Terps Notebook

[4:13 p.m.] UPDATE:

On Wednesday, The Diamondback reported that starting safety Matt Robinson injured his shoulder in the morning drills. The Washington Post announced today that he will have to sit out three weeks and miss the opening game of the season against William & Mary.

Robinson's replacement is a local-known product in freshmen Sean Davis of Maret (D.C.). Davis jumped onto a few teams radar after a strong showing at camps at Maryland and North Carolina.

He committed to the Terps over offers from North Carolina, Connecticut, Boston College, Towson, James Madison, Ohio and Marshall.

As it stands, Maryland is set to have three freshmen play key roles in the home-opener against W&M.

                                                                                                             

It has been an eventful week for the Terps football and men's basketball team.

There have been many exciting highs, and a few devastating lows.

Since the good outweighs the bad, I’ll start with the bad news:

On Wednesday afternoon, the BaltimoreSun interviewed Terps’ coach Randy Edsall after he announced earlier that starting QB C.J. Brown would miss this season after suffering a torn ACL during the afternoon two-minute drills of practice.

“I'm very devastated for C.J. as I watched him put in all this hard work to be the starting quarterback at the University of Maryland, to see it go away with one cut is just heartbreaking," Edsall said to the Sun.

From the ruins, three things have been made clear by Edsall, however: true-freshman Perry Hills is the new starting QB, this team is built on strong character and lastly that the offense will not change as a result of the QB change.

Edsall said in the same press conference that Hills of Central Catholic in Pittsburgh will take over as the No. 1 QB moving ahead.

“As much as I'm devastated for C.J. and upset about it for him, I'm also excited about it for Perry and Caleb; that was one of the reasons why we recruited them to come here," Edsall said to the Sun.

Secondly, Devin Burns, who was recruited to play QB for the Terps by former coach Ralph Friedgen and then converted to the WR position last season, will now take snaps with the third-team offense.

“Devin Burns came in to see me and he said, 'Coach, I really think I can help the team at quarterback' and that was before I got the result of the MRI that C.J. had," Edsall said to the Sun. “After we got the results, I brought Devin back in and said, 'You'll come in and work with the 3s. It showed that guys were concerned about how they could help the team.”

And last but not least, even though neither Hills nor fellow freshman Caleb Rowe has taken a collegiate snap, Edsall explained that both players have taken the same kind and amount of reps that Brown was taking, and that he has the utmost faith in Hills’ ability to lead the offense.

"We felt that they were outstanding football players that would have the opportunity at some point in their career to help the University of Maryland win football games,' Edsall said to the Sun. "It just so happens that that opportunity is going to come this year in their freshman year.”

Now since I hate to be the bearer of bad news, let’s get to the good news shall we?

Meet Your New Quarterback: Perry Hills

Via the Baltimore Sun:

*Hills checks in at 6 feet 2, 205 pounds, and in his senior season threw for over 2,000 yards, 13 touchdowns and two interceptions.

*He was an all-star for not only the football team, but also a standout wrestler in the state. Hills’ high school is also fairly notably as it has produced talents such as Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino and former Rams-great Marc Bulger.

* Hills was ranked 29th in the country for quarterbacks by Scout.com. A three-star recruit, he picked Maryland over West Virginia, Temple and Kent State.

In a Sun article published today, Hills’ high school coach Trent Totten had this to say about the Terps’ starting QB:

“He can make all the throws," Totten said to the Sun. “He's not prone to [interceptions]. And I tell you another thing, the kid can run. The kid is a weapon as a runner.

“He's a leader, he's tough, he will be in command of the huddle," Totten said to the Sun. "I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised by how he leads the football team. He's got a ton of potential and nobody will outwork him.”

Now of course one has to take this with a grain of salt because Hills has yet to play in an actual game, but if a coach who has played with one of the all-time best quarterbacks in history says he’s prepared, one has to feel good about the kid. 

Meet Your Starting Running Back: Brandon Ross

The Diamondback reported this morning that coach Edsall has named the team’s starting running back for the season:

“If we had to start today, Brandon would be the starter,” Edsall said Tuesday to the Diamondback. “There are just some things that he’s done. He’s been very consistent.”

Of course, that hardly means the Terps aren’t still planning to regularly use several running backs this season. Ross and Pickett are both working with the first string in practice, and Brown and Reid are each seeing plenty of opportunities with the second unit.”

After stellar performances during the spring the redshirt freshman is now in line to start for the Terps in their first game of the season against William & Mary.

Surprise, Not Surprise: 

In the same Diamondback article, Edsall announced that freshman Stefon Diggs looks to be the top-return man for the team.

“He’s shown he can do things,” Edsall said to the Diamondback. “He’s a quick learner, and I’ve been very pleased with his poise in terms of catching the ball and understanding everything I’m looking for in a return guy.”

In Football Recruiting News: 

The Washington Post reports McDonough’s Na’Ty Rodgers, a four-star recruit on Rivals.com, has narrowed his list to five schools that he intends take official visits to this fall — Arkansas, Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Washington.

The highest-ranked uncommitted player left in the state, receiving a commitment from Rodgers would be a huge statement for Terps’ the recent in-state movement.

His father, Tyrone, was a defensive lineman for both OU and Washington, and has urged his son to pick the school he feels is the best fit and most comfortable for him.

Rodgers' commitment timetable:

“[Rodgers] plans to make his oral commitment after making all five visits, which he said will give him plenty of time to make the right decision.

Over time, “schools really show their true colors,” Rodgers, who hopes to major in architectural engineering or business management, said to the Post. “It’s easy to recruit a kid for a week and a half or send him a letter every two weeks, but if they stay on your for your entire high school career that shows you something right there.”

Architectural engineering or business management? Well Terps if for no other reason than academics, Maryland’s academic prowess in those two majors should make them hard to beat in comparison to the other schools.

I mean, Maryland is a Public Ivy, which is something those other schools can’t brag about on an official tour.

In Basketball Recruiting News: 

The Sun caught up with Terps’ target Roddy Peters after his unofficial visit to the school. After receiving an offer from Mark Turgeon on his 18^th birthday, Peters said Turgeon and crew have been making a serious push on him.

The Suitland-standout has ascended up recruiting boards after a terrific summer with local AAU powerhouse, D.C. Assault, and now ranks No. 42 in his class and No. 2 in the state behind DeMatha C BeeJay Anya.

Peters currently holds offers from Georgetown, Maryland, Memphis, Rugters, Seton Hall, UCLA and Xavier.

Here’s what Peter had to say on the visit:

“It went really good. I liked it,” Peters, whose rapid summer ascent landed him at No. 16 overall in the most recent update of the 247Sports rankings, said to the Sun. "They took me around to see everything, I got to see the dorms, talked to a couple of the players [Nick Faust and Pe’Shon Howard], met the trainers … They just said that they really want me at Maryland. That’s what [my mom] liked. Coach Turgeon told me he really wanted me. She likes them."

“[Turgeon] told me how I can come in and be a point guard, how he thinks I fit the style,” he continued to the Sun. “Of course, they were all saying that I should commit, but I still want to weigh my options.”

On his impending commitment:

“At first everyone thought I would commit [when Maryland offered], but I have all types of schools now. It’s really all about where I’m most comfortable,” he said to the Sun. “I’ve got some thinking to do. I think I’ll commit during basketball season.”

For the last two weeks, Peters has maintained that he would not only mind playing with the Harrison twins, but that he actually welcomes the possibility because he wants to win. Though neither side has talked, having a 2013 class composed of three top-50 players would do nothing but good for the Terps moving forward.