(The next in our illustrious continuing series. Read the previous installment here.)
Tuesday night’s show started by profiling seniors Adrian Moten and preseason All-ACC selection Alex Wujciak, who are expected to anchor another strong Maryland linebacking unit. But what you may not have known until last night, is that they like to talk. I know that because they interviewed eighteen players and coaches who all said “those two like to talk.” But once that was established, a deep division emerged, with some (James Franklin, A.J. Francis-shocker!) enjoying the talk and others (Jamarr Robinson) believing it gets a little old. Because the team is surely waiting for my evaluation, I was personally amused by Moten’s smack — especially when he used Paul Pinegar’s full name when he told him he was offside. First, because I think Paul Pinegar (rhymes with “vinegar”) has a hilarious name, and second, because for whatever reason it’s always funny when football players use each other’s first and last names for emphasis. I should start doing that. WAY TO PROCESS THAT PAYROLL, DENISE WORTHINGTON!
The segment capped off with Moten hitting Wujciak in the face with a pie on his birthday. The nuances of the act, though, just don’t translate to the written word. I know, it’s unfortunate.
Next we got a recap of the team’s first nighttime scrimmage. Know what Ralph Friedgen called it? Friday Night Lights. Here’s the story behind that, and forgive me for paraphrasing: Ralph told the kids they were gonna scrimmage at night, and he wanted the kids to get excited about that, so he said, you know what, let’s call this thing Friday Night Lights, to get the kids excited. And you know what? They got pretty excited about it. The kids, I mean. Kids means players.
Coach Fridge was topped in the insight department only by O-coordinator James Franklin, who I like very much. No matter what he says, he says it in a way where you believe him. I know I’m just sitting on my couch, but when he speaks, I feel more motivated. To do something. Friday Night Lights was no different. According to Franklin, when you get on that field — to play the game — on your field — your home field — your main stadium — you better be ready to play your game. Ah, crap, I just punched a hole in the wall.
I kid because I love. It’s actually a good idea to do these things at night, and the players were clearly amped. Looked like a solid scrimmage, too. Good hard running and hole-hitting from Davin Meggett (yes indeed…I saw a couple holes). A sweet bootleg touchdown toss from The Ballad of Danny O’Brien. He’s gonna be solid under center this year. Wait, Jamarr Robinson was already named the starter? OK, sure, he was fine, too.
The showstopper, of course, was Torrey Smith. The bulk of the footage was Smith making ridiculous grabs in slow motion, with an Enya song playing in the background. There was one particularly unreal play where he bobbled the ball about two feet up in the air, ran into a crowd of defenders, somehow weaved through them all, got turned backwards, bobbled the ball some more, then pulled it down against the side of his helmet. At that moment Enya reached her crescendo, with players in the background saying “the guy is just a playmaker, he does crazy things out there,” and so on. Get him the damn ball, Fridge!
I think Franklin summarized the scrimmage best when he said that when the offense raises its game — and then the defense raises its game — but then the offense sees that — and raises its game EVEN MORE — but the defense again raises its game AGAIN – THAT is when your game goes to another level. And THAT is what happened under the lights in that Friday spring scrimmage.
And then Alex Wujciak hit Adrian Moten in the face with a pie for his birthday. You see the symmetry there? You see what just happened? Mwah! I kiss my fingers with delight.
Until next week.
(Photo credit: Terp Talk)
