Spring Practice Report No. 6

April 20, 2006

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The following are reports from the University of Maryland practice fields from April 18th and 20th, practices nine and 10 in a spring session of 15 outings for the Terp football team. Reports will be filed every Monday and Thursday afternoons as the team progresses toward the annual Red/White game next Saturday, April 29th (3:00 p.m.).

Tuesday, April 18

On the heels of a long scrimmage Saturday in Byrd, the Terps got back on the practice fields and spent most of the day working and learning from their efforts of a couple days prior.

In the kicking battle, Friedgen stated after practice that Obi Egekeze had a better day than Dan Ennis, but that Ennis still had the lead in the competition for the starting job. The duo battled to nearly a draw in the scrimmage, with Ennis making one more field goal in the same number of attempts while neither player missed a PAT.

After having a strong scrimmage on Saturday, WR Drew Weatherly showed up at practice Tuesday with his arm in a sling. Weatherly did not know the extent of his injury after Saturday, but it turns out the arm he hit on a defensive back's helmet was bad enough of a contusion that he had to be taken to the hospital Saturday night. His status is day-to-day and he is expected to return to the next scrimmage this coming Saturday.

Production from the receivers has been one of the keys to spring and though progress has been made, Friedgen is certainly working to tweak the group to get the best he can from them. To that end, he has made some position shifts as Danny Oquendo, the most consistent of the young players, has moved to the "Z" spot and Nolan Carroll has moved inside to slot.

One receiver who continues to impress is Darrius Heyward-Bey. This morning the youngster went up and made a leaping catch in traffic.

A couple of the younger defensive players also made plays on Tuesday as second-year players Marvin Peoples and Barrod Heggs each came up with a sack in team drills.

Friedgen on what he saw after watching film of Saturday's scrimmage: "There was some good and some bad, but the positive thing was that we got better offensively as the scrimmage wore on...I think when we made it to goal line, we were 141 plays in and the effort and intensity was still good."

Thursday, April 20

The team was again in full pads today, this time in their last practice before scrimmage #2, the last time before the spring game that players will give it a full go in an effort to make ground on the depth chart.

In pass coverage drills between the tight ends and linebackers, Joey Haynos has done a good job of getting open down the middle of the field, using his height and good hands. Another good play was also turned in by Dan Gronkowski who barely got a step on Barrod Heggs but had a pass dropped right where it needed to be by Josh Portis and Gronkowski out-fought his man for the ball.

Terrell Skinner returned to practice today and was greeted with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Steffy in blitz drills.

OG Jaimie Thomas did a nice job pulling - and taking out two would-be tacklers -- on a delay to Lance Ball, hearing encouragement from an injured Keon Lattimore on the sideline.

Running with the second team in team drills, second-year lineman Travis Ivey heard the praises of defensive coordinator Chris Cosh on one play where he clogged the middle and made the stop on Ball.

Fullback Tim Cesa, who is really coming on now that he is in his second year at fullback, made a nice diving catch in goal line on a pass from Sam Hollenbach to score for the offense.

On another end zone pass in goal line, CB Jamari McCullough made a diving interception in front of all of his defensive teammates while covering Jason Goode, drawing their praise and thwarting a scoring opportunity.

Friedgen on the progress of the wideouts: "I think (Drew) Weatherlyh is doing a nice job with his leadership, something he hasn't displayed before this year. Through 10 practices, he has done just about anything we could have hoped for from him and he really played well in the scrimmage. Injuries have set us back a little at that position because of our youth, but I am not one to sit back and make excuses - we have to get it done."

Spring Game TV Air Time Set
This year's spring game will be aired tape delay by ESPNU, a first for the Terrapins. The game will air Sunday, April 30, at 3:00 p.m.

The game, called by Voice of the Terps Johnny Holliday, will also be carried on WHFS 105.7 FM and may possibly be carried by several other Terrapin Radio Network affiliates as well as WMUC, the student radio station (www.wmucsports.com).

Dates to Remember

April 22 -- Scrimmage #2 (2:45 p.m.)

April 29 -- Annual Red/White Game (3:00 p.m.)

May 6 -- Maryland Football Gala

September 2 -- Season opener vs. William & Mary (6:00 p.m.)

For updated practice schedules and information on other Maryland football events, visit the Maryland Gridiron Network website.

Players Mentioned

Lance Ball

Nolan Carroll

Obi Egekeze

Jason Goode

Dan Gronkowski

Joey Haynos

Darrius Heyward-Bey

Travis Ivey

Keon Lattimore

Danny Oquendo

Josh Portis

Terrell Skinner

Jordan Steffy

Jaimie Thomas

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