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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - With just five days to go before the team's first preseason football practice, head coach Randy Edsall visited with the media Thursday at the Gossett Team House.

Edsall spoke to assembled group for about 45 minutes and touched on a number of subjects:

• The fullback position is wide open with the departure of Taylor Watson and Haroon Brown. Rahsaan Moore is atop the depth chart entering the preseason.

• Though each position has key performers returning, there is expected to be a battle for back up roles at offensive line and linebacker.

• Four former walk-on seniors have been awarded scholarships. WR Webb Dulin, LS Tim Downs, DB Anthony Green and TE Ryan Schlothauer will all be on scholarship this fall.

• Pete DeSouza, who was injured last October in a motor scooter accident, has been cleared to return to the practice field. DeSouza played in five games, including starts at right tackle, last season as a redshirt freshman.

• Justin Gilbert and Stephen Grommer, a pair of offensive linemen, are the lone Terps who will be limited when practice opens next week. Gilbert, a fourth-year junior, is still recovering from spring knee surgery and may not return until October. Grommer, an incoming freshman, is recovering from a foot ailment.

• James Joseph, a transfer from Bowie State, is one of four walk-ons who will join the program for preseason practice. He will be the fourth quarterback on the roster. WR Ryan Carter, LB Garrett Lederman and DB Luke Smith are also walk-ons who will join the team for preseason camp.

The Terps open practice Tuesday and will have 29 workouts leading up to the season opener vs. Miami on Monday, Sept. 5. (8 p.m.).

Terp Notes

12 Days of ACC Football: Maryland is featured Thursday on the league's '12 Days of ACC Football.' Click here to check it out.

Chick fil-A Challenge: Randy Edsall was one of 12 prominent college coaches to participate in the Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge charity golf tournament in May. Edsall was joined by former Terp and NFL quarterback Stan Gelbaugh and the pair raised $10,000 for charity. ESPN2 is replaying the tournament at noon Saturday.

Quotes from Head Coach Randy Edsall

Opening Statement:
"It's good to see everyone here today, from myself and the other coaches. It's been a hectic, productive seven months. To me these are the times you have to put in the hard work and preparation for the season, because you just don't roll out on August 9 ready to play. I feel good about the seven months we've been here. I feel good about where we are as we head into the 2011 season."

"We've been able to make a lot of progress. Academically, I am very proud of the freshmen who were here the first six weeks of summer for their classes. They did a good job in the classroom and they got a head start in their academics."

"I've been very fortunate to see our new uniforms and I think they are really cool and great. To me, Under Armour did a great job with the design. It's something that everyone will be looking forward to see."

"As far as our players go, we do have some injuries. As we start practice, we have two players who will sit out. Justin Gilbert will be limited to individual work; he probably won't be ready to go until October. Stephen Grommer won't be ready to go; he had a fracture in his foot. We'll have to see how he is when he gets back for practice on August 9. Pete De Souza is cleared for full contact. We are going to put him in individual work to see where he is and if he is going to be able to progress into the team work. We're going to have see if he'll be ready based on how he moves while he is out there. For the rest of the team, from what the captains have told me, they have had a good summer and we will find that out on Tuesday morning."

"As we go into preseason there are some things that we need to get ironed out. Out front the offensive line, just in terms of who the backups are going to be. We'll have some competition to hopefully get two-deep, which is every coach's dream to go into the season. But what you want are those eight guys to work into the positions on the offensive line. There are going to be great opportunities for these guys, like Cody Blue and Jake Wheeler, they're going to get a lot of reps early on. Will they be able to come in and play a backup left tackle? Those are some of the things you continue to find out in the preseason. Josh Carey is ahead of Pete White but how is Pete going to work and who is going to be the fourth guard? De'Onte Arnett, Nick Clark and Gary Harraka could all be in the running. It's hard for the freshmen in those positions, but I like what I've seen of the kids from walking around."

"I like to reward the young men for the job that they've done and we've been able to award four young men who were walk-on players here and put them on scholarship this year: wide receiver Webb Dulin, long snapper Tim Downs, defensive back Anthony Green and tight end Ryan Schlothauer. The long snapper position that is so important, it can make such a difference in a ball game. It was a nice thing to reward these four after the hard work they have put in. AJ [Green], Tim [Downs], and Webb [Dulin] will be graduating in December and so it's a good thing to take some of the burden off of them for this year."

"For the running backs, Davin [Meggett] and DJ [Adams], I feel good about that. But then there are Jeremiah Wilson, Justus Pickett, and Brandon Ross, who will have the opportunity to fit in. It's going to be interesting to see where that third guy is going to be. I do think whether it is wide receiver, running back or defensive back, these are where our freshmen can really make a move contributing. I feel really good about the guys we have at those positions."

"We do have another quarterback who is walking on. James Joseph is a young man who is transferring here from Bowie State who attended Bishop McNamara High School. He will be with us in the fall, which gives us four quarterbacks. This is good because we have three that can work the game plan and one working the scout team."

On Danny O'Brien's leadership:
"Having played quarterback myself, that position is one of leadership. If you're not going to be a leader, it's pretty hard to play the position of quarterback and be effective. Danny is a guy that is always talking with his offensive line and receivers and is one who is always in the film room looking and is really another coach on the field.

"Again, I think there are guys who have the raw ability to play the position but he is a guy that does have the ability to play the position and have the ability to play that leadership role on the team. There are some guys that aren't great leaders who play quarterback; he is a guy that has those tangible qualities that you want and commands the respect of his teammates, which is as important as anything. Those guys look him in the eye and believe in him. Some guys have it and some guys don't. Danny O'Brien has it."

On positions up for grabs:
"Fullback is one position where we have three guys, and that position is wide open. [On the offensive line] can Pete White do enough to overcome Josh Carey at guard? At cornerback, we have Cameron Chism, Trenton Hughes and Dexter McDougle on the other side of the ball. Up front we're going to have players that might have played a year ago who are going to need that fire in their belly and have to get out there and prove themselves again. In the spring, we have several who are number two on the depth chart; did they have that hunger this summer to work harder to earn back their spot? Those are some positions where it's up for grabs. I know who my linebackers are going to be but who will be the backups? I'm going to tell my team on Monday night, `There is somebody who is sitting here, that earned the starting spot in spring, who will no be starting come September 5.' It happens every year."

On Davin Meggett being the featured running back:
"I told him he needs to be ready to be a work horse. I think he relishes that opportunity and he needs to be a complete running back. I don't want him as just a first or second down guy, I want him out there playing all three downs. I know that in my mind he has the ability to do that. For example he needs to be a better pass protector. But that is the challenge for him, that's the message we've told him. We want him to be the every-down back and do a good job in pass protection. We believe he has all the necessary skills to do that. We as a coaching staff believe in him and know that he can do that and do those things."