Football Woes – Academic Problems, Dismissals, and Injuries Oh My!

Looks like Randy Edsall was right about Maryland’s academic standing. According to the Baltimore Sun, the Terps’ football team could stand to lose three scholarships due to an unacceptable Academic Progress Rate.

Obviously, three scholarships isn’t a huge deal – Maryland usually operates under the limit anyway – but it’s the reason why which is troubling. This is supposed to be a top-flight public university, and the academic status of the athletic teams should reflect that. The Terps are seeking a waiver, saying that improvements are being made and with a new athletic director and football coach, the team will have a renewed focus on academics.

Dan Trump, associate AD for compliance, said this to the Sun’s Jeff Barker:

"“We’ve been proactive. We do recognize there was a downward trend, and we did put processes in place. If you really look at it, there is one single year where we really plummeted. That fall of ’09, we struggled on the field and off the field. You take out that one semester, and we’re not having this conversation."

The NCAA will make their official ruling later in the spring.

Now, to roster updates. Fifth-year seniors Jamarr Robinson and Ben Pooler have both left the team, according to Patrick Stevens of the Washington Times.

Robinson was the starting quarterback for Maryland at the beginning of last year before making way for Danny O’Brien, and finishes his career at Maryland with 808 passing yards with six touchdowns against two interceptions and 326 rushing yards. That means the Terps are now down to three scholarship quarterbacks – DOB, CJ Brown and Tyler Smith. Anyone else ready for some Troy Jones action?

Pooler, who was supposed to be the backup weakside linebacker last year, suffered a season-ending ACL injury in August. He only saw playing time for one year in the program, as a sophomore, where he recorded 43 tackles (eight for a loss) and three sacks.

Edsall doesn’t seem to be a fan of five-year players, which is concerning (remember, he also rescinded the scholarships of Derek Drummond and Ian Davidson). Here’s a quote from him about it, to Stevens:

"I think what happens is, is everyone has five years to complete four years of eligibility but the fifth year is not a guaranteed year. The thing the University of Maryland has done is they’ve lived up to their obligation of graduating those two young men in terms of their degrees, so they’re going to be moving on and working to go, I think, to play at a lower level next year."

In terms of spring football (which is just around the corner), a few players will be unable to participate, also via Stevens. Offensive linemen Justin Lewis and Pete DeSouza, tight end Dave Stinebaugh and cornerback Avery Graham are not expected to participate in spring drills. Graham will be running track this spring, however. Lewis and DeSouza both started games on the offensive line last year (Lewis was the starting right guard), and DeSouza is still recovering from that awful scooter accident that left him with two broken legs. Stinebaugh is a blog favorite who came on as a solid tight end option last year.

Justin Gilbert, Ryan Schlothauer, and Marcus Whitfield are listed as “limited”.

As always, we’ll keep you updated with all things spring football.