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Maryland football hasn’t officially announced the hiring of James Madison offensive line coach Bryan Stinespring, but the move seems to be complete, as some of his former players at Virginia Tech have tweeted their support.
The Maryland Terps are in good hands with my former o-line coach Brian Steinspring in charge now. Congrats coach!
— Michael Vick (@MichaelVick) January 8, 2018
(It’s B-r-y-a-n with a “Y” but we’ll let it slide.)
Michael Vick led the Hokies to a National Championship game berth in 1999 and was awarded ESPN’s ESPY for the nation’s top college football player in 2000. Fellow Hokie DeAngelo Hall played defense and was never directly under Stinespring’s tutelage, but shared Vick’s sentiments. Stinespring recruited Hall out of Deep Creek High School in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Big congrats to the man that brought me to #VT @BryanStiney headed to @TerpsFootball y’all getting the BEST coach I know. I guess I can watch you guys too!!!!! #Terps&Hokies
— OG aka CAPTAIN 23 (@DeAngeloHall23) January 8, 2018
Hall was a Second Team All-American after his junior season and was selected eighth overall in the 2004 NFL Draft. He’s since played four seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, part of one with the Oakland Raiders and has been with Washington since the middle of the 2008 season. Hall’s been selected to three Pro Bowls in his career.
The point is: Stinespring’s coaching record speaks for itself, but it speaks volumes when former players—especially ones of Vick’s and Hall’s caliber—feel the urge to publicly support a coach joining a one-time conference foe.
In other news
Stinespring will have at least one more experienced offensive lineman to coach as senior tackle Derwin Gray announced he’ll be returning for his final season of eligibility next year.
It’s not officially Bruno Fernando Week here at Testudo Times, but maybe it should be. He earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors yesterday after dunking all over Iowa (which was a crazy game) and putting up 45 points and 25 rebounds in three games this past week.
He even made Sung Min’s photo his profile picture on Twitter!
I'm glad @BrunoFernandoMV likes my photo! Real recognize real. #Terps pic.twitter.com/8SL6cvpTb5
— Sung Min Kim (@sung_minkim) January 8, 2018
The United States Men’s National Team and the U.S. Soccer Federation are doing some soul searching after missing out on the 2018 World Cup, but former Terp Zack Steffen was invited to January camp. He should have a decent chance at making the roster if U.S. Soccer is serious about a youth movement.
Maryland is officially not in four-star target Mychale Salahuddin’s final four. This was first reported a few days ago, but now he’s confirmed.