Maryland AD Damon Evans says he received bad info right after Jordan McNair’s death

It’s been five days since Dr. Rod Walters released his report on the workout that led to Jordan McNair’s death. There are plenty of revelations in the 74 pages, including that someone didn’t tell the truth about what happened that day to university administrators.

From page 66 of the report:

Information reported to UMD attorney, athletic director, and senior administration two days post event was not representative of activity and care on the field May 29, 2018. Review of videos confirmed UMD administration’s concerns.

The discrepancy in question was whether or not McNair completed the 10 110-yard sprints before showing signs of heatstroke. At a press conference the day after the lineman’s death, then-interim athletic director Damon Evans said McNair completed the workout before “our trainers noticed that Jordan was having some difficulty recovering.” According to the Walters report, McNair passed seven of the 10 sprints, failed on the following two runs and needed assistance finishing the 10th.

Evans released a statement to The Washington Post on Tuesday. Here’s part of it.

“I regret that those details, which were based off the information shared with the university at the time, contained inaccurate information. We learned through the preliminary findings that the appropriate protocols were not followed, and the university apologized for the mistakes made. We have committed to implementing the Walters review recommendations and taking further actions to enhance the safety of our student-athletes.”

The source of the false info, be it a trainer, coach or other school official, is unknown.

Maryland first discussed preliminary findings of the report at its Aug. 14 press conference, at which university president Wallace Loh said the school accepted “legal and moral responsibility” for McNair’s death. Before then, school officials remained steadfast that the proper protocols were followed. DJ Durkin asserted at Big Ten Media Days that McNair completed the sprints.

The full Walters report contains 124 pages, so a large portion of the investigation’s findings were redacted. Prince George’s County prosecutors have requested the full report and plan to investigate whether any criminal charges should be filed.

In other news

There’s no Maryland football media availability during the bye week, but on the Big Ten Coaches’ Teleconference yesterday, Matt Canada said he had “nothing to report at this time” on any of the Terps’ injured players. That list includes at least Darnell Savage, Antwaine Richardson, Jake Funk, Damian Prince, Johnny Jordan and Marcus Minor. (We know that Lorenzo Harrison III was ready to go if needed against Minnesota; only Funk’s injury was known among those listed above.)

When the Terps—and hopefully some of those players—return to the field in Ann Arbor, they’ll be on ABC.

Maryland alums in the NFL had a mostly quiet Week 3.

Akok Akok, a four-star center whom Maryland was high on, does not have the Terps among his five finalists.

The current Maryland basketball team starts practice today. But first, the Terps took to the track for some go-kart racing.