COLLEGE PARK — COLLEGE PARK - His Maryland coaches seem to hold their collective breath each time Josh Portis enters the game.
They know their wildly talented quarterback could break the sort of dazzling run that has so far been confined to the practice field and to his own mind. Or he could bungle the play call. He's prone to doing that, too.
Offensive coordinator James Franklin shakes his head and smiles when contemplating the dizzying range of Portis' possibilities - good and bad. "When Portis comes on the field, there are two people that are nervous - me and the [other team's] defensive coordinator," Franklin said.
Three games into Maryland's season, the grand Portis experiment is entering a critical phase. Portis, who sat out one season after transferring from Florida and was suspended for another for cheating on a quiz, is growing impatient waiting for his moment - that big play he just knows will change the course of his season and perhaps his career.
"It's frustrating sometimes, you know," said Portis, who set a school quarterback record by running the 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds in 2006. "God blessed me with a God-given ability. I'm happy for my teammates - Da'Rel [Scott] is breaking one, Darrius [Heyward-Bey] is breaking one. I haven't broken one yet."
The soft-spoken Portis closes his eyes, as if imagining touchdowns yet to be. "Oh man, it's just a matter of time," he said. "I'm just ready to explode."
Perhaps the outburst will come when Maryland hosts Eastern Michigan today. But the litmus test of Maryland's confidence in Portis occurs when the team's Atlantic Coast Conference schedule begins at Clemson next Saturday. Coaches will have to decide whether his talent outweighs his potential for error when the games matter most. "We still have faith in him," coach Ralph Friedgen said. "As long as he's productive, we're going to keep putting him in there."
Trying to surprise opposing defenses, coaches have inserted Portis 13 times, mostly on first and second downs. His biggest gain has been 16 yards. He usually comes out after one play, returning to the sideline as starter Chris Turner trots back in.
Portis has thrown one pass, completing a 4-yarder to wide receiver Danny Oquendo, who said of Portis: "If he doesn't break four or five this season, then something's wrong. He has all the ability to do it."
