The Terps' opening game against Delaware tomorrow, scheduled to be on ESPNU, will also be simulcast on ESPN, according to Maryland.
That's because of an adjustment in the start time for the LSU-Appalachian State game, which was switched from 3 p.m. to 10 a.m. because of Hurricane Gustav and has been moved to ESPN Classic.
So more exposure for the Terps.
Delaware coach K.C. Keeler had joked to the local media that he might announce his quarterback choice for the Maryland game via text message in the dead of night.
That's the way Barack Obama had announced his running mate, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware.
But don't bother checking your iPhones, people.
Delaware sports information officials tell me Keeler has no intention of publicly revealing his selection via text message or blog.
Keeler has indicated that everybody -- from Ralph Friedgen on down -- is just going to have to wait until game day.
The choice, by the way, is between Ohio State transfer Rob Schoenhoft and redshirt freshman Lou Ritacco.
Snippets from the summer practices preceding this Saturday’s opener against Delaware:
* Jordan Steffy’s mother, Shari, told me she was aghast at watching her son trot into the huddle late last season. Jordan had briefly endured short-term memory problems following his concussion against Rutgers on Sept. 29, and his mother didn’t think he was ready to return. The Maryland coaches said Steffy had been cleared to play and inserted him into a few late-season games.
“He went in and I thought, ‘That was horrible.’ But it went really fast,” she said.
Shari Steffy talks about her son -- and he talks about himself -- in our Maryland preview story today.
Jordan Steffy on the upcoming season: “Whatever happens is out of my control. I really believe that. I think God has a plan for me and whatever is going to happen has already been planned and determined. I’m just going to go out and give it everything I have and complete this chapter of my life.”
* Freshman Davin Meggett is bulky for a Maryland tailback -- he’s listed at 5-8, 210. He said he’ll use his strength to block for the quarterback. Man, are coaches going to love this guy or what?
* Coach Ralph Friedgen says he doesn’t read the media reports about his team during the season. Coach, are you sure you’re not peeking?
So how did Maryland inform Chris Turner that he wasn’t the starting quarterback?
Offensive coordinator James Franklin told me during an interview today that coaches relied on empirical data -- performance charts, basically -- to show how things tipped in favor of Jordan Steffy.
"We just basically told him the truth. We showed him all the data," Franklin said. “He sees it everyday because it’s posted in the locker room every day, so he kind of had an awareness of what was going on. The data documented everything we were saying.”
Coaches were in the delicate position of wanting Turner, who started the final eight games last season, to feel appreciated without making him guarantees about what comes next.
“We couldn’t guarantee anything for his future. We said, ‘Look, you’re going to have to come out and play and you’re going to have to come out and compete,’ and he was fine with that,” Franklin said.
Turner has since decided to remain at Maryland, saying he understands that the chances of a backup getting the call during the season are quite good.
Other news and notes from the first game week:
• Preparation for Delaware is complicated by the fact that the Blue Hens have yet to name a starting quarterback. It’s between Ohio State transfer Rob Schoenhoft and redshirt freshman Lou Ritacco to see who replaces Joe Flacco, now with the Ravens.
“I guess the one question mark -- and we don’t know a lot about it -- is quarterback,” Terrapins coach Ralph Friedgen said.
Under Flacco, Delaware averaged 460 yards per game last season. The Blue Hens return two wideouts who combined for 143 receptions.
• Looks like Danny Oquendo will be returning punts and Torrey Smith will be returning kickoffs. Smith had been in a battle with freshman Kenny Tate, the receiver-turned-defensive back.
No one thought it would be easy to replace Lance Ball and Keon Lattimore, who left Maryland as No. 4 and No. 14, respectively, on the school's career rushing list.
Still, Terrapins fans have been excited at the potential of third-year running backs Morgan Green and Da'Rel Scott. Fans had already seen plenty of the speedy Scott as a kick returner.
Maryland coaches are optimistic about the running backs’ potential, too.
But here’s a reality check:
Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen continues to say that the running game needs work as the Terps enter their first game week preparations before hosting Delaware on Saturday.
“I think we’re still struggling with it,” Friedgen says. “We just have a lot of guys that haven’t had the reps they need to get. We’re still limited in that capacity. I think we’re much further along in the passing game.”
Injuries have been a factor, limiting Green’s practice time. “I don’t know what’s the problem,” said Friedgen, sounding exasperated. “Something must be really wrong with his leg.”
It is sobering that Green and Scott have combined for just 17 career rushes.
Maryland quarterback Chris Turner's decision on whether to remain in College Park or transfer will be finalized this afternoon.
Turner, who lost out to roommate Jordan Steffy as the starter for the team's opening game against Delaware, said after today's morning practice that he will make his decision after talking with his parents and Terps coach Ralph Friedgen later in the day.
Turner said that he leaning toward staying at Maryland.
"I don't have a percentage, I'm just leaning that way,'' Turner told reporters in his first public comments since Friedgen made the announcement Monday. "My whole life is here right now. I've been here for three years and that is what I would like to do.''
It sounds as if Turner's family or friends are trying to persuade him to look elsewhere.
"Right now I have a lot of support from my family, I have a lot of people telling me I should stay or I should go. I want to stay, I would never want to leave. But given the circumstances, I am leaning toward staying right now."
The situation still could change pending the outcome of the conversation between Turner's father, John, and Friedgen. Asked before Turner made his comments whether he thought the redshirt junior would definitely remain at Maryland, Friedgen said, "I don't know that yet.''
But Friedgen made it clear that he wanted Turner to stay in the program.
"I think Chris is happy here, I hope he wouldn't (transfer),'' Friedgen said. "I think the world of the kid. Since this decision (to name Steffy) he's had his best practices. Kind of shows me something about the kid. If he was going to go in the tank, he would have. He hasn't.''
Going into their redshirt sophomore years, Da'Rel Scott and Morgan Green were supposed to be the No. 1A and 1B tailbacks for the Terps, replacing Lance Ball and Keon Lattimore. If Ralph Friedgen was concerned with either, it was Scott, who had spent much of his first two years in College Park fighting injuries and a reputation for being a little soft.
Going into Saturday's second scrimmage at Byrd Stadium, Scott has been the team's top running back in preseason camp and is starting to shed his label as a "track guy" who can't take the physicality of college football. Green has been something of a quandary, injuring his left quad muscle early in camp and not seeing much action so far.
"He just says he can't go,'' Friedgen said Friday after morning practice in College Park. "The trainer says he can. He (Green) wants to be 100 percent. That's a strange deal. He knows best. He just has to get in there. What I worry about is wearing the other two guys out.''
As of Friday, true freshman Davin Meggett has moved into the No. 2 spot on the depth chart behind Scott and ahead of senior Rashad Henry. Friedgen said that he expects Meggett to play as a freshman. Another true freshman, Gary Douglas, has also been impressive during the preseason, according to Friedgen.
Asked if there was a certain date which Green has to be ready in order to play in the Aug. 30 season opener against Delaware, Friedgen smiled.
"Time's passing him by,'' the Fridge said sardonically. "He's a reps guy, he needs reps. I can't make him go.''
Jeff Barker has been a Sun sports writer since 2004, handling stories and projects including Terrapins basketball, the NFL, sports economics, congressional steroids hearings and youth coaches who run afoul of the law. Before that, he covered news -- including the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks -- and politics for The Baltimore Sun, the Washington bureau of The Arizona Republic and The Associated Press.
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