Today marked the third day of fall camp for the Terps, and the first practice that was open to the media. Obviously several big storylines emerged from Wednesday's practice that have already been reported.
A three-game suspension has been handed down to senior running back Wes Brown, stemming from his violation of the student-athlete code of conduct last year, and sophomore JUCO transfer JC Jackson was added to the roster and a full participant in practice as he worked with the first-team defense. Durkin told reporters after practice that the Terps are still waiting on some "administrative things" to make Jackson's eligibility official but he expects everything to be cleared up in the next day or so.
Besides those major developments, here are some other notes and observations from fall camp practice Aug. 10.
A three-game suspension has been handed down to senior running back Wes Brown, stemming from his violation of the student-athlete code of conduct last year, and sophomore JUCO transfer JC Jackson was added to the roster and a full participant in practice as he worked with the first-team defense. Durkin told reporters after practice that the Terps are still waiting on some "administrative things" to make Jackson's eligibility official but he expects everything to be cleared up in the next day or so.
Besides those major developments, here are some other notes and observations from fall camp practice Aug. 10.
- The only two players on Maryland's roster that weren't full participants in Wednesday's practice were senior quarterback Caleb Rowe and junior wide receiver Taivon Jacobs. Durkin briefly addressed Rowe's injury after practice and without giving too much detail basically just said they only expect the gunslinger to miss a few days. A source close to the team also mentioned to TSR during practice that he believes Jacobs' injury is more serious than Rowe's.
- With Rowe sidelined, senior quarterback Perry Hills got all of the first-team reps, while redshirt freshman Gage Shaffer worked with the second team and the true freshmen Ty Pigrome and Max Bortenschlager split the third-team snaps.
QB Breakdown
Hills: It's virtually a foregone conclusion that Hills will be the Terps starter once the regular season begins. Signs of this could be seen during spring ball when Hills was the only QB named to Maryland's new Champions Club, but the senior signal-caller continues to be the only player at his position that Durkin brings up when talking about the team's leaders and hardest workers. Hills is far from a perfect quarterback but his accuracy looks much-improved from last season and he hit his marks the most consistently out of all the Terps passers on Wednesday. His mobility, experience and toughness are also traits that help separate him from the pack.
Shaffer: The 6-foot-7 Shaffer continues to show a strong arm but his accuracy is a major issue and he often makes passes that leave one scratching their head. Shaffer also brings little-to-no mobility to the table. It just doesn't seem natural for him when he pulls the ball down and tries to run. To his credit though, Shaffer did drop a dime on a streak route to senior WR Malcolm Culmer during 11-on-11 drills that was hauled in for a touchdown.
Pigrome: Hate to say it, but Pigrome definitely seemed like the Terps quarterback that needs the most work. The 5-foot-11 Alabama native's size is a glaring concern and I think where it could hurt Pigrome the most is with his grip of the ball. In Wednesday's practice I noticed that he tends to re-grip the ball before most of his throws and I saw him throw very few spirals. During 11-on-11s with the third team, Pigrome tried to squeeze a rocket in on the sideline to his receiver but fellow freshman Antwan Richardson jumped the route and made a nice interception.
Bortenschlager: We don't expect the true freshman to have a serious shot at the starting job, but he has perhaps the best throwing mechanics of any of the quarterbacks on Maryland's roster. The Indiana native doesn't have the athleticism of a Hills or Pigrome, but if the Terps were running a pro-style offense, Bortenschlager would possibly be their best option.
Hills: It's virtually a foregone conclusion that Hills will be the Terps starter once the regular season begins. Signs of this could be seen during spring ball when Hills was the only QB named to Maryland's new Champions Club, but the senior signal-caller continues to be the only player at his position that Durkin brings up when talking about the team's leaders and hardest workers. Hills is far from a perfect quarterback but his accuracy looks much-improved from last season and he hit his marks the most consistently out of all the Terps passers on Wednesday. His mobility, experience and toughness are also traits that help separate him from the pack.
Shaffer: The 6-foot-7 Shaffer continues to show a strong arm but his accuracy is a major issue and he often makes passes that leave one scratching their head. Shaffer also brings little-to-no mobility to the table. It just doesn't seem natural for him when he pulls the ball down and tries to run. To his credit though, Shaffer did drop a dime on a streak route to senior WR Malcolm Culmer during 11-on-11 drills that was hauled in for a touchdown.
Pigrome: Hate to say it, but Pigrome definitely seemed like the Terps quarterback that needs the most work. The 5-foot-11 Alabama native's size is a glaring concern and I think where it could hurt Pigrome the most is with his grip of the ball. In Wednesday's practice I noticed that he tends to re-grip the ball before most of his throws and I saw him throw very few spirals. During 11-on-11s with the third team, Pigrome tried to squeeze a rocket in on the sideline to his receiver but fellow freshman Antwan Richardson jumped the route and made a nice interception.
Bortenschlager: We don't expect the true freshman to have a serious shot at the starting job, but he has perhaps the best throwing mechanics of any of the quarterbacks on Maryland's roster. The Indiana native doesn't have the athleticism of a Hills or Pigrome, but if the Terps were running a pro-style offense, Bortenschlager would possibly be their best option.
- Terps All-Big Ten DB Will Likely was the only other player besides the quarterbacks wearing a yellow non-contact practice jersey. Durkin said after practice that it was just a precaution and that he and the coaches don't see any reason to be hitting the standout cornerback and return man this early in fall camp. Clearly Durkin knows how to preserve his biggest assets.
- Speaking of preserving Likely, Maryland could opt to give a few other players an opportunity at the returning duties this season in order to keep Likely healthy. Opposing teams are also familiar with Likely's playmaking ability on special teams so they are likely to kick away from his this season. Wide receivers DeAndre Lane, DJ Moore, Teldrick Morgan and Levern Jacobs all fielded punts along with Likely during practice.
- When it wasn't a machine launching the football into the air, it was 27-year-old freshman punter Wade Lees booming the ball down field. It seems pretty clear at this point that the punting job is Lees to lose. He showed by far the strongest and most consistent leg on Wednesday.
- The starting offensive line was a bit of a mystery entering fall camp but the same five guys took virtually all of the first-team reps together on Wednesday. Sophomore Damian Prince lined up at right tackle, senior Maurice Shelton at right guard, sophomore Brendan Moore at center, junior JaJuan Dulaney at left guard and senior Michael Dunn at right tackle. Former four-star recruit Derwin Gray was surprisingly working with the second team.
- As for the first-team defensive line, this was rotated a little more frequently than the offensive line but the core group was Jesse Aniebonam, Roman Braglio and Azubuike Ukandu. Cavon Walker and Melvin Keihn were platooning at the BUCK (hybrid LB-DE) position.
- A few other guys that were locked in with the first team on offense were DJ Moore and Levern Jacobs at WR, Avery Edwards at TE and Wes Brown and Trey Edmunds rotating at RB. Teldrick Morgan, Kenneth Goins and Derrick Hayward also saw some first-team reps.
- Potomac (Md.) RB and Terps 2017 pledge Tayon Fleet-Davis was the only recruit to watch practice today.
