Preseason Football Camp Log: Day Four
8/9/2007 8:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 9, 2007
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Several players on both sides of the ball stood out for the University of Maryland football team Thursday evening in the fourth practice of preseason camp.
Rain showers held off and temperatures were much cooler than Wednesday when practice was pushed back to the evening.
"I wasn't displeased with the practice," head coach Ralph Friedgen said of the workout. "The kids are giving good effort, hopping around and competing."
The secondary continued to impress with excellent closing speed and ball skills, while Jordan Steffy, currently the leader in the quarterback derby, demonstrated patience and awareness in the pocket.
"I thought the offense did some better things tonight (than last night)," Friedgen said. "I think we threw the ball a little bit better. We still dropped some, but not as many as yesterday."
The play of the defensive backs may have led to some of the drops.
Senior Christian Varner, the team's starting strong safety, made two consecutive plays on the ball in team drills.
After allowing wideout Danny Oquendo to get by him near the sideline, Varner closed quickly and knocked the ball from Oquendo's hands as he moved to bring it in. On the next play, Steffy rolled out and fired into the middle of the defense, but Varner stepped in front of the pass and nearly had an interception.
Cornerback Anthony Wiseman also put in a strong day of work, closing quickly on several balls thrown in his direction, and either knocking the ball to the turf or tackling his man for no gain after the catch.
Steffy and Josh Portis, two of the team's top three quarterbacks had their moments as well, however. Both signal-callers continued to prove elusive, using their speed to escape the pocket when it collapsed and showing good agility in extending their runs down the field for big gains.
Steffy proved effective throwing the ball as well as using his legs. The fourth-year junior showed improved decision making, as he checked off his options on several plays before finding his running backs underneath for the safe completion. The longest gain of the day's team session came when Steffy hit redshirt freshman wideout Adrian Cannon who was uncovered 20 yards downfield on the left side of the defense, turning it into a huge gain.
Friedgen mentioned after practice that the freshmen would get a number of snaps during Saturday's scrimmage, the first of the preseason and the second day the team will be in pads.
"I'm going to try and scrimmage quite a bit of the younger kids Saturday to see if anyone can help (this season)," Friedgen said.
He expected the first and second teams to see about 30-40 plays, while the third and fourth teams, where most of the freshmen reside, will see about the same number of snaps.
With the need to replace both kickers this fall, the Terps are likely to spend increased practice time in that area as camp continues.
Chris Roberts, who's battling with Travis Baltz for the punting job, has shown a strong leg.
"The guy I'm impressed with right now is Chris Roberts," Friedgen said. "He's getting real great height on the ball."
Baltz is also battling Obi Egekeze for the place-kicking job.
"Obi is kicking the ball very well right now," Friedgen said. "Maybe as good as he has since he's been here and our defense has been giving him a phenomenal rush."
The Terps hit the practice next at 4 p.m. Friday when they will be in pads for the first time in the preseason.
All practices and scrimmages remain closed to the public, while credentialed members of the media may attend the first five periods (approximately 30 minutes) of each workout, except scrimmages.
