2008 Woodie Awards
Tracking the red and white
Beat writer Eric Detweiler logs football's first scrimmage of the summer
Eric Detweiler
Issue date: 8/14/08 Section: Sports
By Eric Detweiler
Senior staff writer
The Terps took the field at Byrd Stadium for the first of three official intrasquad scrimmages Saturday evening. The defense put on the red. The offense donned the white. Overall, the defense dominated, forcing a pair of turnovers and holding the offense to 17 points despite often being stuck with a short field. Friedgen said the offense was rustier than usual because he normally has a small scrimmage at practice before the first live scrimmage but opted to do "The Oklahoma Drill," a competitive tackling exercise, this week instead.
Here's a look at what else happened during the 15-possession "game."
n QB Update: Junior Chris Turner got the scrimmage started with a 13-play drive that resulted in a missed 50-yard field goal by Obi Egekeze. He was 8-of-12 for 93 yards, and coach Ralph Friedgen said afterward he thought Turner performed a little better than his competition, senior Jordan Steffy and junior Josh Portis.
Turner's reaction: "That's the first time I've heard that all camp, so I guess that's good, right?"
Portis was 4-of-9 for 69 yards with an interception that was returned 30 yards by junior cornerback Nolan Carroll for a touchdown. But he bounced back to complete the longest pass of the day, a 41-yard laser to freshman wide receiver Quinton McCree, which set up a touchdown.
"[Portis] just waited [on the interception]. You can't do that, but then again, he comes back and makes some plays, too," Friedgen said. "I think he's learning, and I see him getting better."
Steffy was 5-of-9 for 76 yards, and he was picked off in the end zone by senior cornerback Kevin Barnes.
There's still a lot of time for a starter to emerge, but Friedgen got a look at each quarterback in a variety of situations.
"I'm trying to evaluate all of them with all teams and then see who does what," Friedgen said.
n Scrimmage Star: True freshman running back Davin Meggett. Meggett, the son of former NFL running back Dave Meggett, burst onto the scene by scoring the Terps' lone offensive touchdowns. He scored from six yards out on the seventh possession of the game, and he opened the 14th possession by taking a pitch up the right sideline for a 50-yard touchdown run.
Senior staff writer
The Terps took the field at Byrd Stadium for the first of three official intrasquad scrimmages Saturday evening. The defense put on the red. The offense donned the white. Overall, the defense dominated, forcing a pair of turnovers and holding the offense to 17 points despite often being stuck with a short field. Friedgen said the offense was rustier than usual because he normally has a small scrimmage at practice before the first live scrimmage but opted to do "The Oklahoma Drill," a competitive tackling exercise, this week instead.
Here's a look at what else happened during the 15-possession "game."
n QB Update: Junior Chris Turner got the scrimmage started with a 13-play drive that resulted in a missed 50-yard field goal by Obi Egekeze. He was 8-of-12 for 93 yards, and coach Ralph Friedgen said afterward he thought Turner performed a little better than his competition, senior Jordan Steffy and junior Josh Portis.
Turner's reaction: "That's the first time I've heard that all camp, so I guess that's good, right?"
Portis was 4-of-9 for 69 yards with an interception that was returned 30 yards by junior cornerback Nolan Carroll for a touchdown. But he bounced back to complete the longest pass of the day, a 41-yard laser to freshman wide receiver Quinton McCree, which set up a touchdown.
"[Portis] just waited [on the interception]. You can't do that, but then again, he comes back and makes some plays, too," Friedgen said. "I think he's learning, and I see him getting better."
Steffy was 5-of-9 for 76 yards, and he was picked off in the end zone by senior cornerback Kevin Barnes.
There's still a lot of time for a starter to emerge, but Friedgen got a look at each quarterback in a variety of situations.
"I'm trying to evaluate all of them with all teams and then see who does what," Friedgen said.
n Scrimmage Star: True freshman running back Davin Meggett. Meggett, the son of former NFL running back Dave Meggett, burst onto the scene by scoring the Terps' lone offensive touchdowns. He scored from six yards out on the seventh possession of the game, and he opened the 14th possession by taking a pitch up the right sideline for a 50-yard touchdown run.
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