favorites, but you rarely want to project a freshman as a starter unless they're a can't-miss guy, like Diggs. Could definitely happen, but I'm just being cautious.

I'd be surprised to see anyone other than Dorsey and Diggs manning the receiver slots. Makes too much sense. Boykins and Burns should be #3 and #4 unless Burns transfers; Leak and King should be next in line, but both could easily push to be higher on the list. Furstenburg and Campbell are locked in as the starters at tight ends.

The line is the real question mark in all this. I used the old depth chart as the base for this, but I'd expect a lot of movement. Klemm and Gilbert will almost certainly be the starters at the tackles unless Madaras really impresses in his first few games. I was surprised to see Arnett listed as a starter on the old depth chart, but he was, and over a healthy Pete White at that, so you may see the same come fall. Fulper, and perhaps Gilbert, will be the only sure bets of the group. It'll be interesting to watch this evolve.

Perhaps my biggest concern: when C.J. gets tomahawked by a predatory linebacker, who plays quarterback?