COLLEGE PARK, Md. – A lot has happened in Terrapin land since the calendar turned to December and the umterps Notebook is here to get Terrapin Nation up to date on the latest news and notes.
There's A New Sheriff In Town
Last Wednesday Director of Athletics Kevin Anderson introduced DJ Durkin as the 36th head coach in the history of the Maryland's football program.
Durkin immediately made an impact on everyone who met him with his enthusiasm, competitive nature and genuineness.
Many casual fans were probably unfamiliar with Durkin prior to his introduction as the Terrapins head coach, but people inside the industry had nothing but positive reactions to Durkin's hiring. Take a look:
“I think it's a great hire by Maryland. He's tough, he's hard-nosed, he believes in playing great defense, he's a heck of a recruiter. … DJ Durkin is special, and he's going to do a great job.” - John Harbaugh, Head Coach Baltimore Ravens
“I really like the hire. I don't know if I've seen anything more impressive than what he's done with the Michigan defense from last year to this year. He turned that defense around in one year and made them one of the better defenses in the country. He's shown that he understands Big Ten football and understands what it takes to make a big turnaround in the Big Ten. I think it's a very good get for Maryland.” - Joey Galloway, ESPN College Football Analyst
“It's a smart hire, he's a great coach. He's been around some of the greats. He's been around Urban Myer, he's been around (Nick) Saban. He's been around Jim Harbaugh twice now. Just meeting with him and getting to know him a little bit, very bright mind. Players respect him a heck of a lot at Michigan. I think he was one of the underrated coaches in college football this year.” - Todd McShay, ESPN College Football Analyst and NFL Draft Expert
“DJ is one of the bright young minds in the coaching profession. He is a great teacher, recruiter and has a deep passion for the game and helping young men develop both on and off the field. He did a wonderful job while here at the University of Florida. Everyone here loved working with DJ. He is a winner.” - Jeremy Foley, Director of Athletics University of Florida
Durkin's former players also were quick to comment on their former coach getting his chance to be a head coach.
“I was with DJ when he was a graduate assistant at Notre Dame and he worked with the defensive line exclusively. He's been successful at each stop and I think it's a credit to how he relates to players. He's really a players' coach. I know he's coached some great players that have gone on to play in the NFL. He's young and energetic. He brings a different approach to coaching that I hadn't seen before. He's a tremendous hire for Maryland.” - Justin Tuck, Oakland Raiders Defensive End
“Great coach, great motivator, great person. One of the best special teams coaches I've ever seen. He's just an intense guy; players loved him. ... I'm happy for him. I think he's going to do awesome.” - Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins Tight End
With Durkin's hiring, Maryland now has the youngest head coach of any Big Ten program. At 37 years old, Durkin is younger than Chris Ash (41) of Rutgers and Pat Fitzgerald (41) of Northwestern. If fans think 37 is too young they should remember that Fitzgerald took over the Wildcats program when he was 35 years old and has led Northwestern to six bowl games in the past eight seasons.
Terp fans should keep their eyes out for some innovative content on Coach Durkin on umterps.com in the coming days, including some exclusive video footage of his first day on campus. This is great stuff you won't want to miss.
Hoops Teams Go Undefeated In November
There are 346 men's teams and 344 women's teams that play Division I basketball in the NCAA. After the first month of the season there are only seven schools that have unbeaten men's and women's basketball teams and Maryland is among those.
Mark Turgeons' men's team finished the month of November with a perfect 6-0 record following a pair of wins at the Cancun Classic. This is the second straight season the Maryland men's team has boasted a perfect mark in November (the Terps were 7-0 last season).
The men's hoops team has now won 17 consecutive games in the month of November. The last time Maryland dropped a November game was Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013 vs. Oregon State in XFINITY Center. Fans might remember that one for a certain Beaver fan in attendance.
In case you're wondering – only three current Terps saw action in that loss to Oregon State. Jake Layman had 15 points and 7 rebounds vs. the Beavers, while Damonte Dodd and Varun Ram each played a minute or less.
Brenda Frese's women's team heads into December with an unblemished 6-0 mark after winning the Reef Division of the Paradise Jam tournament.
This is the first time the Terp women's team has been unbeaten in November since 2011 when they were 8-0 in November en route to starting the season with 16 consecutive victories. That season Maryland didn't suffer its first loss until Jan. 12 at Miami.
This season marks the first time since 2006 that the Maryland men's and women's teams are undefeated through November. In 2006, both men's and women's teams were 8-0 at the end of November.
FYI – the other six schools with undefeated in November men's and women's teams this season are: Kentucky, Oregon, Purdue, South Carolina, UTEP and Washington State.
While the men's team dropped a close one in Chapel Hill last Wednesday to fall from the ranks of the unbeaten, last week marked a milestone for Maryland. Last week was the first time both the men's and women's teams were ranked in the top five of the AP poll in history. The men's team was No. 2 and the women' checked in at No. 5. Even after the loss the men's team is No. 6 this week, while the women's team remained at No. 5.
Terps Show Talent For Charity
The third annual “Terps Got Talent Student-Athlete Talent Show” was held last Thursday and helped raise $3,500 for the Children's National Health System in Washington, D.C.
Hosted by the Maryland Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (S.A.A.C.), night featured 16 events with student-athlete representatives from 10 intercollegiate teams. The acts ranged from musical numbers to dance routines and skits. The event was emceed by Will Bonaparte (men's lacrosse) and Brene Moseley (women's basketball).
“It's been a growing event that we've been doing and it's really exciting to see all of these student athletes in a different light,” said SAAC treasurer Alexandra Cimino (women's track). “A lot of us have other talents that we really don't get to show; some of these girls are my teammates and I didn't even know they were that talented. Terp Thon was amazing to work with, the miracle children were so excited and so helpful and it's a relationship we definitely want to keep.”
Noella Anyangwe (women's track) and Hailey Murray (women's volleyball) were crowned winners after a beautiful interpretive dance/violin performance to the tune of Drake's “Hotline Bling”.
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Quick Hitters
• The Notebook was pushed back last week due to the announcement of Coach Durkin's hiring, but I wanted to mention the Maryland football team's amazing comeback in its 46-41 win at Rutgers on Nov. 28.
Maryland overcame a 21-point deficit to earn the program's largest comeback victory since 2006. The capper came on an 80-yard touchdown run by senior Brandon Ross in the fourth quarter.
Ross's the 173-yard performance capped off an underrated Maryland career that saw him finish with 2,548 career rushing yards. That makes him just the fourth running back in the history of Maryland football, which dates back to 1892, to rush for more than 2,500 yards in his career, joining LaMont Jordan, Charlie Wysocki and Steve Adkins.
• The Maryland volleyball team also closed its 2015 campaign on a high note with a pair of victories last week, including a 3-0 sweep of Northwestern in the season finale.
Head coach Steve Aird and his program finished 2015 with a 15-19 record, including five wins in the ultra-competitive Big Ten, which led all conferences with nine teams (five of which were among the 16 seeded teams) selected to compete in the 2015 NCAA tournament.
• The ending wasn't so sweet for Maryland's men's soccer team. Head coach Sasho Cirovski's troops battled Clemson to a 1-1 tie through regulation and two overtime periods, but were unable to advance in the shootout.
The Terrapins finished the season with a 12-5-6 mark and a Big Ten tournament championship.
• Fans coming to Saturday's men's basketball game vs. Maryland Eastern Shore should stick around XFINITY Center and head to the pavilion to see the Maryland gymnastics team's annual Red/Black Meet at 7:30 p.m.
• While Black Friday and Cyber Monday are behind us, there are still plenty of deals available for Maryland fans to make this holiday season a Terrapin one.
A limited number of hand-painted, game-worn 2.0 helmets are available at the umterps.com Team Issued Gear Store, along with a lot of other items.
If you're looking for something a little easier on the wallet and want to leave the gift-giving up to Testudo you can send your friends or family (or both) a Mystery TerraPresent for just $10. Gifts range from rally towels to autographed Maryland gear to Terps tickets, but only Testudo decides what fans receive.
• Many Terp fans will check out how Greivis Vasquez or Alex Len are faring in the NBA this season most may not remember that Steve Blake is still active.
Now with Detroit, Blake is in his 13th season in the NBA and is averaging 15.6 minutes coming off the bench for the Pistons. Not too shabby for the 38th pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.
Blake is one of 17 players among the 58 drafted in 2003 to still be playing in the NBA. You might know some of the others – LeBron, Melo, Bosh & Wade (just to name a few). Pretty good company to keep.
Tweet of the Week
Wrapping Up
That's it for this edition of the umterps Notebook. Don't forget to follow Maryland athletics on all of the social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
