Portis, Steffy neck-and-neck
Andrew Zuckerman
Issue date: 8/23/07 Section: Sports
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On Aug. 6, Friedgen said he was quickly going to name the Terrapin football team's starting quarterback.
"I'm not going to take a long time on making a decision," Friedgen said at the time.
Turns out Friedgen just may have been bluffing.
As of yesterday, Friedgen still hadn't named a starting quarterback. It has been the most glamorous storyline of training camp and may not be resolved until next week.
Jordan Steffy and Josh Portis appear to be the two quarterbacks neck-and-neck for the starting spot. Chris Turner's name was thrown into the mix at the beginning of camp, but that talk has slowed down since then.
Each day Friedgen is asked about the quarterbacks, and his answer hardly changes.
"They're all even," Friedgen said Monday.
Friedgen was then asked when he would make a decision if the Terps didn't scrimmage this week.
"When I feel like it," he said. "How's that? Maybe the night before the game."
Yesterday, when he was asked if he had decided yet, Friedgen simply responded "No."
It's possible Friedgen has already made up his mind and is just affirming his decision by waiting it out. It's also possible that he really hasn't decided yet and wants to give Steffy and Portis more opportunities to separate themselves.
"It's just like another competition," Portis said yesterday. "It's a hype position because it's the quarterback. I just feel it's a competition and may the best man win the job. The cream will always rise to the top. Whatever helps the team win, that's what I'm fine with."
Since the spring, it seemed Steffy would start as the No. 1 quarterback simply because he's been here the longest. Steffy, a redshirt junior, knows Friedgen's system and spent last season backing up Sam Hollenbach.
Throughout training camp, Steffy has approached the situation as if he is the team's starting quarterback.
"This whole thing is a marathon, not a sprint," Steffy said during the team's media day. "When I got here my freshman year I thought things might play out differently, but the most important thing for me is realizing that God had a plan for me and waiting for my time. My time is now and I'm excited about it."
Portis, a redshirt sophomore, transferred from Florida and was forced to sit out last season due to NCAA eligibility rules.
Friedgen has said that Portis is learning the system much more quickly than he expected, but the one thing holding Portis back is his footwork.
"I'm just so used to getting in the zone and just playing and not thinking about little things," Portis said. "[Friedgen's] being more disciplined with the little things - my footwork, my alignments; the smallest things can make a play work or not. It's something that can be fixed."
n TERP NOTES: Wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey has been wearing a walking boot on his right foot and had an MRI on Monday. "[The MRI] was encouraging," Friedgen said. "Nothing was wrong with the bone, and we think he'll be back in a week." ... Redshirt freshman linebacker Alex Wujciak is out for the season after partially tearing his anterior cruciate ligament. Wujciak had a terrific spring and was competing for a starting spot before the injury. ... Offensive lineman Scott Burley was granted another year of eligibility by the NCAA. After playing in last year's opener, Burley missed the rest of the season with an ankle injury. He is expected to start at left tackle.
Contact reporter Andrew Zuckerman at zuckermandbk@gmail.com.
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