They lost, and then they fought.

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2023 football season kicks off and script Terps helmets and unis officially return full-time…

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He was at Ole Miss at the end of the week but made it to CP today. He wants to come off the board soon, so every trip from here on out is big.

Kinda surprised the school didn't put out a release about this, but Tagovailoa was named to the Unitas Golden Arm watch list yesterday. The award is presented annually to the nation's top upperclass quarterback and is named after the former Baltimore Colt and HOF quarterback. Lia is one of 48 named to the preseason watch list, including Big Ten QBs JJ McCarthy of Michigan and Hudson Card of Purdue. The list also features last year's Heisman winner, USC's Caleb Williams. Winner will be announced Dec. 7 in Baltimore. Release below:


Baltimore, MD – The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc., along with presenting sponsor A. O. Smith Corporation announce the 2023 list of Golden Arm Award candidates. All 10 FBS conferences as well as a football independent are represented on the list, rounding out this season’s list at 48 of the nation’s leading quarterbacks.

The preseason Watch List, semifinalists, finalists, and award recipient are selected by the distinguished Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Selection Committee, a group of prominent college football journalists, commentators, announcers, and former players. The award annually recognizes the top senior or upperclassman quarterback set to graduate with their class. This year’s watch list was selected based on career player performance and expectations heading into the 2023 college football season.

2023 Golden Arm Award Watch List Presented by A. O. Smith

Brennan Armstrong, NC State
Carter Bradley, South Alabama
Hudson Card, Purdue
Chevan Cordeiro, San Jose State
Jayden Daniels, LSU
Jalon Daniels, Kansas
Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
Quinn Ewers, Texas
Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma
Mitch Griffis, Wake Forest
Frank Harris, UTSA
Sam Hartman, Notre Dame
Seth Henigan, Memphis
Will Howard, Kansas State
KJ Jefferson, Arkansas
Phil Jurkovec, Pittsburgh
Devin Leary, Kentucky
Riley Leonard, Duke
Drake Maye, North Carolina
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina
J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
Cade McNamara, Iowa
Graham Mertz, Florida
Joe Milton III, Tennessee
Tanner Mordecai, Wisconsin
Bo Nix, Oregon
Michael Penix Jr., Washington
Michael Pratt, Tulane
Drew Pyne, Arizona State
Spencer Rattler, South Carolina
Austin Reed, Western Kentucky
Cam Rising, Utah
Will Rogers, Mississippi State
Kurtis Rourke, Ohio
Blake Shapen, Baylor
Garrett Shrader, Syracuse
Kedon Slovis, BYU
Donovan Smith, Houston
Cole Snyder, Buffalo
Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland
Casey Thompson, Florida Atlantic
Payton Thorne, Auburn
Jordan Travis, Florida State
DJ Uiagalelei, Oregon State
Tyler Van Dyke, Miami
Cam Ward, Washington State
Grant Wells, Virginia Tech
Caleb Williams, USC

The namesake of the Golden Arm Award has a storied history. Johnny Unitas was an 18-year veteran of the NFL, who played his collegiate career at the University of Louisville before joining the Baltimore Colts in 1958. His career passing figures include 2,830 pass completions for 40,239 yards, 290 touchdowns and throwing a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games.

The 2023 award winner will be presented the Golden Arm Award trophy by The Johnny Unitas Educational Foundation President, John Unitas, Jr., as well as other notable attendees at the Golden Arm Award banquet and celebration at the Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland on Thursday, December 7, 2023.

MOBILE, AL -- Seven members of the Maryland football team have been selected to the 2024 Reese's Senior Bowl Watch List, the Senior Bowl announced Wednesday.

OL Gottlieb Ayedze, S Beau Brade, TE Corey Dyches, OL Delmar Glaze, CB Ja'Quan Sheppard, CB Tarheeb Still and QB Taulia Tagovailoa are all on the watch list, giving Maryland their most selections in program history.

Last season, the Terps had four seniors on the watch list and three that participated in the game (CB Jakorian Bennett, OL Jaelyn Duncan & K Chad Ryland). All three were drafted in the 2023 NFL Draft.

The Reese's Senior Bowl is widely regarded as the preeminent college football all-star game and the first stage in the NFL Draft process. The longest continual-running all-star game has taken place in Mobile, Alabama the past 74 years. More than 900 NFL personnel, including key decision-makers from all 32 teams, and over 1100 media members from around the country were credentialed this year. This past April, the game produced 100 total picks for the third straight year, representing 40 percent of the entire NFL draft, including 40 selected on the first two days.

This year's game will take place on Saturday, February 3, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. EST on the NFL Network.

Other Terps that have played in the Senior Bowl and have gone on to get drafted in the NFL include Darnell Savage Jr., Byron Cowart, Quinton Jefferson and Sean Davis.

2023 Maryland Watch Lists
QB Taulia Tagovailoa - Maxwell (best player in nation), Davey O'Brien (best quarterback), Manning (best quarterback), Polynesian Player of the Year & Reese's Senior Bowl
OL DJ Glaze - Lombardi (best lineman) & Reese's Senior Bowl
LB Jaishawn Barham - Bednarik (best defensive player), Butkus (best linebacker), Lombardi (best lineman)
RB Roman Hemby - Doak Walker (best running back)
WR Jeshaun Jones - Paul Hornung (most versatile player)
P Colton Spangler - Ray Guy (best punter)
OL Gottlieb Ayedze - Reese's Senior Bowl
S Beau Brade - Reese's Senior Bowl
TE Corey Dyches - Reese's Senior Bowl
CB Ja'Quan Sheppard - Reese's Senior Bowl
CB Tarheeb Still - Reese's Senior Bowl

The witch is dead as is the streak

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TEEHEE​

Likes effort he saw overall today. Defense a little ahead of offense. The offense did some good things as far as in the red zone but still a work in progress.

Says to be clear, Gattis is the primary play-caller with input from Sumlin. Says both have had some success at other places but what they both bring is their personalities. Sumlin's experience has helped the TEs get up to speed maybe a little quicker.

Says they were fortunate in that they have some new pieces along the o-line that come in with some experience. Guys are getting some valuable reps at the moment and they are focused on just finding the best 5 guys as the first game approaches. Says they really aren't close to finding that best five at this time as today was the first time to really evaluate each of them this fall and they will adjust the depth chart based on how guys perform moving forward.

On Taizse Johnson and Akingbesote, says Johnson has really embraced his role for how they want to do business. With Tommy, they need him to play with great effort and tenacity for a full 60 plays. He's taken some steps with regards to maturity but want to see him take on a leadership role.

On the return game, says they have inherited some new guys like Chambers who should be able to help in the punt return game, and guys like Ryan Manning should help in the kick return game. But Tarheeb and Jeshaun will also work with the kick return group.

They have a few guys capable of playing nickel, but for them it is about developing the big nickel like they have used the past few years.

And perhaps my biggest development from this availability? The new helmet I noticed on the bookshelf behind Locks' desk...

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College Football 2023: Week 0 Predictions 🏈​

National hoops analyst Rob Cassidy was at the Will Barton camp and caught up with top-50 forward Khani Rooths, who will officially visit Maryland next month. He has really seemed to put everything together here over the last month or so and is seeing his stock rise even further.

I'll add this, have heard from several sources that Georgia has probably been the team to beat. First, due to his relationship with UGA assistant Erik Pastrana who I'm told practically lives at IMG. And second, due to the fact that UGA has really stepped up their financial commitment to hoops and are throwing around some very large NIL packages (they had a top-20 recruiting class this past cycle which seems to back up what I've been hearing). It is likely going to take a pretty substantial NIL deal if the Terps want to land Rooths. Of course, same is true of Derik Queen, also.

But as mentioned, his Maryland visit might be the most important as they have been on him as long as anyone and have some connections.

Also mentioned are Tyler Jackson and Nate Ament, both of whom the Terps are also recruiting. As you can see, going to be some serious competition for both. More at the link below.

STORY

Says overall execution in all three phases have improved from last week. Guys understanding substitutions and getting in good work on special teams. Offensively, moved the ball more efficiently than last week and came away with some takeaways on defense this week which they emphasized.

Brian Williams was part of the original staff and has played a major role in where the team has gotten today and the best is ahead for him and the defense and he's one of the shining young stars in the profession would will hopefully sometime soon have his own program to run.

From an offensive standpoint, it is not a new system, although there are obviously some changes with Gattis now in charge. But there hasn't been a big learning curve because philosophy wise, nothing has really changed. It is just getting used to Josh's personality and what he likes to do as a playcaller.

On Mike Purcell, he didn't get here until the summer but he's really helped himself and has made some of the bigger strides from the beginning of fall camp until now. He's starting to take the next step as he has a better understanding of the system and we have a good competition with him and Aric Harris which is making us better overall along the o-line.

Still in camp mode and will have another 4 or 5 practices before starting prep for Towson. Next week Thursday-Friday we will start working on Towson prep and it is a new staff so we don't have a lot of knowledge about what they do at this point.

Still not there as far as the starting 5 along the o-line. The group's flexibility gives them a lot of combinations. Still have a couple of decisions to make as some of the new guys are now just starting to feel comfortable in the system, but hoping at the end of the week to have an idea as to who the starters will be.

On Jeshaun Jones, says he was one of the guys who called the team up before practice and told the guys they didn't play well enough the previous practice and needed to step it up for the next one. He's played a big role of helping coach not just the young guys but the new guys too like Prather and Chambers.

Says the depth chart right now is a daily work in progress based on how they look in the previous practice. We know who Lia is, but we need to see more of Billy and Cam Edge to see how they perform if they are thrust into the spotlight. So some thought goes into scrimmage rotations so we can see how they will perform when needed.

Not much change at the top (Maryland moved up one spot), but now we get a look at a possible round two opponents.
East - Duke, Tennessee, Maryland, Texas, Villanova, Florida Atlantic, TCU, St. Mary's
South - Purdue, Houston, Marquette, Kentucky, Baylor, Auburn, UCLA, Miss. St.
MW - Kansas, Arizona, Arkansas, UNC, Texas A&M, Miami, Illinois, Memphis
West - Mich. St., UConn, Gonzaga, Creighton, Alabama, USC, Wisconsin, San Diego St.

See everything head coach Mike Locksley had to say Saturday afternoon following the Terps' second scrimmage of fall camp.

STORY

The Terps will have scrimmage No. 2 a little later today. Here are a few things I'm keeping an eye on as the season opener draws nearer.

1. Who starts along the o-line? And more specifically, who starts at center? Aric Harris was running with the starters at the beginning of camp, but it seems Duke/Elon transfer Michael Purcell has worked his way into a rotation with the starting unit at center. The feeling entering camp was that Purcell would win the starting job. Does he overtake Harris this week? I'm also looking to see who winds up with that right guard spot. Amelio Moran seems to be the frontrunner, but I'm not sure he has that spot completely locked down just yet. We will likely learn more after today.

2. Who starts at the EDGE spot? They brought in FCS All-American Donnell Brown to take over the starting spot, but it seems as if it has maybe been a tougher transition than expected and he is being pushed by former Rivals four-star and FSU transfer Quashon Fuller. They really need one of these two to step up and take the bull by the horns, so to speak, even though both will likely rotate in.

3. Who starts at wideout and how many wideouts will see significant snaps this season? Despite losing a number of WR from a season ago, the WR room is again loaded. Obviously Prather and Chambers have gotten a ton of mention, but continually hear how good Octavian Smith has looked, as well. Jones is likely the No. 1 by default but they have some depth behind him.

4. How good will the return game be this season? They have a number of fast and talented guys with the ability to return kicks, but it doesn’t seem as if anyone has really taken control of these return jobs yet. The one name I’m interested in hearing more about is Braeden Wisloski, who seems to be picking things up now and could be a dark horse to return punts.

We will hear from Locks again later this afternoon once the scrimmage has ended.

I know I posted an update on top 50 wing forward Khani Rooths the other day from the Under Armour Elite 24, but I've got a bit more of an update here....

From what I've been told and based on what Rooths has said himself, it sounds like he will officially visit Maryland the weekend of Sept. 15, which would be for the Virginia football game. That would be a great weekend to host as there should be a nice crowd for this border (former ACC) rivalry game.

As for Rooth's finalists, it sounds like he will have a final 7 of Maryland, Georgia, Mississippi St., FSU, Miami, Michigan and Virginia Tech. He has already taken official visits to Georgia and Mississippi St. but with the new OV rules that went into effect July 1, he can take as many official visits as he wants this fall and from what I understand plans on officially visiting all seven.

As for a decision timetable, it sounds like the hope is to have a decision by the start of his senior season.

The way things are now, it seems like these visits for the Terps' top 2024 targets are all staggered over the next month or so. They are set to host Mustaf the weekend of Sept. 1 and Fland the weekend of Sept. 29. Those are both home football weekends.

As for Queen, it sounds very likely his visit could get pushed back to October, but nothing is set in stone there yet.

Sept.-Oct. is shaping up to be a huge few weeks for the basketball program as they look to possibly bring in multiple five-stars in the 2024 class.

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September 1
Jaeden Mustaf 4* CG (#47 overall)
(Commitment date of September 14)

September 8
Efeosa Oliogu 4* SF (#17 overall 2025)
(2025, expected to reclassify to 2024)

September 14
Matthew Hodge 3* PF (#131 overall)

September 15
Khani Rooths 4* F (#49 overall)

September 29
Boogie Fland 5* PG (#7 overall)
———————————————-

Derik Queen 5* C (#20 overall)
Expected to visit in October

Why Gamers are Going Crazy Over This $18,460 Chair!

Terps will have their first scrimmage of fall camp a little later today. Obviously, the biggest question mark heading into this first scrimmage is the offensive line. You've got DJ Glaze locked in at left tackle and outside of that, it is kind of anybody's guess at the moment. Ultimately, I think it is safe to say we will see Bullock at left guard and Ayedze at right tackle. But those other two interior spots could be up in the air. You've got Aric Harris who is a vet with starter experience at center and you've got Amelio Moran, another vet who has plenty of game reps along the interior line. Harris was supposed to be battling it out with Duke (Elon) transfer Mike Purcell at center, but from what I'm hearing, not sure just yet how much of a factor Purcell will actually be. We should find out a lot more today. As for the other guard spot, redshirt sophomore Kyle Long appears to be the one battling for reps, as he's gotten some starter reps in practice. My guess, Long will likely be a guy who can step in and play a few of positions, whether it be right guard or right tackle, should someone need a break or get injured.

The other big question mark is in the trenches on the other side of the ball, namely at the edge rush spot. Haven't heard much with regards to Donnell Brown, who a lot of folks seemed to have high expectations for. It is obviously a big leap going for FCS to the Big Ten and he wasn't the biggest or fastest guy to begin with. But again, we should learn a lot more after today with regards to Brown. It does sound like Quashon Fuller is really battling for a spot along the edge. Remember, he's a former Rivals250 guy who began his career at Florida State. He played a significant number of snaps last season and showed flashes, finishing with a couple of TFL and a sack on the season. With another year under his belt and a bigger role, it is possible he could be a breakout candidate up front on defense. We will see.

As has always been the case under Locks, scrimmage is closed, but we will hear from the head man later this afternoon and should have a better idea on where some of these positions stand.

COLLEGE PARK, MD - The Maryland men's basketball team will take on Davidson in the opening round of the Asheville Championship Tournament set to run Nov. 10-12 at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C. The game will tip at 7 PM and will be televised on ESPNU.

Sunday's action will feature the consolation game at 12:30 PM on Nov. 12 followed by the championship game at 3 PM. Both games will be televised on ESPN2. UAB and Clemson will face off in the other opening round game on Friday, Nov. 10.

Maryland is coming off a 22-win campaign which saw the Terps reach the NCAA Tournament second round in head coach Kevin Willard's first season at the helm.

The season will open on Nov. 7 against Mount St. Mary's before then going to Asheville and then Villanova (Nov. 17) as part of the Gavitt Tip-Off Games. Maryland will also host UMBC (Nov. 21), South Alabama (Nov. 25), and Rider (Nov. 28) before a pair of Big Ten games to start December. Maryland will close out its non-conference slate against Alcorn State (Dec. 12) and Nicholls State (Dec. 19) before heading west to face future Big Ten foe UCLA. The non-conference schedule will conclude at home against Coppin State (Dec. 28).

In Big Ten play, Maryland will have home-and-away series with Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State, and Rutgers. The Terps will also host Michigan, Nebraska, and Purdue, while playing on the road at Minnesota, Ohio State, and Wisconsin.

A total of 21 games will be against teams who were in the 2023 postseason. Eight teams on the upcoming schedule made the NCAA Tournament highlighted by UCLA and Michigan State both reaching the Sweet Sixteen. Seven teams on the docket played in the NIT with Wisconsin reaching the semifinals and UAB narrowly falling in the championship game.

Dates for Big Ten games as well as tip times and television assignments will be announced at a later date.

Maryland returns the bulk of its top performers from 2022-23 led by All-Big Ten selection Jahmir Young as well as fifth-year senior Donta Scott and Julian Reese who will be one of the top post players in the league this season. Additionally, the Terps have brought in the No. 15 recruiting class in the country paced by DeShawn Harris-Smith, Jaime Kaiser, and Jahnathan Lamothe, while adding redshirt junior forward Jordan Geronimo who played three seasons at Indiana.

Season tickets for the 2023-24 season are currently on sale now and can be purchased online at www.UMTerps.com, by calling the Terrapin Ticket Office at 800-462-TERP, or by emailing for more information at terptix@umd.edu.

The Most Unbelievable Moments in College Football History​

HONOLULU, HI -- Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa has been selected to the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Watch List for the third year in a row, the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame announced Thursday.

Tagovailoa has been one of seven finalists for this award, presented annually to the most outstanding college football player of Polynesian ancestry that epitomizes great ability and integrity, in each of the past two seasons. The redshirt senior is from Ewa Beach, Hawaii and lived there until high school.

This is the fourth preseason watch list Tagovailoa has been selected to this year, also being chosen for the Maxwell Award Watch List (best player in college football), Davey O'Brien Award Watch List (best quarterback in college football) and Manning Award Watch List (best quarterback in college football). He was also the first Terp ever to be selected to the Big Ten Preseason Honors list.

The winner of the 2023 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award will be announced on December 14. Five finalists will be unveiled on November 30. The presentation of the Award will be held during the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Week Celebration Dinner (January 20, 2024) at the Sheraton Waikiki, and they will also be recognized at halftime of the Polynesian Bowl (January 19, 2024).

About the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame: The Polynesian Football Hall of Fame honors Polynesia's greatest players, coaches, and contributors. Its permanent home is located at the Polynesian Cultural Center and was established in 2013 by Super Bowl Champions Jesse Sapolu and Ma'a Tanuvasa. Other board members include Troy Polamalu, Vai Sikahema, June Jones and Reno Mahe. There are currently 44 inductees. The Polynesian Football Hall of Fame has provided over $300,000 in college scholarships to date. For more information, go to PolynesianFootballHOF.org.

2023 Maryland Watch Lists
QB Taulia Tagovailoa - Maxwell (best player in nation), Davey O'Brien (best quarterback), Manning (best quarterback) & Polynesian Player of the Year
LB Jaishawn Barham - Bednarik (best defensive player), Butkus (best linebacker), Lombardi (best lineman)
RB Roman Hemby - Doak Walker (best running back)
WR Jeshaun Jones - Paul Hornung (most versatile player)
P Colton Spangler - Ray Guy (best punter)
OL DJ Glaze - Lombardi (best lineman)

National hoops analyst Rob Cassidy with his thoughts on why the Boogie Fland official visit to Maryland later next month looms large for the Terps.

As he mentions, the Terps are definitely perceived as an underdog as he gets set to take Sept. visits to Maryland, Kentucky and Alabama. But it is worth mentioning that Willard is pretty connected in NYC and once upon a time landed McDonald's All-American PG Isaiah Whitehead out of Coney Island.

One other thing worth noting here, Calipari, Oats and Mike Woodson will all be guest speakers at the NYC Coaches Clinic on Sept. 13, which is just after his Kentucky visit and just before his Alabama visit. He took an official visit to Indiana in June. All three coaches are expected to visit with Fland while at his school. Will be interesting to see when Willard goes up to Westchester to stop in.

With all of that said, the Terps definitely seem to have some buzz here and it certainly doesn't hurt that as of now, they have the final visit.

It will also be interesting to see what happens with Mustaf and whether or not they really push there ahead of this visit.

STORY

Why an OCD Clean Freak Might Just Fumble at American Football​