Preseason Football Camp Log: Day Four
8/13/2009 8:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 13, 2009
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland Terrapins hit the practice field for the fourth time this week on Thursday, holding their last session with shoulder pads. Friday's workout will feature full pads for the first time.
The practice again consisted of about an hour of individual workouts and an hour of team drills.
"I thought we had a real good practice today," head coach Ralph Friedgen said. "I thought both sides of the ball competed well. We might have thrown the long ball as good we have since I've been here. We must have hit four or five long go routes. They were perfectly thrown and there was good coverage. That was encouraging. Chris (Turner) hit a couple and Jamarr (Robinson) hit a couple. Tony Logan caught one or two. Torrey Smith caught one. Emani (Lee-Odai) made an unbelievable catch on one.
The Terps have a number of talented receivers, and the competition to see who wins the starting positions will be a developing theme throughout camp. Friedgen has been impressed with the progression that senior Chris Turner has made so far. Turner has shown the ability to make the deep throws, evade pressure and has had several good runs throughout the week.
"Chris (Turner) is playing very well right now," said Friedgen. "His decision-making is real good. In the past if a guy came free and he had to throw hot off it, the guy would jump up in his face and Chris would invariably get the ball knocked down. He would get frustrated. Today that happened and he dropped down and threw side-armed around the guy. He did that three times today and was able to make some plays."
Turner is entering his third year as the starter and is playing like it.
"He looks like he's reading (the defense) well," Friedgen said. "His ball location is good. He looks like his decisions are good. He's playing like a veteran quarterback. This is the best he's ever practiced. He's calm and collected."
Friedgen was also pleased with the improvement of the receivers who had a number of dropped balls during Wednesday's practice.
"I've been on their butts to catch the ball," Friedgen said. "We did a better job of catching the ball today. We had a few drops, but not that many. We had more good catches than drops. If those even out, you're generally in good shape.
The Terps will hold a single practice Friday as they are scheduled to take the field at 4:25 p.m. Saturday will be the team's first day of two practice sessions.
Preseason practices are closed to the general public, but open to members of the Maryland Gridiron Network (MGN) and Terrapin Club.
Terps Notes:
Armstrong Leaves Team: Sophomore Dion Armstrong has decided to leave the team, head coach Ralph Friedgen announced after Thursday's practice. The defensive tackle informed Friedgen of his decision earlier in the day. "Dion came in this morning and thanked me," Friedgen said. "He said he was sorry he disappointed me and decided he was going to transfer." Armstrong sat out spring practice to concentrate on his academics. He did participate in the first three preseason practices, though his eligibility for the 2009 season was in question. "I've been pleased with the way we've been working (as a team) and that's what I'm going to concentrate on," Friedgen said. Armstrong played in all 13 games last season, posting 22 tackles, though he was not listed on the depth chart entering preseason camp. Senior Travis Ivey and redshirt freshman A.J. Francis are atop the depth chart at tackle. Zachariah Kerr, Ian Davidson and Joe Vellano are the top backups on the interior of the line. Kerr and Vellano are redshirt freshman, while Davidson is a sophomore.
Practice Tidbits: Sophomore defensive back Cameron Chism displayed good coverage on Thursday, particularly on one play. On a quick slant route, Chism matched the receiver step for step and although the pass hit the wideout right in the chest, Chism timed his hit perfectly, reached in and knocked the ball away. Chism is part of a strong cornerback unit that also includes Nolan Carroll, Michael Carter, Trenton Hughes and Brandon Jackson-Mills ... defensive lineman Obum Akunyili reacted quickly to a fumble, diving to the ground and recovering the loose ball ... after missing nearly all of last season with a foot injury, wideout LaQuan Williams is beginning to round into form. The junior is running good routes and was able to pick up good yardage after the catch in 11-on-11 drills ... Gary Douglas again showed he has great potential at the running back position. The redshirt freshman's overall athleticism and cutback ability gives the Terps a dangerous weapon to go along with Da'Rel Scott, Morgan Green and Davin Meggett ... senior safety Jamari McCollough, who tweaked his hamstring Wednesday, did not practice Thursday. He is not expected to miss much time.
Linebacker Play: Adrian Moten seemed to be all over the field Thursday, making several good plays. On a play when the linebacker was in zone coverage, Moten read the QBs eyes perfectly, anticipated and made an interception. Later, on a blitz, he burst through the line and got to the QB quickly, causing an errant throw that was picked off by Kenny Tate. Teamed with Drew Gloster, Demetrius Hartsfield and Alex Wujciak, the Terps should have a formidable set of versatile LB's. "Kenny Tate picked off another pass and scored," said Friedgen. "He keeps showing up and making plays. Moten and Wujciak and Hartsfield are all playing pretty well. I'm a little more concerned with our second team. The competition is very good right now. And the effort is very, very good. Some plays the offense wins and some plays the defense wins."
Terps in the NFL Update: Entering preseason camp, there were 39 Terps on NFL rosters. Many of them are making an impact. Check out what's happening with some of them:
