(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)

On a wet day at Byrd Stadium yesterday, the Terrapins fell to a UVA team that managed only 201 yards of total offense.  While the defense held its own, Maryland’s offense kept coughing up the ball and handed the Wahoos a win.  Four turnovers did the Terps in, including a third quarter Chris Turner Pick-6 that gave the Cavaliers the lead for good.  Maryland’s -1.8 per game turnover margin puts them at 117 out of 120 DI-A teams.

This game was not indicative of the Terps season long struggles with breakdowns in protection.  While Chris Turner seemed to have more time to throw the ball this Saturday, he never got into a rhythm and coughed it up with the game on the line.  The running game was plagued by fumbles.  Offensively, the Terps moved the ball reasonably well, but they failed to get the ball in the end zone.

The defense seemed to turn things around yesterday.  The Terps totaled 5 sacks against UVA and the D was getting constant penetration.  Alex Wucjiak was everywhere, adding 14 tackles to his season total of 77.  Wucjiak is now ranked 4th in DI-A in total tackles.  Demetrius Hartsfield gutted it out with a broken hand to get seven tackles, and Adrian Moten ended up with two sacks.  That was about it for Terps highlights.

Turnovers turnovers turnovers.  Why all the turnovers?  UVA has a good defense ranking 19th overall in total yards, but that’s no excuse for fumbles and interceptions.  I think Maryland’s offense has been too predictable all year.  Check that, they’ve been too predictable since 2006.  They’ve fallen in love with the quick outs and the runs off tackle.  The offensive rhythm is rarely staggered, allowing the defense to time their blitz better and zero in on the football.  I’ve said it before, but I’d still like to see Maryland use more no huddle, especially in the second half.  Chris Turner seems more in control when he’s thinking less, and mixing in the no huddle would keep the defense on its toes.

Otherwise, we all know it’s going to be a long season so let’s just hope for some incremental improvements.  U-G-L-Y the Terps ain’t got no alibi, they ugly.

During the Clemson game, Demetrius Hartsfield, the least-heralded of the Terps’ linebackers, quietly began to rack up tackle after tackle. And I thought to myself, nice I’m gonna write down his name and post about him dude you are such a keen observer of the game I can’t believe it you’re so smart. But then, Demetrius kind of outkicked the coverage on me; his performance went from quietly strong to loudly strong. Like deafening.

The final stat line for this Raleigh, N.C. product (he turned down Duke to come to Maryland…yay, f*ck Duke!) includes 10 tackles (eight of them solo and 2.5 of them for a loss), one sack, one fumble recovered. And as the game approached its finale, he only got bigger: four of his tackles came in the final quarter. And of course, it all culminated when Hartsfield, with 27 seconds left, sacked Clemson QB Kyle Parker, forcing and then recovering a fumble to seal the victory.

The accolades have been pouring in, and rightly so. He’s the first defensive player this season to be named ACC Rookie of the Week. No one less than Lou Holtz gave Hartsfield a “helmet sticker” during ESPN’s college football show. It’s all well-deserved, but what about me? I was ready to tout the untouted guy. It’s just bad luck, is what it is.

I always figured Alex Wujciak would emerge as this year’s top dog and/or Next Great Maryland Linebacker, and if not him, then Adrien Moten probably had the next-best shot. And don’t get me wrong…Wujciak is a warrior. All accounts are that he hobbles around like Earl Campbell during the week but always brings it on game days. You can’t knock a guy like that. But the unit needed more than just a stopper — they needed a game changer. And on Saturday, that’s what they got — literally — from Demetrius Hartsfield. We’ll see if he can keep it rolling against Wake.

(Photo credit: Rivals.com)