Officially chalk me up as scared:
Coach Ralph Friedgen confirmed that cornerback Kevin Barnes will be out for the season with a severe shoulder injury. Barnes will undergo surgery to repair a fractured scapula (shoulder blade), as well as an injured labrum and rotator cuff. Barnes will need five or six months to rehab.
This is a huge detriment to this team. Barnes was consistently one of the best defensive players on the team, and a legiit shutdown corner. He was incredibly important simply due to the fact that there was very little quality behind him.
Unfortunately, now, Maryland will probably be at a bad spot in the secondary. Nolan Carroll will likely start in place of Barnes at the #1 spot, while Anthony Wiseman will probably be the #2 corner. Expect Jamari McCullough to move over from safety to corner, which means more time for Kenny Tate at safety. Michael Carter will probably get some more PT as well, backing up Carroll. I've always liked Carter; he's a hard worker on special teams.
Looking to the future, this'll have a rather large impact. Nothing against Nolan Carroll - he is one of my favorite Terps - but North Carolina with Hakeem Nicks, Boston College with Rich gunnell, and Florida State with Greg Carr and Preston Parker are all left on the Terps' schedule - and all of them are legit #1 wideouts. They're stars who probably would've been counteracted by KB, but will now have a slight advantage over Carroll/Wiseman.
I was leaning toward Maryland as having a slight edge for the Atlantic champion and a trip to the ACC title game, but this really hampers the Terps' chances.