Thanks fellas, I appreciate it and wish you all a good season.
Thoughts on MD - Terps have endured a couple of tough injury seasons in a row. 2012 was the year of the freak QB injury where we lost 4 qb's to injury. Last year was more of the same with starting WR's Diggs and Long both with broken legs and the secondary to the starting corners Dexter McDougle (shoulder injury) and Jeremiah Johnson (toe). One benefit that came out of it was the baptism under fire of William Likely (corner) who really had a nice year on defense and special teams. This year the Terps return a pretty nice roster overall and I'll make some comments on the various groups.
Offense:
QB's - Nice depth with C.J. Brown who is a good runner has really improved his passing game, along with his recognition of defenses. Caleb Rowe has seen some action and is accomplished in the passing game. Perry Hills RS last year also has some experience and Shane Cockerville RSF no experience.
RB's - Brandon Ross has come out of camp as No. 1 rb, Reid is number 2, and Wes Brown is No. 3. MD quite frankly has not run the ball well the last couple of years and need to improve in this area. Some of this has been a function of a young OL. Think we should see some improvement in this area. I am hoping Brown gets in the mix as I personally think he has the most upside.
WR's - One of the better groups in the country overall with Diggs, Long, Jacobs and King. Diggs, Long coming of the injuries but both have good speed and Diggs in particular is a threat to break one at anytime with his speed and elusiveness. Jacobs had a very solid 2013 (13.6 ypc) and was the go to guy at the end of the season due to inj. to Diggs and Long. Nice depth on this unit with a lot of playmakers. Andrew Issacs will be the starting TE after camp.
OL - Silvano Altimarano emerged out of camp as the starting LG after E. Mulrooney had an illness that knocked him out of practice for an extended time. A. Zeller will start at RG, Sal Conaboy at C, Ryan Doyle RT, and Mike Dunn at LT. The line definitely has improved depth this year and should be improved though in my mind is still probably the biggest ? mark in terms of overall unit performance.
Defense:
DL - Led by DE Andre Monroe (9.5 scks), Quinton Jefferson at the other DE, and essentially two co-starters as listed on depth chart at NG in Kilgo and Bowers. Think this DL is underrated and will do just fine.
LB - Maryland historically good at LB and always seem to have playmakers. WIL - The two Yannicks - Ngaokue and Cudjoe Virgil (lots of sack potential seen from him). ILB - Loren Goree and Cole Farrand. Farrand is very active and had an incredible gm last year vs. Clemson with 23 tackles. SLB - Matt Robinson who moved in from safety last year and did a very credible job. Solid tackler with a nose for the ball.
DB - Likely who I mentioned above and Alvin Hill are the starting corners on the depth chart, though Edsall has said that Jeremiah Johnson is a starter. MD very solid at corner with these (3). Likely was fantastic as a freshman and will only get better, he is a serious player. Sean Davis and Anthony Nixon at the safeties are both juniors with solid experience. Davis is a potential all conf player. Best secondary under Edsall regime.
Special Teams - Craddock ok as FG kicker, nothing special but fairly decent. Renfro Punter. Return team has great potential with use of Diggs and Likely.
Coaching Staff - Edsall is a dickhead and always will be lol, Locksley decent offensive coordinator and I really like Brian Stewart on defense and feel like he has done an outstanding job overall especially with the injuries to the secondary last year.
Prediction: Terps win first (5), lose to OSU have a bye and come back and get a big win over Iowa at home, lose to Wisc on road, beat Penn St at Happy Valley for the first time ever, lose to MSU at home, lose nailbiter at Michigan, and beat Rutgers to go 8-4.
