Mid-Afternoon Update

Back from a meeting in Dupont Circle. Just watched the first five periods of practice, arguing with a few writers about the strength of Maryland’s men’s basketball schedule. The non-conference slate is very manageable, even for the team that will take the floor in a few months.

Back to football, here is a little more extended version of some highlights from Ralph’s press conference earlier:

Friedgen said one of his main concerns is defensive line depth. With nose tackle Travis Ivey (foot) out another three to four weeks, the Terps can not afford another setback on the line. Friedgen said: “If we have another injury or two we could be in some problems.”

The only real news of the afternoon was that senior Danny Oquendo will be the punt returner and redshirt freshman Torrey Smith will handle kickoffs, while freshman Kenny Tate will serve as a backup.

Friedgen said James Franklin’s return has allowed Friedgen to “be involved in all elements of the game, which was very difficult to do the last couple of years.”

Running back continues to be an area of concern. Ralph likes the speed he has there, particularly with Da’Rel Scott, but there seems to be a lack of size and there is certainly a lack of experience. Morgan Green continues to be hampered by a nagging quadriceps injury.

Ralph would like to see more constancy with punting and place kicking. Expect some more use of the tight end this season, Friedgen said, as well as some more crossing patterns. He also said the Terps will still look to stretch the field in this version of the West Coast offense.

Once again, Ralph praised defensive tackle Jeremy Navarre, who has been on a tear since the spring.

Meeting with Ralph and Jordan Steffy later. I will transcribe both and also do a notebook for tomorrow’s print edition of the newspaper.