Terp Takeaways and Notes Ahead of Amended Fall Season
After days of deliberation within the Big Ten, the conference announced plans on Wednesday morning to move forward with a football season beginning October 23-24. As a press conference this morning with Kevin Warren and others provided additional insight into the decision, we delve into what led the Big Ten to reverse course and the biggest questions for Maryland moving forward.
-Timing of decision...the Big Ten was transparent in Wednesday morning's press conference as fans wanted to understand what led to the decision reversal as Ohio State team physician James Borcher provided an explanation. "We have continued to learn and explore best options," he added. "I think there's some critical areas that we really sought best evidence in and expertise in. Our ability to test consistently and uniformly amongst the conference and provide, that was really important and I think we've been very comfortable with the idea that we will be able to provide daily rapid testing."
-Practice time...Maryland returned to practice last Friday following the latest round of COVID-19 testing as the stringent measures will impact depth across the country in both practice and games. As for when fall camp will begin, the date has not officially been finalized as Maryland could hit the field as early as next week to begin the next step of preseason practice. While Maryland has enjoyed and built chemistry through offseason workouts to-date, a 4:30 press conference is scheduled with reporters with more details to follow.
-Fan attendance...the next step in the return of fall sports begs whether fans will be permitted to attend games, but Penn State VP for Intercollegiate Athletics Sandy Barbour told reporters in Wednesday's press conference that fans will not be permitted, adding "we may look" to have player families in attendance.
-Schedule…while Maryland now knows they will play football this fall, the finalized schedule from the Big Ten is among the top logistical priorities for the Big Ten moving forward. Maryland added cross-conference opponents in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Northwestern and Iowa in the original amended 2020 schedule but a nine-week, nine-game season would cut a pair of those matchups. The ninth game for all Big Ten teams will align conference standings across Big Ten divisions for a matchup during championship week, though commissioner Kevin Warren added sites have yet to be determined. The regular season was originally slated to open with a road contest against Iowa, but while Maryland will not concern themselves with logistical concerns for the season, a finalized plan expected this week, according to Wisconsin director of athletics Barry Alvarez, as a nine-game season is in place. Until then, Maryland will continue to work on ironing out the scheme kinks across the young roster.
-Opt outs…depth is going to be a concern for teams across the conference as teams deal with daily testing and potential positive cases. For Maryland, they’re down seven players with six of them being opt-outs dating back to early August. No decision has been made for Austin Fontaine, Jalen Alexander or Vincent Flythe while neither Josh Jackson nor Johnny Jordan are expected back this fall. New linebacker TJ Kautai was the sixth and final opt out for Maryland, while junior tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo is not expected to return in the new fall schedule.
-Replacing Johnny Jordan…junior Spencer Anderson could slide into the void role as starting center in the senior’s absence to give Maryland added size in the trenches. Anderson primarily played right tackle for the Terps to-date but his prior experience heading into Maryland gives him time inside. He’s had time this summer and early fall to get reps and get acclimated inside. Can the added size and strength translate to better consistency for Maryland in the trenches? Time will tell whether the optimism translates to on-field success but offensive line play yet again remains a key factor in Maryland’s success in 2020.
-Quarterback…now the Terps have a true battle in the quarterback room. A pair of underclassmen will battle it out as Lance Legendre returns to stave off Alabama quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa despite a combined fifteen pass attempts between the two. Legendre has taken time this offseason to round out his game as a true dual-threat quarterback, but Tagovailoa has done well developing chemistry with his targets since his summer arrival in College Park while the delayed start of the Big Ten season gives Tagovailoa a better chance to get acclimated within the offense. With now five weeks before the start of the season, separating the two will be critical as Maryland will look to overcome inexperience on offense.
-Added energy…mentioned the juco additions for Maryland have drawn rave reviews early on as defensive linemen Ami Finau and Mosiah Nasili-Kite have increased the competition along the defensive line. Maryland returns Sam Okuayinonu, Olu Oluwatimi and Lawtez Rogers as the defensive line is the undoubted biggest focus on the defensive side of the ball, but will be interesting to see how the high motors the juco additions have brought into the program shake up the two-deep.
-Young talent at wide receiver...whether it's Legendre or Tagovailoa, Maryland returns a deep room at wide receiver to give the quarterback room options outside. Senior slot receiver DJ Turner transferred out of the program to Pittsburgh as a grad transfer last month. Underclassmen Dino Tomlin, Rakim Jarrett and Nick DeGennaro are three that are prime to take over Turner's role but the deep stable of talent gives minimal concern the room will be ready. The highly-anticipated return of Jeshaun Jones gives Maryland an option that can play multiple receiver positions that alleviates pressure off Dontay Demus, while Brian Cobbs and Darryl Jones and the availability of DeJuan Ellis gives Maryland flexibility at the position. All four true freshmen could play this season as the NCAA irons out the four-game redshirt rule for a new season, but when reviewing offensive concerns, wide receiver remains at the bottom of the list for Maryland in 2020.
