2008 Preview
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By Mike Hogewood for theACC.com
Last season will not go down as one to remember for the Maryland Terrapins. Seventeen players missed at least one game with an injury. There was a dramatic loss to Wake Forest in overtime. There was a one-point loss to Virginia and a loss by a field goal at North Carolina. Still, Maryland won six games and went to the Emerald Bowl to play Oregon State. Now the Terps are returning depth and experience. Although they've been picked near the bottom of the Atlantic Division, don't be surprised if this is one of the breakout teams in 2008.
The big news in the off-season was that head coach Ralph Friedgen is giving up his offensive coordinator responsibilities. James Franklin, who had a stint at Maryland before coaching with the Green Bay Packers and Kansas State, is the new offensive coordinator. He will bring more of a West Coast style to College Park, but you can bet Friedgen will still have a big say in things. Friedgen admitted after last season that being head coach and offensive coordinator was too much. "I think it took me away from our players. I was doing scripts, practice plans, and game plans. The hours were just unbelievable."
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Receiver
Darrius Heyward-Bey
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Franklin's first big decision will be who plays quarterback. There's the laid back Chris Turner who started the last eight games of last season and finished third in the ACC in passing efficiency; then there's Jordan Steffy who was the starter at the beginning of last season before getting hurt; and a wild card in Josh Portis, a tremendous athlete who transferred from Florida.
Whoever the quarterback is, he will be playing behind a veteran offensive line that returns four starters. The line is committed to protecting whoever is under center. Center Edwin Williams explained that "all three can lead this team to victory and all three have great skill. It doesn't matter to us who plays."
"We have a lot of seniors and everyone is taking personal responsibility to play their best every day, every practice and every game." And that Maryland line just might be the best in the ACC.
The line will be blocking for some new faces at running back. Speedy Da'Rel Scott and Morgan Green will get most of the work. Maryland returns its top four receivers including Darrius Heyward-Bey - a big-play receiver who led the team in receptions and receiving yards last season.
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Linebacker
Dave Philistin
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The defense lost a lot to graduation including All-American linebacker Erin Henderson. Dave Philistin, who ranked fourth in the league in tackles a year ago, leads the group of returnees. Several linebackers are back from injury and if they are at full strength, linebacker could be the strongest part of the defense.
The Terps also have to find some replacements on the defensive line. Senior Jeremy Navarre moves from end to tackle and knows his role on and off the field is important. "I have to be a leader. Not only vocal but we lost some big names off of last year's team. It's time for some others, including me, to step up."
The defensive backfield is also a question mark. The Terps only return one starter in the secondary - cornerback Kevin Barnes. He has speed and size and led the team in interceptions last year.
Special teams have always seemed to be strong under Ralph Friedgen. Maryland will have one of the top place-kickers in the ACC in Obi Egekeze. He made 13 of 14 field goals in ACC games last year. Punter Travis Baltz ranked second in the league as he averaged over 43 yards a punt.
Maryland opens the season with four consecutive non-conference games, the first being on August 30th at home against Delaware. The Terps open conference play September 27th at Clemson.
The entire off-season was spent focusing on closing out games. The late game losses in 2007 were unacceptable to everyone but most of all the head coach. "I'm ready to play this year. We're not foolin' around. I haven't made any bones about it, I expect us to be good."
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2008 Preseason Information
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2007 In Review
The Terps finished the season 6-7 after a 21-14 loss to Oregon State in the Emerald Bowl...Maryland earned its second straight bowl bid and fifth in seven years under head coach Ralph Friedgen... The Terps finished tied for fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 3-5 league mark … Quarterback Chris Turner started the final nine games of the year and threw for 1958 yards and seven touchdown and finished third in the ACC in passing efficiency... Tailbacks Keon Lattimore and Lance Ball combined to rush for 1,573 yards and 25 TDs... First-team All-ACC linebacker Erin Henderson led the ACC and finished ninth nationally in tackles per game (11.8) ... Defensive tackle Dre Moore earned first-team All-ACC honors and guard Andrew Crummey was a second-team All-ACC selection.
Who’s Gone
Maryland loses eight starters including six who combined for 148 starts from a defensive unit that ranked 24th nationally in scoring defense... Gone are third-team All-America Erin Henderson, All-ACC defensive tackle Dre Moore, defensive tackle Carlos Feliciano and three members of the secondary including, cornerback Isaiah Gardner, strong safety Christian Varner and free safety J.J. Justice... On offense, Maryland loses Crummey and its tailback tandem of Lattimore and Ball.
Who’s Back
Friedgen, now in his eighth season, welcomes back 16 starters (nine offense, five defense, two special teams), including quarterback Chris Turner, wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the Terps’ leading receiver with 51 receptions, as well as four members of the starting offensive line in tackles Scott Burley and Dane Randolph, guard Jaimie Thomas and center Edwin Williams.. Defensively, linebackers Dave Philistin and Moise Fokou, who combined to make 207 tackles, return as does cornerback Kevin Barnes who led the Terps with four interceptions...Up front, starting end Jeremy Navarre returns after making five sacks last year... Sophomore linebacker Adrian Moten also is back after making 5.5 sacks in a reserve role last year...Kicker Obi Egekeze, who made 17 of 23 field goals, and punter Travis Baltz, who averaged 40.9 yards a kick as a freshmen, return...Moten and Baltz were chosen Honorable Mention Freshmen All-Americas by The Sporting News.
Numbers and Notes
2 - The number of Top 10 teams Maryland defeated in 2007. The Terps were one of only four teams in the country to do so. The Terps downed 10th-ranked Rutgers 34-24 and 8th-ranked Boston College, 42-35.
7 - The number of 200-yard passing games for quarterback Chris Turner in the 11 games he played in 2007.
16 - Number of passes defended by cornerback Kevin Barnes last year. Barnes intercepted four passes and also had 12 pass deflections.
21 - The number of tackles linebacker Dave Philistin made in Maryland’s 28-26 win over Georgia Tech. It was the second-highest amount of tackles by an ACC player last year. Philistin was named to the pre-season watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Award. The Nagurski is given annually to the nation’s top defensive player.
24 - Maryland’s national ranking on turnover margin, a positive .62 per game.
87 - The number of points Obi Egekeze scored last year, making all 36 PAT attempts and 17 of 23 FGs. Egekeze finished sixth in the ACC in scoring.
786 - The number of receiving yards wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey totalled last year, averaging 15.4 yards a catch. He has accounted for 1,480 receiving yards in just two years of play.
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| 2008 Schedule |
| Aug. 30 | Delaware (ESPNU, 3:45 p.m.) |
| Sept. 6 | at Middle Tennessee State (CSS, 7 p.m.) |
| Sept. 13 | California (ESPN or ESPN2, noon) |
| Sept. 20 | Eastern Michigan |
| Sept. 27 | at Clemson |
| Oct. 4 | at Virginia |
| Oct. 18 | Wake Forest |
| Oct. 25 | NC State |
| Nov. 6 | at Virginia Tech |
| Nov. 15 | North Carolina |
| Nov. 22 | Florida State |
| Nov. 29 | at Boston College |
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| Head Coach Ralph Friedgen |
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Heading into his eighth season as Maryland’s Head Coach, Ralph Friedgen holds the distinction of being the first coach in Atlantic Coast Conference history to lead a team to three straight seasons of 10 wins or more in his first three seasons as a head coach at the Division I level. Named the consensus national Coach of the Year in 2001 after leading Maryland to its first ACC title since 1985, Friedgen has developed a reputation as one of the top coaches in the game. Friedgen continues to build a new level of pride at his alma mater, guiding the Terps to a 56-31 record and five bowl appearances - including three decisive wins - in his seven seasons as a collegiate head coach. Last year. Friedgen’s Terrapins upset a pair of Top Ten teams in defeating 10th-ranked Rutgers and eighth-ranked Boston College en route to a second straight bowl appearance.
In his first season as the Terps’ grid boss, Maryland won its first seven games and eventually halted Florida State’s reign as perennial ACC Champion, earning the league’s automatic berth in the Bowl Championship Series. In 2002, the Terps made their way back to a major bowl game, winning 10 of their last 11 games and finishing in a tie for second in the ACC. The 2003 campaign provided a bit of déjà vu for Friedgen and the Terrapins as they again started 1-2, and again ran off 10 wins in their final 11 games to earn a second New Year’s bowl bid. In 2006, the Terrapins posted a nine-win campaign--the fourth time Friedgen’s Maryland teams have won at least nine games--topped off by a decisive 24-7 over Purdue in the Champs Sports Bowl. In addition to amassing tremendous team success, Friedgen has also helped develop some of the league’s most talented athletes, including Jim Tatum Award recipient Nick Novak, who became the ACC’s all-time leading scorer in 2004.
Prior to returning to his alma mater, Friedgen was a long-time successful assistant coach at Georgia Tech, where he was credited with overseeing one of the nation’s most potent offensive attacks. Named the winner of the Frank Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in the country in 1999 while at Tech, Friedgen brought 32 years of assistant coaching experience - including 21 seasons as an offensive coordinator either in college or the NFL - with him in his return to College Park.
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