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Stefon Diggs Isn't Winning The Heisman This Year... I'm Sorry.

2013-06-18T23:15:06Z

I'd like to be pimps from Oakland or cowboys from Arizona but it's not Halloween. Grow up Peter Pan, Count Chocula. - John Beckwith

We all had a great time with Pete's piece that Stefon Diggs was going to win the Heisman. I did, you did, we all did.

Unfortunately for all of us, Maryland is too far off the national radar to begin the season for Diggs' candidacy to be met with any real merit. I don't want to hear that Robert Griffin III and Baylor came out of nowhere and went 10-3, en route to his Heisman Trophy season. That team beat three ranked teams along the way, and RGIII started the season with more touchdowns than incompletions through the first five weeks.

I don't know what the equivalent of that is to a receiver. I do know, however, that Tavon Austin set the NCAA record for all-purpose yards by a receiver last year, with about 229 yards per game, and he wasn't invited to New York.

For argument's sake, let's say he stays at or near Marqise Lee's 206 all-purpose yards per game pace. Lee wasn't a serious contender last year, and that was with a top-ten season all-time by a receiver. It would take an astronomical season from Diggs to even be a candidate, so what are his biggest obstacles?

1) His position

You will notice how Austin and Lee put up these insane seasons and yet they received no serious Heisman coverage? Lee finished a very distant fourth-place, and Austin was in an even more distant eighth-place. Two of the top-ten seasons of all-time came in the same year, and neither were serious contenders.

The receiver position just isn't a serious threat for the Heisman, and as Pete pointed out it's only happened three times. Quarterbacks and running backs dominate the award for a reason, so history is his biggest obstacle.

2) His team

What else do Lee and Austin have in common? Their team's just weren't very good. I think we can all agree seven wins would be a good year for Maryland this year, but you aren't going to have a Heisman winner on a seven-win team.

Even with a real-life quarterback throwing him the ball this year, for (knocking on wood) the entire year, Diggs will still struggle to garner the type of support from the voters because of the lack of team success.

3) His teammates -- more specifically, Deon Long

Long set JuCo records last year and he came to Maryland because he would have an opportunity to start immediately. Sure, other factors were involved, but Long saw the offense Maryland ran, and thought "Hmm, I think I could be a good fit here."

Diggs won't be alone this year, but even with defenses keying in on him trying to take him out of games, he still managed to set the second-best all-purpose yardage season by a freshman last year. Long will help take pressure off him, but he'll also take targets away as well.

The Maryland offense will be much improved this year, and will probably be trailing a few games or in shoot-outs that require a lot of passing, but ultimately even a record-setting season likely wouldn't be enough.

4) His importance to the offense

As we all witnessed last year, Diggs could turn water in to wine anywhere on the field. What that also meant was his need to be rested, combined with his reluctance to fair-catching punts, led to him being taken off the punt return unit towards the end of the season.

Dexter McDougle and a hodgepodge of others took their turns at the end of the season returning punts. With more options this year, namely Long, it's less likely we see Diggs returning punts, if at all.

Listen, I'd settle for a nice Biletnikoff Award nomination, a second team All-American spot and a healthy season. No pressure.

ACC Championship Odds: Clemson and Florida State the Favorites

2013-06-18T19:13:15Z

The online sports book 5dimes has released their NCAA football odds for the 2013 season, with Maryland in the middle of the pack of teams vying for the ACC championship. The Terps were given 50-1 odds to win the conference title game in December, a feat they haven’t accomplished since 2001. Last year, 5dimes had Maryland with the second lowest odds in the conference, ahead of only Duke.

Atlantic division foes Clemson and Florida State, who both posted 7-1 conference records and lopsided November wins over Maryland in 2012, are tied as the favorites. Duke and Wake Forest are down in the basement as the long shots.

The Demon Deacons are coming off a 5-7 season in which they lost all of their last 3 games by more than 30 points. Their 125-1 odds of winning a conference championship are tied with Hawaii of the Mountain West Conference as the worst in the country .

Newcomers Pitt and Syracuse were both expected to provide stiffer competition on the basketball court than on the field, and the odds reflect that. Pitt, in the less-stacked Coastal Division, is ranked one spot ahead of the Terrapins with 25-1 odds. The Orange are in a three-way tie with NC State and Boston College, right behind Maryland and the Virginia Cavaliers.

Looking ahead, Maryland will face the two favorites in the B1G during their inaugural season next fall. Ohio State is on top as the clear favorite, with Michigan in second.

See all the odds for conference and divisional championships below, courtesy of 5dimes.

EA Chooses Maryland Uniforms for NCAA 14

2013-06-18T15:15:02Z

After using nine different uniforms during the 2012 season, Maryland football has five that will be available for use in NCAA 14, set to be released on July 9.

In a nice move, the game decided to include both the Black Ops and White Ops, two uniforms that were each worn just once but were fan favorites. The black Maryland Pride uniforms that debuted last season will also be an option for users, as well as the classic red jersey, white pants and white jersey, red pants combos.

Black pants don't make an appearance outside of the Black Ops uniforms, despite Maryland wearing them with both red and white jerseys in 2012. Other uniforms the Terps wore that were left out are the white Maryland Pride unis and red jerseys with red pants.

Interestingly, for the red/white combos, Maryland's helmets aren't up-to-date. The game uses black helmets for both in the black matte format that was worn by the Terps in 2011. Last season, both the Terps regular white and black helmets had flag banners along the sides. And if you want to play with a white helmet, the White Ops one is your only option.

If you'd like to see the uniform options for every single team in the game, you're in luck. Of course, you also need 35 minutes of your life to spare. We're going to assume you either don't have the time or don't care (probably both), and skip you right to screen grabs of the Maryland uniform options:

Red Jersey, White Pants:

White Jersey, Red Pants:

White Ops:

Black Ops:

Black Maryland Pride:

Even in video game form, I can't decide whether I like the Black or White Ops better. Your thoughts? Did EA select the best five?

Report: Cavaliers Could Select Alex Len First Overall

2013-06-17T22:13:49Z

According to a report out of New Orleans, the Cleveland Cavaliers are leaning toward taking former Maryland center Alex Len first overall in this month's NBA Draft.

Hearing that C Alex Len, who visited with #Pelicans on Friday, is now the likely choice for #Cavs at No. 1 spot in next week's draft.
— Jimmy Smith (@JimmySmith504) June 17, 2013

Jimmy Smith, a Hornets, err, Pelicans beat writer for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, says Len could be the top pick over Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore, Otto Porter and the rest.

If the Cavaliers were to take the Terps' 7-foot-1 Ukrainian, Len would be the third player from the program to be selected first overall, following in the footsteps of John Lucas and, perhaps more relevantly, Joe Smith. Len would be the highest-picked Maryland big man since Smith went in the same spot to Golden State in 1995. The potential selling point of a 1-1 selection would be a recruiting boon for Mark Turgeon, especially as he looks to fill out a 2014 recruiting class strong on shooters but with a still-vacant front-court.

Even more interesting, a quick Wikipedia scan indicates that Len's selection by the Cavs would tie the Terps with Duke for the most-ever top selections in an NBA Draft, with three. That's fairly exciting, and it would put Maryland past a slew of storied programs, including North Carolina, UCLA and Kentucky.

How would Len fit in with Cleveland? That's a double-edged sword. At Maryland Len was at his best when he was frequently involved and handling the ball, and maybe his greatest flaw was a tendency to fade into irrelevance and non-assertiveness when not featured prominently in offensive sets. Mike Brown has never, ever run NBA offenses based around his bigs (probably because he's generally been coaching LeBron James and Kobe Bryant), and that won't change with Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters leading the way for this bunch of Cavaliers. Len would probably spend plenty of possessions doing little more than setting picks, which doesn't bode well.

Yet Brown has a history of working with talented big men. Most recently, the already-established Pau Gasol had some success under him for a year in Los Angeles, and it's not insignificant to note that Andrew Bynum's best season came under Brown''s watch of the Lakers. Perhaps Brown could find a way to involve Len appropriately at the offensive end, while letting him anchor the Cavs' half-court defense (maybe learning under Anderson Varejao). And there's a chance that the team's skilled guards could draw double teams up high and leave Len alone with helpless defenders near the rim, where he was sometimes dominant in College Park.

For Len to be taken first, Brown would obviously have to like his chances with the latter scenario.

Maryland Minute - 6.17.13 - Terps' 2014 Basketball Class Sees Rankings Boost

2013-06-17T13:00:09Z

2014 Basketball Class Rankings - ESPN
In case you missed it, ESPN now has Maryland's 2014 class ranked...#3 in the nation (I believe that was BEFORE the Nickens commitment.

2014 Basketball Recruiting Team Rankings
247 Sports now has Maryland as #4 in the class of 2014.

Jared Nickens on Terps commitment: ‘I just fell in love with Maryland’

Sitting down to dinner with his parents, Turgeon, Wells and Maryland’s coaching staff at the Washington D.C. Capital Grille, Nickens tapped his water glass and rose up from the table. "I’d like to make an announcement," he said. "I’d like to thank Coach Turgeon for recruiting me, and I want to become a Terp."

Really cool insight about how and why Nickens committed to Maryland. I like how the entire team embraced him and made him feel like he was one of them.

Future Terps enjoy one last night of their high school careers at Big 33 Classic - baltimoresun.com
Cool piece on some future Maryland football players...but one of the more interesting components of this article are the uniforms that Maryland team wore. I wonder if you'll see something similar from UA in the future...

B1G 2013 - Finding the Hate for Maryland
In case you missed it, Off Tackle Empire finished out their "Maryland" week with their Friday hate piece. They do this for every B1G team, so don't take it too personally. But go check it out.

Terps Trio: Danny O'Brien, signees at Big 33, hoops recruit rankings - baltimoresun.com
>Baltimore Sun reporter Jeff Barker and editor Matt Bracken weigh in on the three biggest topics of the past week in Maryland sports, including Danny O'Brien.

Maryland Basketball: A Look At Terrapins' Alex Len's Draft Stock
Here's a not so good review of Alex Len's draft stock with pretty much zero analysis into the reasoning behind why the author thinks he won't be a top ten pick.

NCAA President to Form Council of Athletic Directors - WSJ.com
I'm not a big fan of NCAA president Mark Emmert, so I'm glad he agreed to form a council of athletic directors who would meet regularly with him and his senior staff, starting in July.

Will the Demon Deacons ever wake back up? -- college basketball - ESPN
Poor Wake. I really do hope they turn it around.

Jared Nickens Commits to Maryland

2013-06-16T20:20:30Z

Not even a week after getting the commitment of Dion Wiley, Mark Turgeon has brought in another prime 2014 shooter into Maryland's future - 6'6", 180 pound small forward Jared Nickens, according to IMS.

Last year at Westtown School (Pa.), Nickens averaged around 16 points and five rebounds per game. Nickens received offers from Wake Forest, Oklahoma and Miami, among others.

Rivals, Scout and 24/7 rate him at three stars, and 24/7 rates him the 153rd best player in the country (and fifth in Pennsylvania). ESPN is highest on Nickens, giving him four stars and ranking him third in the state. Maryland's class rankings shot up after the Wiley commitment, and another boost may happen now.

Now Maryland's attention will turn to big men, as they've secured three excellent shooters in the class (don't forget about Melo Trimble). The Terps now have one open scholarship in the 2014 class, and will look for either Chinanu Onuaku, Obi Enechionyia, Trayvon Reed, or Goodluck Okonoboh to fill it.

But today is Nickens's day, and a happy one it is for Terp fans. Maryland gets a shooting forward who will come in the same year that Evan Smotrycz, Dez Wells and Nick Faust are seniors, allowing him to learn the ropes before being expected to seriously contribute.

Here's a highlight video from when he was at his previous school. Enjoy.

Profiles in Terpage - A Countdown to the Football Season: Cole Farrand

2013-06-16T12:00:05Z

A thanks to Gaylen at Black Shoes Diaries for this marvelous work of Photoshop excellence.

Our seri
WEBSITE COUNTDOWN

Today we profile a junior middle linebacker.

Cole Farrand, Junior, Inside Linebacker, #47

Via umterps.com.

Stats:

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 245

Twitter: None that we could find.

Collegiate Stats: 81 tackles (49 solo), 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery

High School Stats (Senior Year): 78 tackles, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one interception returned for a touchdown, three touchdown receptions

Recruiting Ratings: Three stars by ESPN (#25 OLB), two stars by Rivals, two stars by Scout

High School: Pope John XXIII

Hometown: Green Pond, N.J.

High School Highlights:

How'd he get to College Park?

Amid reports that he had drawn interest from Connecticut (and Randy Edsall), Rutgers, Pitt, Penn State, Boston College Iowa, Temple, Virginia and Wisconsin, Farrand committed to Maryland in April 2010. The major recruiting outlets listed him as an outside linebacker, though he's mostly worked on the inside since he's been in College Park. Farrand, who played both as a linebacker and tight end in high school, cited a great visit to spring practice and strong coaching staff interest as his reasons for deciding on the Terps.

During his freshman season, Farrand played somewhat sparingly and almost exclusively on special teams, burning his redshirt. He stepped into a starting role last year and played pretty well, though he was one of the least well-known presences in Maryland's front seven, overshadowed by guys named Vellano, Francis, Hartsfield, Tate, and Drakeford. He started in 11 of 12 games and was generally pretty solid at the MIKE. He had a minimal pass-rushing role but still notched six tackles for loss -- none of them sacks.

Nickname:

The Barge.

(Editor's Note: AWESOME)

Career Highlight:

All-ACC Academic pick in 2012.

Dream Season:

Farrand, now one of the most experienced members of the front seven, continues to be a solid run-stopper and develops as an interior pass-rusher, too, bursting through gaps and pressuring ACC quarterbacks. He goes into 2014 as the guy for Brian Stewart's linebacking corps.

2013 Prospectus:

Though the number of new starters up front for the Terps' defense makes it difficult to assign particular roles, Farrand would seem to again be positioned as a key run-stopper. He did well in that post last year, so it's hard to imagine a year of further growth hurting him. Given the aforementioned losses of Vellano, Tate, Hartsfield, Francis, and Drakeford, though, the Terps could really use a pass-rushing presence from their junior inside backer. We don't know whether Edsall and Stewart are planning to use Farrand for that or whether they'll look more to some of the other new starters near the line of scrimmage. It wouldn't be a surprise, though, to see Farrand snooping around the offensive backfield a little more often.

Up Next:

Our next player (or, perhaps, players?) will try to offer a youthful boost to a position thin on experience.

(Ed Note: For those having trouble, here's a clue: if you take the first letters of each of their last names, it spells out another word for being in a tricky situation).

terp 73 gets on the board.

Standings:

ClickClack62 - 6
curterp - 5
Maryland1206 - 5
Scaletta - 3
noam23 - 3
Redturtle - 2
802Terp - 2
thirstyturtlelives - 2
UATerp - 2
royvan - 2
proudterp - 1
terpsfinish - 1
KHemer - 1
apgibson24 - 1
Seaville81 -1
charmcityking - 1
terp 73 - 1

Andrew Gray Commits to Maryland

2013-06-16T01:20:50Z

Three star Ohio tight end Andrew Gray has committed to Maryland, according to a tweet from Terrapin Times. Gray is a 6'4", 215 pound prospect from Chardon, who becomes the Terps' fifth commitment of the 2014 class.

Gray also listed offers from a host of MAC schools as well as Louisville, and committed after visiting College Park this week. He was recruited by defensive line coach Greg Gattuso. 24/7 and Scout do not have him rated yet, but precedence indicates three star ratings to follow.

Gray joins offensive lineman Jared Cohen, quarterback Will Ulmer, running back Johnathan Thomas and defensive tackle David Shaw in this year's class. Maryland is bringing a tight end into the program this year in Andrew Isaacs.

Gray also marks the Terps' first successful foray into Ohio in a...long time. The last Maryland commit from the Buckeye State was Travis Baltz, back in 2007. I'm sure the conference move had some sway in this.

Ladies and gentlemen, commitment number five.