March 7, 2006

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The following is the first in a six-part series previewing the Maryland football team as it heads into spring practice for 2006. Check back every Tuesday and Thursday before the start of camp on April 1st for the most recent preview. Today's segment features a brief overview of spring before taking a look at the Terrapin quarterbacks.

Maryland Spring Preview
Outside looking in, the Maryland football program has its work cut out for it in this year's session of spring football. And though the work is never done for a Ralph Friedgen-coached football team, this group of Terps is in much better shape than one would tend to think of a squad coming off of a pair of seasons without a bowl game.

The Terrapins return seven starters on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball and the team's punter, placekicker and other specialists all return. Moreover, a team which had success moving the ball a year ago returns what could be one of the league's top offensive lines and the starting backfield, while losing a grand total of just four lettermen on the entire defense.

While spots remain where faces will be new, and there were key losses like All-Americans Vernon Davis and D'Qwell Jackson, the 2006 Terrapins will be more in a mode of fine-tuning than overhauling this spring. At the same time, they will be working under new direction on offense (though in the same offensive system) and defense, with the addition of defensive coordinator Chris Cosh.

Below is a position-by-position breakdown of this year's spring football session at the University of Maryland:

Quarterback
One would be hard pressed to find anyone who would say that the Terrapins did not make significant progress at the quarterback position a year ago. Sam Hollenbach brought a gunslinger's mentality to the offense that produced over 2,500 yards passing, but because the team still turned the ball over and was unable to put a couple of games on ice, the race for the starting job will open again this spring and fall.

There is no question that Hollenbach is the front-runner at this point, and there is no reason to suspect that he will not be much improved in his final season. The Pennsylvania native played very well at times in his first year as a starter, but seemed to struggle after a shoulder injury against Virginia Tech. All things considered, it is his job to lose and if his decision-making and game management can improve, the Terps will have a potent aerial attack.

The primary challenger for the starting job - at least heading into spring - will be sophomore Jordan Steffy. Steffy redshirted a year ago and seemed to improve mentally and mechanically when given additional snaps in the last four-five weeks of last season. True signs of his progress and whether he is able to challenge for the starting job will likely not be evident until he is tested in the offseason scrimmages.

Bobby Sheahin is a walk-on who has impressed coaches and will be eligible this season. A transfer from West Virginia, Sheahin may have the strongest arm of those competing for the job this year and has been compared by coaches, ironically, to another former WVU transfer, Scott McBrien.

Now in his second year, Chris Turner will be working on continuing to learn the offense as well as improve his arm strength, while first-year transfer Josh Portis (Florida) is a highly regarded signal-caller who is easily the best runner of the group. He will get snaps in the spring in an effort to help him learn the offense before working mainly with the scout team in 2006 (a role McBrien also took on in his first year at Maryland).

"I would like to see us establish a guy this spring who can help us cut down on mistakes, have a better understanding of the offense, where to go with the ball and overall, how to manage a game better," said Friedgen.

Spring Outlook Schedule