The ELO Controversy
Ok, first was this news:
* Wideout Emani Lee-Odai (ankle) will miss the first week of camp. Given Maryland's wideout depth, that's a serious blow for his chances of earning a starting gig for the Sept. 5 season opener.
I couldn't say it any better myself - if he missed a full week, the position would be too crowded to make it up. Then this trickled out via @insidemdsports on Twitter:
Emani Lee-Odai is practicing.
Not quite the most informative of revelations, but it tells us what we need to know. And that would be that ELO is still fighting for a spot. He's played through injuries before, so you know he has heart, but he needs to get healthy.
Look for Depth Chart Changes: Smith to Flanker, Cannon Taking Over Split End?
That's probably the best thing to do. Adrian Cannon was extremely impressive in the spring, and probably earned a starting spot, but was stuck behind Torrey Smith, probably the best receiver on the team. The solution? Switch Cannon over to split end, where there's a heavy position battle going on currently, while Cannon takes Smith spot. It's expected Ronnie Tyler will take the final spot. And just like that, the position battle is solved.
Gotta love Don Brown - D1scourse
Already better than Cosh?
"He was one of the best defensive coaches in the CAA," Wilder said. "I always felt like when we went against him, our game plan had to be right on point. If we were not ready for everything, he was going to exploit it. He was one of those coaches who liked to get a feel in the first quarter for what you were doing, find out what your weaknesses were and he was going to attack it."His blitz packages were as good as any I’d seen in college football. Every week you had to be ready for something new. That guy, he’d be in two-down fronts, three-down fronts, four-down fronts. He’d be in nickel, dime packages. There were times he’d have seven defensive backs on the field in obvious pass sets. Your protections had better be air-tight, or you were going to get exposed."
Da'Rel Scott: The 195th Best Player in College Football; Wujciak at #151
Yea?
195. RB Da'Rel Scott, Jr., Maryland So much for the awkward rebuilding process that was supposed to take place in 2008. Life after Lance Ball and Keon Lattimore wasn’t so bad after all, thanks to the emergence of 5-11, 200-pound junior, Scott, who parlayed 1,133 yards and eight touchdowns on 209 carries into a spot on the All-ACC first team. He also has soft hands, catching 21 passes for 171 yards. A former 100-meter sprint champ in high school, he has breakaway speed and runs with the pad level to bull his way to extra yards.
Apparently, Alex Wujciak is better, clocking it at 151. I disagree, but still, cool.
The career of the 6-3, 255-pound Wujciak was shot out of a cannon in 2008. A year after missing the entire season to a knee injury, he had a team-high 133 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss, en route to the All-ACC second team. A high-motor, high-intensity performer, he has the size, range, and instincts to be one of the nation’s premier inside linebackers.
Tracking the Terps: More from media day
Two things caught my eye:
*Fridge on the quarterbacks: "To me, the key is Chris (Turner) has got to come through and have a big year for us.On Jamar (Robinson), I think we've got to get him in the game to see if we have a quarterback for next year, too."
Does he mean a real game? If so, it'd probably be against James Madison. That'll be...interesting.
*Fridge on the place kickers' competition being undecided: "Mike Barbour won the kicking (competition) in the spring. But not by much."
Either he's not impressed with Barbour or Wallace - the most likely conclusion, which would mean Nick Ferrara is all but a shoe-in - or Wallace and Barbour were both extremely impressive, which, honestly, I have a bit of trouble believing.
Hey! Did you hear Ralph Friedgen has lost weight?
The AP continues to bash this story into the ground.
Tracking the Terps: More from media day
Two things caught my eye:
*Fridge on the quarterbacks: "To me, the key is Chris (Turner) has got to come through and have a big year for us.On Jamar (Robinson), I think we've got to get him in the game to see if we have a quarterback for next year, too."
Does he mean a real game? If so, it'd probably be against James Madison. That'll be...interesting.
*Fridge on the place kickers' competition being undecided: "Mike Barbour won the kicking (competition) in the spring. But not by much."
Either he's not impressed with Barbour or Wallace - the most likely conclusion, which would mean Nick Ferrara is all but a shoe-in - or Wallace and Barbour were both extremely impressive, which, honestly, I have a bit of trouble believing.
USA East Wins NIKE Global Challenge
Finally wrapped up. Terp target notes from Rivals:
Roscoe Smith was the Leading rebounder for the USA with nine boards, and he also scored 12 points and two blocks.
He got support from C.J. Leslie, who had 20 points on 9-14 shooting, eight rebounds and three blocks.
Heyward-Bey's rookie woes a drop in the bucket for Raiders - USA Today
More on Heyward-Bey's issues with the Raiders. Like most Terp fans, I believe he'll come out of it, but there's a ton of pressure on him.
Recruiting Report: Weekend wrap
Matt Bracken recaps the weekend action, as he does without fail.