Maryland offensive Spring Game viewing guide

We break down each position on Maryland’s football roster and discuss which ones are most intriguing as we head into Saturday’s Spring Game. Give it a read and leave your comments on which positon battles you’re looking forward to watching the most.

Quarterback:

This is the one of the positions on the Maryland roster that has some stability. Redshirt junior Caleb Rowe is still recovering from a torn ACL, but will almost definitely be under center when the Terrapins open the season against Richmond on Sept. 5. Rowe has been an admirable fill-in at the position throughout C.J. Brown’s injury-plagued tenure in College Park. Over the course of his collegiate career, Rowe has completed 53.7 percent (123-of-229) and threw for 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in parts of three seasons. The redshirt junior signal caller is more of a pro-style pocket passer than Brown ever was going to be. While he’s not as mobile as Brown, Rowe is able to move around and run the read-option effectively.

Redshirt junior Perry Hills and sophomore Shane Cockerille are the other quarterbacks that will see time with Rowe sitting out spring practices due to injury. Hills obviously has some experience running the Maryland offense as he started the first seven games of his freshman season in 2012. The Pittsburgh native also appeared in the Iowa game in 2014, and ended up completing 5-of-10 passes for 53 yards and a touchdown in a Terps win. On the other hand, Cockerille hasn’t gotten any burn since arriving in College Park, aside from in practice. He was a highly-touted dual-threat quarterback at Gilman, so he definitely has the chops to contribute at the collegiate level. It’ll be interesting to see if he can hang or even beat out Hills for the right to back up Rowe in 2015.

Running Back:

In recent years, Maryland has struggled to find any type of consistency at the tailback position. There is definitely talent currently at the position in senior Brandon Ross, junior Wes Brown, and junior Jacquii Veii (who is in the backfield again after a year at wide receiver). The Terps had the fourth-fewest rushing attempts in the Big Ten with just 428 and 161 of those attempts came from C.J. Brown. So that means that Maryland halfbacks only carried the football 267 times.

Ross is the type of back that is very dangerous in the open field, but isn’t the most effective when it comes to running between the tackles. He’s the type of player that can make big plays happen, but needs a thunderous compliment like Wes Brown to run up the middle and get those tough yards to move the chains. However, it appears as though the Terps didn’t love to run the ball last season. Obviously, with skilled wideouts like Stefon Diggs and Deon Long, it’s understandable that the bulk of Maryland’s yards would come through the air.

However, there were times that opposing teams knew that the Terps would throw a large percentage of the key and didn’t have to worry too much about stopping the run. However, the story may be a little different this year with the change in personnel. It wouldn’t be the worst thing if coach Randy Edsall would commit to a more balanced offensive attack. Big Ten teams with athletic front sevens will be able to key in on Maryland’s passing game and force the Terps to get more accomplished through the air. A large dose of Wes Brown could go a long way in keeping defenses on their toes. It’s worth watching if Maryland adds any new wrinkles to the running game, especially with C.J. Brown having graduated.

Wide Receiver:

This is one of the more interesting positions on Maryland’s roster. The Terps are adjusting to life without Diggs and Long, who most definitely will be playing football on Sundays in the fall. While those are a pair of huge losses for the program, there’s an abundance of capable talent that will replace them. Senior Levern Jacobs will likely sit atop the depth chart after missing his entire junior campaign due to suspenson for an incident that occurred last summer. Jacobs was expected to start for Maryland in 2014, but was relegated to scout team duties. In his last action during the 2013 season, the former Suitland star led the team in receptions (47) and receiving yards (640) and also caught three touchdown passes. Jacobs is the type of versatile playmaker that can help replace a guy with the talent of Diggs.

After Jacobs, it’ll likely be a group of Marcus Leak, Taivon Jacobs, and Juwann Winfree making their mark. Taivon Jacobs is coming off a significant knee injury, but has a tremendous amount of upside. Much of the same is true with Winfree, who ended up with 158 yards on 11 catches and a pair of touchdowns as a freshman. Leak wasn’t a huge producer (only 297 yards), but can be a downfield threat that could always help out the passing attack. This position will get even more interesting as the season gets closer when freshmen D.J. Moore and Jahrvis Davenport gets more reps in practice. There will be more than enough talent to help fill the void left by Diggs and Long.

Tight End:

This is a position where the Terps didn’t get much production in 2014. In fact, P.J. Gallo, Derrick Hayward, and Andrew Issacs combined to catch just six passes for 41 yards the entire season. Stability at tight end is something that Maryland has had in recent years with the likes of Matt Furstenburg and Dave Stinebaugh being solid producers. The Terps did have some bad luck a season ago as Issacs suffered a dislocated knee against Syracuse on Sept. 20, which ended his season only four games in. Issacs did win the starting job out of training camp, and does have a ton of upside given his production in high school. He’s a hybrid type of tight end that has a Vernon Davis-type build. Obviously, the talent level isn’t currently anywhere near Davis, but the potential to be an offensive asset is definitely there. According to Edsall, Issacs is progressing ahead of schedule, and could be ready for game action by August. Hayward, who was converted from a linebacker to a tight end, is a guy to look out for. The Eastern Shore native is finding himself as a more confident member of the offense, and is definitely the one to keep an eye on in this group.

Offensive Line:

The offensive line is a position with a lot of turnovers from last season. Starters Silvano Altamirano (left guard), Sal Conaboy (center), and Jake Wheeler (left tackle) have graduated, leaving a good amount of talent to replace. However, there’s quite a bit of youth in the reserve ranks, so keep an eye on redshirt freshman Damian Prince, one of the most highly-touted recruits in recent years. Senior Evan Mulrooney will also provide a veteran presence to the unit, and likely get a lot of run with the starts on Saturday. With the amount of depth that the Terps have on the offensive line, expect Edsall to play a handful of the younger guys.