Maryland Preseason Football Camp Log: Day 11
8/15/2008 8:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 15, 2008
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland football team often chants `hard work' as it breaks from the team huddle at the start of practice. That has, after all, been one of the themes for the Terrapins' the past two weeks.
Such diligence was on display Friday morning during the 14th practice of preseason camp when the Terps enjoyed yet another productive session in preparation for the 2008 season. Enduring 90 minutes of drills under the August sun, the team appeared relatively energized despite having occupied the same practice field just 14 hours earlier for a mock scrimmage.
"I was pleased today that we came back right away and had another good practice this morning," head coach Ralph Friedgen said. "I try to make little notes from year to year on which practices aren't good, and normally this isn't a good one. I knew they were tired, but I thought we got something out of today's practice."
Having perhaps its best workout of camp, the offensive unit caught fire during a red-zone drill at the end of the session thanks to the receiving abilities of wideout Danny Oquendo, who snared three touchdown passes in a span of 10 minutes.
Quarterback Chris Turner rebounded from a spotty performance in Thursday's scrimmage by completing three consecutive passes for touchdowns in the red zone - two to Oquendo and one to fellow wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey.
Signal-callers Jordan Steffy and Josh Portis promptly followed suit with touchdowns during the same drills, as the former connected with wideout Quinton McCree and the latter threw Oquendo's third score.
Earlier in practice, Heyward-Bey showcased his breakaway speed on two occasions. On one play he caught a pass across the middle of the field and beat a pair of defensive backs to the outside for big yardage. Several minutes later, the junior from Silver Spring, Md., caught an 80-yard touchdown pass from Steffy after out-sprinting the opposition on a deep route.
"I thought our secondary got beat more today than they have the whole camp," Friedgen said.
For Heyward-Bey, Friday's morning practice marked a continuation of his ongoing preseason battle with defensive back Kevin Barnes, which has proven beneficial for both veterans and entertaining for onlookers. Barnes did manage to return an interception for a touchdown Friday morning.
Hoping to shore up its special teams unit, the Terrapins also engaged in punting drills during an early segment of practice. Punters Travis Baltz and Ted Townsley worked on booming punts regardless of the quality of the snap they received. Downfield, junior Anthony Wiseman and freshmen Kenny Tate and Tony Logan awaited the punts and practiced returns.
The Terps reconvene on the practice field Friday evening to complete the latter half of the two-a-day session. They will scrimmage Saturday evening at Chevy Chase Field at Byrd Stadium.
Practices and scrimmages are closed to the public.
Terp Notes:
Mock Scrimmage Rewind: After watching most of the film of Thursday's mock scrimmage, Friedgen thought the team made progress on both sides of the ball. "Offensively, I thought we did some better things. We improved on some of our mistakes. Defensively, we were really short on linemen with (Dean) Muhtadi out." The Terps lost defensive linemen Travis Ivey (foot) and Carl Russell (knee) earlier this week for an extended period of time ... Friedgen was impressed with Jordan Steffy's opening drive of the controlled scrimmage and thought Josh Portis did "a couple good things." He didn't think Chris Turner had as a good a scrimmage as the other two, but his three red-zone touchdowns in Friday's morning practice "caught his eye." ... CB Anthony Wiseman was impressive in Thursday's scrimmage and has been solid throughout camp, but struggled some in coverage Friday morning. Friedgen also singled out other members of the secondary, specifically Kevin Barnes and Terrell Skinner for their improved play. The eighth-year head coach also indicated that Nolan Carroll, who is vying for a starting cornerback spot, should return to full speed in a couple days. He's also noticed the play of Antwine Perez who "has showed up lately."
Getting a Leg Up: With two of the top running backs (Keon Lattimore and Lance Ball) in school history departing last season, the Terps are in the market for a starting tailback. Sophomore Da'Rel Scott looks to be playing like a No. 1 tailback, though more than one is likely to see action during the regular season. Fellow sophomore Morgan Green entered camp atop the depth chart with Scott, but he has been out of action since the first scrimmage. In his absence, Scott and true freshman Davin Meggett have taken the bulk of the snaps. But it's been Scott who has stepped to the forefront after improving his pass protection and remaining healthy. "Da'Rel has been pretty durable this camp and has gotten a lot tougher,' Friedgen said. "He's really showed me something this camp. He has that burst." Scott has also been required to block linebacker Alex Wujciak on a number of plays. While he hasn't won all the battles, Scott has more than held his own against one of the Terps fiercest defenders.
Country Rhode: With a number of defensive linemen out with a variety of injuries, redshirt freshmen Chris Rhodes was added to the 105-man camp roster to add depth. Rhodes sat out last year after joining the team when school began. He played locally at River Hill High School.
Football Tickets on Sale: Season tickets for this fall's seven-game home slate start as low as $189 and are on sale through the Maryland Athletics Ticket Office. Single-game tickets went on sale last week. To purchase season or single-game tickets, call 1-800-IM-A-TERP or click here. The Terps open the season on Saturday, Aug. 30 (3:45 p.m.) when they play host to Delaware.
