Today marked the fifth day of fall camp and the second practice open to media. While one of the bigger storylines after the first open practice was JC Jackson practicing with the team but having yet to be cleared to play in games, that has since been resolved and Jackson is good to go against Howard. Jackson impressed once again, blowing up a receiver during an Oklahoma drill and he also had a fantastic pass breakup in coverage during 11-on-11's. Jackson is physical at the line of scrimmage and aggressive when the ball is in the air. He's also strong enough to rip the ball out of receivers' hands. He looks like he could immediately step into a starting role in the Terps' secondary and be the best defensive player on the field. Jackson also fielded punts during practice.
There is a lot of hype surrounding Jackson but it appears to be warranted. Here's what his coach and a couple of teammates had to say about him today.
Durkin on Jackson:
“JC is an elite cover corner. He can do a lot of things. He’s put together well, he’s physical and he can tackle. There are a lot of different things we can do with him. He’s a bonus for all of us. I know his teammates are happy to have him and our coaches are happy to have him and he’s going to help us.”
Melvin Keihn on Jackson:
"He came in the first or second practice, two or three interceptions on defense. He's just one of those guys, he brings a lot of leverage and he allows Will Likely to do a couple of different things, like move down or whatever the DB coaches want to do with him. So he's a great addition to this team and I like the fact that he's here. He's a playmaker and I remember playing against him in the Under Armour All-American game and he was a great player. And the fact that he's here, I love it."
Josh Woods on Jackson:
"JC is a playmaker. That's the one way I can describe him. The first couple of days out here, he had a couple of picks, a couple of forced fumbles, a couple of fumble recoveries, he's been making a lot of plays and he's a great addition to our defense."
While the defense definitely got the better of the offense during the Terps' first practice open to the media on Wed., it was the offenses turn on Friday, with the O winning the 11-on-11's. Perry Hills continues to lead the first-team offense while Trey Edmunds, Wes Brown, Ty Johnson and Kenny Goins all took turns rotating in with the first unit. On this day, Trey Edmunds really seemed to have it going. He's a bigger back and was hitting holes decisively, while also showing the ability to bounce it outside on occasion. Edmunds should get a lot of touches with Wes Brown out early.
Kenny Goins also had a strong showing on Friday, doing a good job of catching the ball out of the backfield while also showing some good burst. Don't be surprised if Goins steal some third down looks, both for his pass catching ability and his ability to pass protect.
At wideout, DJ Moore, Malcolm Culmer and DeAndre Lane looked to get the opening first-team reps, while Teldrick Morgan, Levern Jacobs and Jahrvis Davenport also got reps. The competition at wideout looks fierce and the unit should definitely be a strength.
If there is one thing Walt Bell is known for, it's finding ways to use his tight ends. That was apparent at Friday's practice with Avery Edwards regularly lining up in the slot, while also moving on the line and even in what appeared to be an H-back roll. Bell recruited Edwards to UNC where he originally committed and it looks as if the talented sophomore could be in line for a breakout season. You can read more on Edwards HERE.
On defense, the secondary, which just a few months ago seemed like such a question mark, now seems like it could be a major strength. Will Likely is an all-conference performer, while JC Jackson looks like he could be the best player in the secondary. But Alvin Hill has had a strong camp to date. On quite a few occasions Friday Hill worked opposite JC Jackson on the outside while Will Likely occupied the slot. Hill had good size and made several nice plays on the ball.
At safety, Denzel Conyers, Josh Woods and Darnell Savage all rotated in with the first unit. Conyers, like JC Jackson, showed he's a big, physical DB, blowing up a receiver during the Oklahoma drill. Savage, meanwhile, is undersized for the position but made some plays on Friday. Durkin had this to say about Savage:
“It gives us a lot of versatility back there – I’m really pleased with Darnell and it really says a lot about him as a person as a teammate that he didn’t even flinch on [moving to safety]. He has the ability to play corner for us and that’s a matter of being able to mix and match and move guys around which I definitely like to do on defense. He gives us that versatility to be able to do that.”
Here are some additional miscellaneous notes and observations:
There is a lot of hype surrounding Jackson but it appears to be warranted. Here's what his coach and a couple of teammates had to say about him today.
Durkin on Jackson:
“JC is an elite cover corner. He can do a lot of things. He’s put together well, he’s physical and he can tackle. There are a lot of different things we can do with him. He’s a bonus for all of us. I know his teammates are happy to have him and our coaches are happy to have him and he’s going to help us.”
Melvin Keihn on Jackson:
"He came in the first or second practice, two or three interceptions on defense. He's just one of those guys, he brings a lot of leverage and he allows Will Likely to do a couple of different things, like move down or whatever the DB coaches want to do with him. So he's a great addition to this team and I like the fact that he's here. He's a playmaker and I remember playing against him in the Under Armour All-American game and he was a great player. And the fact that he's here, I love it."
Josh Woods on Jackson:
"JC is a playmaker. That's the one way I can describe him. The first couple of days out here, he had a couple of picks, a couple of forced fumbles, a couple of fumble recoveries, he's been making a lot of plays and he's a great addition to our defense."
While the defense definitely got the better of the offense during the Terps' first practice open to the media on Wed., it was the offenses turn on Friday, with the O winning the 11-on-11's. Perry Hills continues to lead the first-team offense while Trey Edmunds, Wes Brown, Ty Johnson and Kenny Goins all took turns rotating in with the first unit. On this day, Trey Edmunds really seemed to have it going. He's a bigger back and was hitting holes decisively, while also showing the ability to bounce it outside on occasion. Edmunds should get a lot of touches with Wes Brown out early.
Kenny Goins also had a strong showing on Friday, doing a good job of catching the ball out of the backfield while also showing some good burst. Don't be surprised if Goins steal some third down looks, both for his pass catching ability and his ability to pass protect.
At wideout, DJ Moore, Malcolm Culmer and DeAndre Lane looked to get the opening first-team reps, while Teldrick Morgan, Levern Jacobs and Jahrvis Davenport also got reps. The competition at wideout looks fierce and the unit should definitely be a strength.
If there is one thing Walt Bell is known for, it's finding ways to use his tight ends. That was apparent at Friday's practice with Avery Edwards regularly lining up in the slot, while also moving on the line and even in what appeared to be an H-back roll. Bell recruited Edwards to UNC where he originally committed and it looks as if the talented sophomore could be in line for a breakout season. You can read more on Edwards HERE.
On defense, the secondary, which just a few months ago seemed like such a question mark, now seems like it could be a major strength. Will Likely is an all-conference performer, while JC Jackson looks like he could be the best player in the secondary. But Alvin Hill has had a strong camp to date. On quite a few occasions Friday Hill worked opposite JC Jackson on the outside while Will Likely occupied the slot. Hill had good size and made several nice plays on the ball.
At safety, Denzel Conyers, Josh Woods and Darnell Savage all rotated in with the first unit. Conyers, like JC Jackson, showed he's a big, physical DB, blowing up a receiver during the Oklahoma drill. Savage, meanwhile, is undersized for the position but made some plays on Friday. Durkin had this to say about Savage:
“It gives us a lot of versatility back there – I’m really pleased with Darnell and it really says a lot about him as a person as a teammate that he didn’t even flinch on [moving to safety]. He has the ability to play corner for us and that’s a matter of being able to mix and match and move guys around which I definitely like to do on defense. He gives us that versatility to be able to do that.”
Here are some additional miscellaneous notes and observations:
- While no scouts were spotted at Wednesday's open practice, both the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals were represented at Friday's practice.
- Caleb Rowe and Taivon Jacobs were still out on Friday and continued to work with trainers off to the side.
- Will Likely saw some time in the slot on offense in Friday's practice. It continues to appear that Likely will see time this season on offense.
- Shane Cockerille worked with the first-unit defense at linebacker and continues to make big strides at the position. He could be a major cog for the defense this season.
- DeMatha true freshmen Tino Ellis and DJ Turner both ran with the third-unit offense, Turner in the slot and Ellis on the outside. With the current depth at receiver, it's likely both could redshirt.
- It was HOT. Temps on the playing surface reached triple digits. Still, practice was fast-paced and physical.
- The Terps had one big visitor on Friday in three-star NY LB and Rutgers commit Olakunle Fatukasi. He was there with his entire family. He could be worth watching as a potential flip candidate down the road.
