If Danny O'Brien went down to injury last week against Florida International, you know who would've taken his place? Not Jamarr Robinson, who was still injured. Not Devin Burns, who's a redshirt freshman. Nope, it would have been Tony Logan, who just happens to be Maryland's most electric player.
Logan, if you were wondering, was a quarterback in high school before switching to wide receiver at Maryland and eventually becoming the full-time punt returner. He was warming up on Saturday before the game, and apparently Maryland was ready to use his QB skills if they had to.
Of course, they'd run a full-time Wildcat (Wild Turtle?) with Logan under center, throwing only rarely. We got to see a small preview of that package when Logan twice took to the field. Neither play was successful; both were rushes for no gain, and one came controversially on a 3rd and 3.
But we've seen this before, notably with the flexbone that Maryland debuted against Morgan State and have used occasionally ever since. Don't be surprised at all to see this formation again.
Ralph Friedgen alluded to it when discussing the formation, via Patrick Stevens:
"I'd still like to use some quarterback runs," Franklin said. "We're not really in a position to do that with our depth, so that gives us the ability to do some of those things. Although the defense knows you're running, they still have to account for everybody. Now you get a chance to get a hat on a hat. How much we'll use it, I don't know. We'll see how it goes. It still is in the game plan."
Two things: first, I don't really like the whole "defense will know we're running" deal; one of the advantages of the Wildcat is that you can throw, as a surprise. He obviously doesn't want to tip his hand with that, so I'm not worried too much, but I found it notable.
More importantly, it's "still in the game plan." The real question is for whom is it in the game plan? If Danny O'Brien takes over for Jamarr Robinson full-time, the Wild Turtle was supposed to be Robinson's package. Logan certainly seems more dangerous with the ball, though, and if he can pass effectively, the formation gets that much more dangerous. It's a very interesting facet of the formation that's getting glossed over; Robinson could find himself without much playing time if Logan claims this job.
It's something I've been calling for (albeit with Torrey Smith) for quite some time. It just makes a lot of sense, especially for an offense that may or may not struggle with a freshman QB.