Oct. 4, 2007

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland held its final practice of the week Thursday evening in preparation of Saturday's Atlantic Coast Conference football home opener against Georgia Tech.

The Terps (3-2, 0-1 ACC) ran through their regular Thursday routine of special teams and two-minute drills, and finished installing the playbook for Saturday's showdown against the Yellow Jackets, who are coming off an impressive 13-3 over No. 13 Clemson.

It remains unclear who will start at quarterback for the Terps. Coach Ralph Friedgen has maintained that Jordan Steffy will start if he is healthy, but Chris Turner, who performed admirably in last week's 34-24 upset of Rutgers, will be ready to go if Steffy cannot play. Steffy remains questionable for the game while he recovers from a hit in the second quarter of last Saturday's game.

"Jordan was better today," Friedgen said after practice. "We'll wait and see at game time, but he was better than he's been."

The Maryland coach was also impressed with Turner's body of work this week on the practice field.

"Chris has practiced better this week. He really has," Friedgen said. "Maybe it's the possibility of playing, but he's been pretty good this week. He's done some things that have really impressed me. He's made some big-time throws. I think his arm has gotten stronger. He didn't miss many things today."

Turner completed 14 of 20 pass attempts for 149 yards against the No. 10 Scarlet Knights, directing four scoring drives and leading the Terrapins back from a 17-14 halftime deficit. For his efforts, he was voted ACC Co-Offensive Back of the Week.

At the conclusion of practice, Friedgen announced the captains for Saturday's game, as chosen by the players. Senor safety Christian Varner will represent the defense, senior running back Keon Lattimore, the offense, and reserve wideout and holder Matt Goldberg, the special teams unit.

Andrew Gonnella, a freshman offensive lineman from Monroe, N.Y., and defensive back Brandon Jackson-Mills, a redshirt freshman out of Germantown, Md., were chosen as the offensive and defensive scout team players of the week.

Kickoff for Saturday's game against Georgia Tech (3-2, 1-2 ACC) is set for noon ET from Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium. The Terps nearly took last year's game in Atlanta, but ultimately came up short in a 27-23 loss to the 18th-ranked Yellow Jackets.

The game will be carried regionally by Raycom/Lincoln Financial Sports. Locally the game can be seen on WJZ-TV 13 (CBS) in Baltimore and WDCA-TV (My 20) in Washington, D.C.

The broadcast can be heard over the Terrapin Sports Radio Network, which includes WHFS 105.7 FM in Baltimore, WJFK 1300 AM in Baltimore and WJFK 106.7 FM in Washington, D.C.

A limited number of tickets are available through the Maryland Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-IM-A-TERP or by clicking here.

The game will be replayed at 7:30 p.m. Sunday on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, following the replay of the Outback Ralph Friedgen Television Show.

The Friedgen Television Show airs initially at 11:30 a.m. each Saturday.