Preseason Football Camp Log: Day Six
8/15/2009 8:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 15, 2009
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland Terrapins capped off their first week of preseason football camp with a spirited two-hour scrimmage Saturday evening at the on-campus practice facility.
With many regulars playing limited snaps, the coaching staff used the first of three preseason scrimmages to evaluate a number of the younger players.
"We've got to get guys in the right spots," head coach Ralph Friedgen said after the scrimmage. "We've got to look at this film and make some good decisions on who we think can help us. Then we have to start working with those guys and try to get them better."
The Maryland defense, under first-year coordinator Don Brown, looked to be ahead of the offense, racking up 12 sacks, including two each by Derek Drummond and Obum Akunyili.
Drummond, who is expected to be a fixture at one of the end positions, also had the first scoring play of the day, sacking Jamarr Robinson in the end zone for a safety on the third series, which began at the 5-yard line.
Safety Kenny Tate also had a stellar day, posting a scrimmage-best five tackles (all solo), including two tackles for loss and one sack. He also picked off Robinson on one of the final series of the day and returned the ball 18 yards.
Antwine Perez and Avery Murray were also in on five tackles apiece. Brandon Jackson-Mills and Eric Franklin also intercepted passes.
In all, the defense allowed the offense to score on just three drives during the regular portion of the scrimmage which featured 19 possessions, starting from various points on the field.
"Defensively, we're playing very well," Friedgen said. "We've got a lot of speed, a lot of guys running around. Kenny Tate keeps making plays whether he's intercepting passes or sacking guys. Obviously, I feel good about where we are defensively. I think we have some depth. We're playing a lot of young kids too."
The offense fared a little better during three goal-line possessions at the end of the day. Davin Meggett scored on a 2-yard run and Nick Wallace booted a 32-yard field goal, though Mike Barbour had the best day among the place-kickers who are vying to replace two-year starter Obi Egekeze. Barbour was 4-for-6 on the day, but did miss a 26-yard field goal during the final goal-line possession.
"I would have liked to see Barbour make that last kick and I think he would have had the job sewn up, but we'll have to wait a little bit," Friedgen. "I thought he kicked better than Wallace today, but I have to keep putting pressure on him and see what he can do under pressure."
Despite being sacked for a safety and having one pass picked off, Robinson had a fairly solid scrimmage, hitting on 6 of 8 passes for 97 yards, including a 32-yard completion to Quintin McCree which set up the offense's second touchdown, a 5-yard plunge by Taylor Watson.
Freshmen running backs Caleb Porzel and D.J. Adams showed flashes as well. Porzel had all 50 yards on the first scoring drive of the day. He raced 44 yards to set up a first-and-goal situation and one play later scooted around the left side on a 2-yard touchdown run.
With Chris Turner seeing action on just three possessions, the bulk of the signal-calling went to Robinson as well as freshmen Danny O'Brien and C.J. Brown.
The performance of the freshmen signal-callers was a little uneven, but not unexpected.
"We had a certain number of plays we wanted to see with Chris," Friedgen said. "I feel Chris has been playing real solid so we wanted to see what Jamarr would look like with the first team and get a look at these two freshmen. It was just the second day in pads for them so they were a little nervous at first which is normal. For the amount of reps they've had and for what we have in offensively, they didn't play bad. Most guys can't get out of the huddle at this point in time."
In addition to Turner seeing limited action, starting center Phil Costa was held out to give the younger guys some reps along the offensive line.
"No question that Phil's our leader," Friedgen said. "He's the quarterback of our offensive line. We're putting in (John) Dillon, who's a walk-on. It's probably the first time he had played against the first team (defense). We wanted to get Bennett Fulper some reps, see what he could do in that position. A couple times he snapped the ball late, or snapped it early. But young guys do that some times."
The team is off Sunday, but will return to the field Monday for two workouts. The first practice is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. and the second gets underway at 5:25 p.m. Both workouts will take place at the on-campus practice facility.
Preseason practices are closed to the general public, but open to members of the Maryland Gridiron Network (MGN) and Terrapin Club.
Terps Notes:
Scrimmage Tidbits: The scrimmage featured three drives starting at the offense's 5-yard line, six at its 25-yard line and nine at the 50 ... after the defense recorded its safety, Travis Baltz ripped off a 78-yard punt from the 2-yard line. Tony Logan returned it 20 yards and looked elusive in his three attempts ... Caleb Porzel had a scrimmage-high 48 rushing yards and 23 more on three punt returns before leaving with a slight knee sprain. "I think he got more scared than anything else," Friedgen said. Friedgen liked what he saw from his two true freshmen running backs - Porzel and D.J. Adams. Adams rushed six times for 24 yards, including a 2-yard TD run ... despite the performance of Porzel and Adams, Friedgen would like to see some improvement in the running game. "Offensively, I think we're more ahead in the passing game than we are in the running game. That's what we have to concentrate on and get better at. It's going to take both to have a good offense."
Scrimmage Statistics
Scoring Plays
Regular Scrimmage:
Drummond Safety (Robinson sacked in end zone)
Porzel 2-yard TD run (Wallace 35-yard PAT - GOOD)
Barbour 35-yard FG
Watson 5-yard TD run (Barbour 45-yard PAT - NO GOOD)
Goal-line Scrimmage:
Scott 1-yard TD run, Wallace 35-yard PAT - GOOD
Wallace 27-yard FG
Meggett 2-yard TD run
Adams 2-yard TD run, Barbour 42-yard PAT - NO GOOD
Offense
Rushing (Carries-Yds./TDs):
Porzel (5-48 / 1 TD), Bonato (6-29), Adams (6-24), Meggett (6-17), M. Green (5-4), Braxton (3-3), Watson (1-2 / 1 TD), Scott (1-1), Lee-Odai (1- [-1]), Robinson (6- [-4]), Turner (5- [-4]), O'Brien (3- [-11]), Brown (3- [19])
Passing (Comp.-Att.-Yds. / TDs / INTs):
Robinson (6-8-97 / 1 INT), Brown (4-13-32 / 1 INT), O'Brien (3-5-7 / 1 INT), Turner (2-4-4)
Receiving (Rec.-Yds. / TDs):
McCree (1-32), Lee-Odai (2-23), Williams (1-22), T. Galt (2-16), Adams (2-12), Cannon (1-12), Green (2-8), Meggett (1-5), Porzel (1-5), H. Brown (1-4), Tyler (1-1)
Defense
Tackles (Solo-Assisted-Total):
Tate (5-0-5), Perez (4-1-5), Murray (3-2-5), Wujciak (3-1-4), Drakeford (3-0-3), Drummond (3-0-3), Jackson-Mills (3-0-3), Harrell (3-0-3), Sule (1-2-3), Russell (1-2-3), McCollough (1-2-3), Akunyili (2-0-2), Gloster (2-0-2), McDougle (2-0-2), Rhodes (1-1-2), Francis (1-1-2), Watson (1-1-2), Davidson (1-1-2), Hartsfield (0-2-0), Graham (1-0-1) Franklin (1-0-1), Skinner (1-0-1), Cannon (1-0-1), D. Galt (1-0-1), Kerr (1-0-1), Moten (1-0-1), Chism (1-0-1), Pooler (1-0-1), Wright (1-0-1), Whitfield (1-0-1), Walker (0-1-1), Kabongo (0-1-1), Carroll (0-1-1), Green (0-1-1), Ross (0-1-1), Anderson (0-1-1)
Tackles for Loss (No.-Yards):
Akunyili (2-11), Drummond (2-9), Drakeford (2-7), Tate (2-6), Sule (1-7), Murray (1-7), Franklin (1-7), Harrell (1-5), Russell (1-5), Davidson (1-3), Gloster (1-3)
Sacks (No.-Yards):
Akunyili (2-11), Drummond (2-9), Franklin (1-7), Sule (1-7), Murray (1-7), Drakeford (1-5), Russell (1-5), Harrell (1-5), Davidson (1-3), Tate (1-3)
Interceptions (No.-Yards):
Tate (1-18), Jackson-Mills (1-0), Franklin (1-0)
Special Teams
Field Goals:
Barbour 4/6: (47-yard FG - GOOD, 35-yard FG - GOOD, 35-yard FG - GOOD, 45-yard PAT - NO GOOD, 32-yard PAT - GOOD, 40-yard PAT - NO GOOD)
Wallace 2/4: (55-yard FG - NO GOOD, 42-yard FG - NO GOOD, 35-yard PAT - GOOD, 27-yard FG - GOOD)
Ferrara 1/1: (45-yard FG - NO GOOD)
Punts (No./Avg.):
Baltz (4/51.25) Ferrara (2/41.5)
Punt Returns (No./Avg.):
Logan (3/14.7), Porzel (3/7.7)
