Welcome to the second edition of Terrapins Mailbag, a new feature around these parts, which isn't physically a mailbag but is nonetheless a medium for audience-writer interaction over the World Wide Web.
Thanks for taking my Twitter solicitation and asking lots of good questions this week. Let's get to 'em:
@alex_kirshner Have you considered doing a football season preview that goes game by game and tries to predict the final season record?
— Ndamukong Jew (@Terpish) July 13, 2015
Sort of, kind of.
We all do this in our heads whenever a football schedule comes out, don't we? It's pretty easy to do, especially given the collegiate level's 12-game schedule. The exercise is pretty silly because of how much changes during the season, and the chances of shooting 12-for-12 are minuscule. With that said, I'm not above a harmless thought exercise, so:
- Richmond: Win
- Bowling Green: Win
- South Florida: Win
- at West Virginia: Loss
- Michigan: Loss
- at Ohio State: Loss
- Penn State: Loss
- at Iowa: Loss
- Wisconsin: Loss
- at Michigan State: Loss
- Indiana: Win
- at Rutgers: Loss
@alex_kirshner Have we perfected time travel enough yet to skip to next season and the Dwayne Haskins Era?
— RM Cooper (@RFCapsMoustache) July 13, 2015
They're doing some impressive things over in the Clark School. I wouldn't put it past them.
From a social science standpoint, next season's going to be really interesting. College sports are cyclical, and Maryland very much looks to be on the "down" part of its cycle in 2015. Will Likely could intercept 10 passes, Brad Craddock could make 30 of 30 field goals from an average of 55 yards out, and Yannick Ngakoue could notch 10 sacks from his new position as a 4-3 scheme's defensive end.
Even if all of those things happen, Maryland doesn't have a lot of matured talent this season, and the Big Ten East is shaping up like a tough neighborhood. Good times are probably coming, but they probably won't come this year. Will everybody stay calm if the short term turns ugly? I'm sure not, but it's a nifty thought to kick around.
@alex_kirshner When will Haskin's decommit to go be a Florida Gator? I would like to know the date and hour expected.
— Ryan Hartman (@RyHart24) July 13, 2015
Honestly, I just don't understand the instinct to put an apostrophe in "Haskins." There's nothing possessive there, is there?
Besides, Friend of the Mailbag Pete Volk found the other day that any rumblings of Maryland's demise with its future program-altering quarterback had been greatly exaggerated
"Dwayne Haskins is not visiting Florida. Kill that," said Dwayne Haskins, Sr. "We are committed to making the movement work."
On the one hand, verbal commitments aren't even worth the paper they aren't printed on. The very nature of a verbal commitment is that either party can back out of it at any time. (See: Jordan, DeAndre.) But there's no indication Haskins is anything less than totally and fully committed to play his college football with the Terps.
@alex_kirshner 1) who's the next domino to fall in #TheMovement 2) who can we reasonably expect to join Cowan in the '16 class?
— free tom brady (@PolSportScoop) July 13, 2015
Pete can answer this one:
1) The most likely next domino is 4-star DeMatha WR Tino Ellis or 3-star Wilson RB Abdul Adams, if he decides to flip from Michigan State. 2) To be honest, I don't feel comfortable answering this question yet just because the class is still so wide open. We'll continue to provide updates, however.
@alex_kirshner @testudotimes which current NBA player that played at UMD is the best now and which has the brightest future? #TerpsMailbag
— Sean Michael (@Sean_Michael_DC) July 13, 2015
The best player right now is definitely Grievis Vasquez, the freshly minted property of the Milwaukee Bucks himself. I wish I'd been able to see Vasquez play live in College Park, because everyone who went to school here while he did has basically deified the man. He's turned himself into a better than competent NBA rotation piece, which is no small feat. He isn't a star, but he's got 13 win shares in what's somehow already a five-year career.
Who's got the brightest future? It can't be 35-year-old Steve Blake, so the process of elimination takes us to the recently undrafted Dez Wells and 2013 lottery pick Alex Len. From there, it's got to be Len, who blossomed a bit for Phoenix last year and now looks like one of the better players out of an albeit abysmal class. He increased his field goal percentage from 42 to 50 in his second year in the league, and his per-36-minutes stats got better across the board.
The Suns' signing of center Tyson Chandler doesn't exactly bode well for Len, but he should be a productive pro for a lot of years. He's the best NBA prospect Maryland has to offer for, oh, another 11 months.
@alex_kirshner What's the first beer you'll get at a football game?
— Jack Trimble (@JackT144) July 13, 2015
Beer probably won't flow in the press box, so that answer might have to wait until my next life. But given that this football season will be my last as a student, I'm way into the idea of watching at least one game from the bleachers, like I used to do when I was still fun. In that case, it'll be a failure on the part of all parties involved if Terrapin beer isn't made available.