Tuesday was the last spring practice open to the media before Saturday's spring game and it was held in Maryland Stadium rather than on the practice field. Here are some notes and observations from the day.
“Coach Bell’s offense, the scheme that they’re running, I think it’s brought a new intensity to the defense," Aniebonam said. "It’s definitely something that needs to be coached up in the right ways and I think our coaches are doing a good job of that. Coach Bell’s offense is electrifying in my opinion, and once everyone start’s to learn the offense more, they are going to be a force to be reckoned with.”
“It will be a great day for people to come and watch and see both sides of the ball, what we are doing," Durkin said.
- Tuesday's 11-on-11 drills was some of the most exciting Terps football I've seen in years, especially from an offensive standpoint. The weather was bad early in the morning but that didn't dimmish any of the intensity at practice. The offense was shredding the defense for big play after big play throughout the full-contact drills and that brought about a heightened level of competition on both sides of the ball. Perhaps it had something to do with being inside the stadium as opposed to a practice field that is more open, but practice actually got pretty loud at times with players and coaches screaming at and encouraging each other from the sideline mixed in with some cheers and chants from the crowd of about 15-25 high school recruits and coaches that were on hand to watch. And after seeing how much fun it was to watch this team go at it, I can see why recruits that have been coming to practice all spring have come away impressed.
- As I alluded to, the offense really shined in this practice, which is pretty consistent with what we've been seeing and hearing all spring. And when I say the offense looked good moving the ball, I mean it looked really good and I mean it looked really good while Perry Hills was under center. Hills was dropping dimes like I've never seen him do before and connected on passes of 20+ yards to each of the Jacobs brothers and Malcolm Culmer, who caught several touchdowns in 11-on-11s. D.J. Moore, DeAndre Lane and Avery Edwards also made their fair share of receptions and I'd say you could probably count the number of passes that hit the ground on one hand.
- It wasn't just the passing game that was ripping off big plays though. Running backs Wes Brown, Ty Johnson and Trey Edmunds all had huge runs at one point or another. Brown and Edmunds each finished their runs by lowering their shoulder and laying the boom on a defensive back and Johnson just burned the whole secondary once he got past the first level of the defense and took a run about 60 yards to the house. The running backs were also being used very effectively in the short passing game with screens and sweeps. Walt Bell also likes to put wide receiver DeAndre Lane in motion and either get the ball to him on jet sweeps or hit him in the flat out of the backfield.
“Coach Bell’s offense, the scheme that they’re running, I think it’s brought a new intensity to the defense," Aniebonam said. "It’s definitely something that needs to be coached up in the right ways and I think our coaches are doing a good job of that. Coach Bell’s offense is electrifying in my opinion, and once everyone start’s to learn the offense more, they are going to be a force to be reckoned with.”
- Many of the defense's struggles could be because of some missing parts. Cornerback Will Likely and linebacker Abner Logan are still rehabbing injuries and have not been practicing this spring. Once they both return, it should provide a big boost for the Terps on that side of the ball. Durkin said after practice that he feels like the offense and defense have been on an even playing field and have each had their moments this spring, but from the way practice went today and Durkin's clear frustration with the defense during it, I would say he's hoping to see a lot more from that unit in the spring game.
“It will be a great day for people to come and watch and see both sides of the ball, what we are doing," Durkin said.
