Randy Edsall called some kind of mini-press conference today, updating reporters on a few roster notes and discussing where things are with the football team. The biggest news is in the headline: he's more than a little upset about Maryland's academic situation, and he's not afraid to say so, in very particular terms. Via Terrapins Insider, emphasis mine:
"One of the things that we have to get corrected this spring is I didn't inherit a very good situation here in terms of the academics, in terms of where the players were and some of the issues that we have to deal with in terms of people having to do things this semester to make sure they're eligible," Edsall said. "And that was one of the situations that I had at running back, because we do have some people there that aren't where I want them to be from an academic standpoint.
"I was a little bit shocked about what I saw here from an academic standpoint."
First off, the particular of it is that he mentioned running back specifically, which means that one of D.J. Adams, Davin Meggett, or Gary Douglas is in some trouble. None have had serious problems in the past, so it'd be foolish to speculate on which has/have work to do. I will say that if it's Adams, it's a huge blow; he's primed for a breakout year.
Secondly, Edsall was pretty frank, especially with that opening statement about not inheriting a good situation. It sounds more than a little accusatory, both to the previous administration (both Yow/Anderson and Fridge) and the current players.
Academics are a touchy subject in Maryland sports. Between all the grad rate hullabaloo and the uptight admissions policies sticking around as a legacy from the Bias tragedy, a mention of "Maryland athletics academics" is a guarantee to stir up some trouble. Football has had a rough go of it lately, losing Ronnie Tyler in the bowl game and Caleb Porzel before the year started. Hopefully things get shored up on the academic support side.
A few other notes from a variety of places:
- As mentioned in a FanPost earlier, Devin Burns is becoming a WR. That's good; he wasn't going to see time at QB. I still like him a lot, and hopefully he can be a sort of dual-threat (double pass, anyone?).
- Two notes from Friend of the Blog Rick Snider. The first: Crowton expects to pass more than run, which I like, plus use some no-huddle. That doesn't sound like Edsall's run-first attack, and that's probably a good thing. Maryland has an All-ACC level QB, and they need to use him.
- The second: Bradford will run a 4-3 with a lot of blitzing. Okay then. Nothing groundbreaking.