The following is the second in a three-part series previewing the 2010 Maryland football team. The Terrapins, who return 52 letterwinners from last year, open fall practice on Tuesday in preparation for their season opener on Monday, Sept. 6 (4 p.m.) vs. Navy in Baltimore.

Today's portion of the season preview takes a look at offense which has seven starters back from last season.

Outlook Schedule on umterps.com:
Overall Overview/Specialists      Sunday, Aug. 8
Defense			        Tuesday, Aug. 10

Offense

Quarterback

With the departure of three-year starter Chris Turner, the Maryland quarterback position will have a different look in 2010. While there will be less experience at the position, the Terps are armed with five talented and athletic signal-callers.

Junior Jamarr Robinson enters the preseason atop the depth chart after starting two of the final three games of 2009 and having a solid spring.

"The final four games of last year really helped Jamarr," Friedgen said. "I think he's playing at a much higher level now. His decisions were much improved. He has the ability to make a bad play into a good one."

Already in possession of a strong arm, Robinson showed his elusiveness in a pair of near upsets at the end of last season.

Subbing for an injured Turner, he rushed for 129 yards against Virginia Tech, the third-highest total by a quarterback in school history, and posted 271 yards of total offense in a last-second loss to Florida State.

"There were some positives with Chris getting hurt," Friedgen said. "It forced us to play Jamarr. I thought he got better each and every game. Now we have a quarterback who has some experience."

Robinson, who completed 46 of 85 passes (54.1 percent) for 459 yards in his brief time, also demonstrated the ability to keep the ball away from the opposing defense by not tossing an interception all season.

Robinson is the only quarterback on the roster who has thrown a pass in a collegiate game, but that's not to say there isn't plenty of talent at the position.

"I feel good about our quarterback position for the future," Friedgen said. "The biggest thing right now is we have four freshmen - two redshirt freshmen and true freshmen - in the mix and then Jamarr, who's a redshirt junior. We should be stable there for quite a while."

Redshirt freshmen Danny O'Brien and C.J. Brown will also vie for time under center.

"I feel good about both of those guys," Friedgen said. "They just don't have the experience. Hopefully we can get them some snaps."

O'Brien served as either the No. 2 or 3 quarterback last season and possesses a strong arm with good mobility. He came out of spring practice No. 2 on the depth chart behind Robinson.

Brown, the more mobile of the two, ended the spring third on the depth chart, but he should challenge for time in the fall.

The two true freshmen quarterbacks are Devin Burns and Tyler Smith.

Burns, a tall, mobile signal-caller from Columbus, Ga., enrolled in classes in January and took part in spring practice. He was impressive in limited duty.

Smith will join the team in August and comes with an impressive pedigree.

He was a three-year starter at Wilson Area High School in Easton, Pa., where he was a 2009 SuperPrep All-American. Smith ended his career second on both the all-time Pennsylvania high school passing yards (8,035) and touchdown passes (87) lists.

Running Back

Once again Maryland is deep at the running back position.

For the second-straight season, the Terps have just one senior in the running back corps.

Three-year starting fullback Cory Jackson is gone from last season's squad. He didn't gather many statistics in his four years in College Park, but he was a tremendous blocker and special teams player, as well as a team leader.

Da'Rel Scott, now in his final season, hopes to return to his All-ACC form of two years ago after an injury-plagued 2009 campaign.

Scott missed five games with a broken forearm and was only able to gain 405 rushing yards.

The year before, Scott posted 1,133 rushing yards, the seventh-highest total in school history.

Barring an injury, he should become the 10th back in school history to reach 2,000 career rushing yards early in the season.

Scott, more of a breakaway threat, is complemented for the third-straight year by Davin Meggett, a between the tackles runner.

Meggett is also hoping to regain his form of two seasons ago when he rushed for 457 yards, the most by a Terp true freshman back since LaMont Jordan (1997), and averaged 5.13 yards per carry.

Friedgen has seen even further development in each of his top two tailbacks.

"Da'Rel and Davin really improved this spring," Friedgen said. "Both have accelerated their game. I'm pleased with what Da'Rel is doing without the ball. I think our ball security was much improved over last year.

"Davin was doing a better job reading his keys. He had better acceleration and ran harder."

There is also depth behind the top two backs.

Redshirt freshman D.J. Adams is penciled in as the No. 3 tailback after an impressive spring which was capped off by 71 yards and two touchdowns in the annual Red-White game.

"I thought he did an excellent job in the goal-line and short-yardage situations," Friedgen said.

Sophomore Gary Douglas, an elusive runner, showed flashes last season and will also push for time.

"I think we have four good tailbacks," Friedgen said.

With Jackson gone, there will be a new fullback opening holes for the tailbacks.

Taylor Watson, who has played a reserve role the last two seasons, was penciled in as the starter heading into spring practice, but the junior hurt his knee during the second workout and is out of action until early in the season.

However, an injury generally opens up an opportunity for someone else on the roster.

Haroon Brown, who redshirted last season after seeing time as a reserve his first two years, may have benefitted from the injury.

"Losing Taylor Watson hurt us in the spring, but Haroon came in and played the best football since he's been here," Friedgen said.

There should be a good battle for the starting spot when Watson returns from injury.

Louis Berman also had an opportunity to see increased time in the spring, moving to No. 2 on the depth chart. The former linebacker impressed the staff with his toughness.

"He could fill a role for us in short-yardage or goal-line," Friedgen said. "I wouldn't be surprised to see him play some this year."

Paul Lariviere, who has battled injuries the last two seasons, is another veteran fullback who gives the Terps depth.

True freshman Rahsaan Moore, a native of District Heights, Md., will join the team in the fall and could enter into the mix.

Wide Receiver

Another position of strength for the Terps is wide receiver. The top nine players on the depth chart are back from last season, including all-league pick Torrey Smith, who emerged as one of the top playmakers in the country a year ago, and Adrian Cannon, who had a breakout 2009.

"This is a strong point for us," Friedgen said.

Smith was one of the focal points of the offense last season from his X receiver spot and is likely to garner a bigger role and more attention from the opposition this year.

He led the team in receptions (61), receiving yards (824)and touchdown catches (5). His receptions total was fifth-best on the Maryland single-season list, while the receiving yards were sixth.

Smith's receiving and return prowess made him one of the top all-purpose performers in the nation.

He averaged 182.7 all-purpose yards per game which is the fifth-best single-season mark in ACC history.

Seeing his first significant career action, Cannon proved a reliable threat opposite Smith.

He was second on the team in receptions (44) and receiving yards (468), posting career highs in both categories.

Despite those numbers, he's likely to battle with Kevin Dorsey for time at the X receiver position.

Dorsey battled foot problems early in his career, but saw increased time last season and had a strong spring campaign.

"We would not hesitate to play either one of them," Friedgen said.

Veteran Emani Lee-Odai, who has played in 33 career games, could also be a factor at the position.

Smith will be backed up by Quintin McCree and Tony Logan.

McCree played in 11 games last season. He had just five catches, but has good speed and size.

Logan has seen most of his action on special teams, but has demonstrated the ability to make tacklers miss.

"We feel like we have three quality players there," Friedgen said.

Ronnie Tyler, LaQuan Williams and Kerry Boykins should battle for time at the slot receiver spot.

Tyler was the third-leading receiver a year ago, posting 28 receptions for 346 yards.

After suffering through an injury-plagued 2009, Williams played in all 12 games last season, recording 10 catches for 99 yards in a reserve role.

Boykins played in 10 games, but saw most of his time on special teams.

"We feel very strong about all three guys at that spot as well," Friedgen said.

The wide receiver position has a little bit of everything.

"All of these kids have played," Friedgen said. "We have experience, talent and speed."

But Friedgen is still hoping for improvement.

"We just need to make some more plays and be more consistent," Friedgen said.

There are also some talented players behind the top nine wideouts.

Webb Dulin, now in his fourth year in the program, has demonstrated toughness as one of the most athletic players on the team.

Eric Powell and Joey McQueeney are veteran receivers who give the Terps needed depth.

Offensive Line/Tight End

The Terps hope to benefit from last year's inexperience along the offensive line.

Graduation hit the line hard heading into last season as the Terps lost five of their top seven performers from 2008, including three All-ACC performers.

Despite losing two starters in Bruce Campbell and Phil Costa off last season's squad, Maryland should have a more experienced line this year.

Paul Pinegar, Andrew Gonnella and R.J. Dill are the returning starters and two others, Bennett Fulper and Justin Lewis, earned starts last season.

"We're much improved," Friedgen said. "The key is to stay healthy."

Last season Campbell and Fulper missed significant time and the line never had time to jell.

Pinegar is the most seasoned of the offensive linemen having played in 24 games. He has also been the most versatile performer upfront.

Pinegar started at left tackle, right tackle and left guard in 2009. He moved into the center position during the spring and did a capable job.

"He was a pleasant surprise," Friedgen said. "He played better than I thought he would at center."

John Dillon and Chris Rhodes are behind Pinegar on the depth chart. Sal Conaboy, a true freshman, will get a look at center as well.

Friedgen likes the situation at tackle.

R.J. Dill earned freshman All-ACC honors last season after starting eight games at right tackle.

Sophomore Justin Gilbert, who played in 11 games in 2009 as a reserve, opens the season as the No. 1 left tackle.

"Gilbert showed vast improvement in the spring, and so did Dill," Friedgen said.

Nick Klemm (left tackle) and Pete DeSouza (right tackle) will serve as the top backups. Both are big, physical players who redshirted last season.

Gonnella benefitted from his time last season. He started in eight of the 11 games he played in at right guard.

However, he seems to have found a home at left guard.

"Gonnella showed great improvement in the spring over last season," Friedgen said.

Pete White, another highly regarded redshirt freshman, will serve as Gonnella's backup.

There should be a battle at right guard with Fulper and Lewis.

Fulper played in the first seven games, including four starts (three at left guard/one at right guard), last season before a shoulder injury ended his true freshman campaign.

Lewis had a nagging shoulder injury, but still managed to start three of the final six games at right guard.

"Fulper and Lewis were not at full strength in the spring, though both played better as the spring went along," Friedgen said.

Friedgen is hoping for increased competition from the reserves.

"We really need to see improvement with our second team," Friedgen said.

With the exception of Fulper and Lewis, no member of the second unit has played a snap.

Friedgen would like the second teamers to ease their way on the field.

"An injury here or there and we'll be forced to play with them," Friedgen said. "I'd like to see those guys play about 10 plays a game so we can slowly get them ready."

There is some depth behind the first and second team.

Former defensive lineman Cody Blue will push for time at right tackle after redshirting last season

Jon Simpson, another redshirt freshman, is penciled in as a reserve at left tackle.

The Terps could also get help upfront from some newcomers.

Max Garcia and Jake Wheeler are highly-regarded first-year players. Garcia will start out at right tackle, while Wheeler will step in at left tackle.

Maryland will also hope to get some more production from its tight-end position which features the Y (on line of scrimmage) and F (H-back) spots.

"We're fairly solid at tight end," Friedgen said. "We have a lot of options."

Devonte Campbell took over as the starting tight end at the end of last season. He's a strong, athletic player who saw action in 10 games last season, though he caught just five passes.

Campbell has played mostly the F tight-end position, though he actually saw time at fullback in the spring due to the injury to Taylor Watson.

Lansford Watson also played in 10 games last season, posting 10 receptions. He could have an expanded role this year.

Sophomore Matt Furstenburg will also battle for time at the F position. Furstenburg played in 11 games, including one start, last season.

Dave Stinebaugh redshirted last season, but impressed the staff on the scout team. He was the 2007 Baltimore County Player of the Year.

Sophomore Ryan Schlothauer, who pushed his way up the depth chart last season, could also see time.

The wild card at tight end is senior Will Yeatman, a two-sport standout. Yeatman, who transferred from Notre Dame in 2009, spent the last two seasons with the Terrapin lacrosse team. He played on the Fighting Irish football team in 2006-07 and should add a physical presence at the position.