Cliff Tucker

One month after his Maryland basketball career came to an end, Cliff Tucker made his public debut on the football field for the Terps. The swingman-turned-wide receiver showcased his quick hands and athletic ability during Thursday's open practice. Listed at 6 feet 6, Tucker — sporting No. 88 — towered over most of the other receivers. "He's got good size and good leaping ability," Maryland coach Randy Edsall said. "We have to get him back to catching that oblong ball instead of that round ball, which is a little tougher to catch.

It's been five years since I arrived on the Maryland beat, beginning by filling in on some 2007 games. That's long enough for a retrospective -- a bloggy montage -- of memorable Maryland moments during the period. Feel free to add some of your own. Favorite football game: Danny O'Brien throws four touchdown passes to Torrey Smith as Maryland beats a ranked North Carolina State team, 38-31, in the 2010  regular-season finale. The Terps saved their best that season for last.

Wide receiver Torrey Smith , the Ravens' second-round draft pick, attended Saturday's Red-White football game, visiting with his former Maryland teammates. Smith wore red a Maryland Terrapins T-shirt (not a Ravens shirt). He received one of the loudest ovations of the day when introduced to the Byrd Stadium crowd. Smith had 67 catches and 12 touchdowns last season. But Ravens fans may not know that he played much of the year with a sore ankle that has now had time to heal.

Wide receiver Torrey Smith , the Ravens' second-round draft pick, attended Saturday's Red-White football game, visiting with his former Maryland teammates. Smith wore red a Maryland Terrapins T-shirt (not a Ravens shirt). He received one of the loudest ovations of the day when introduced to the Byrd Stadium crowd. Smith had 67 catches and 12 touchdowns last season. But Ravens fans may not know that he played much of the year with a sore ankle that has now had time to heal.

Gary Williams on Cliff Tucker: "He got a little bit behind this year after the start of the season, but after what he did [Tuesday night] he has certainly pushed himself back into the rotation. I'm glad to see that." ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/terpsblog)

The Terps have a lot of depth in the backcourt. The improvement of sophomores Adrian Bowie and Cliff Tucker and the addition of freshman Sean Mosley gives Gary Williams options if Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes are not playing well. Maryland's frontcourt situation is even worse than I imagined. As well as Dave Neal played against Vermont, it was mainly due to the fact that Braxton Dupree and Jerome Burney were almost nonexistent. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/terpsblog)

Maryland, which didn't lose an Atlantic Coast Conference game at home all last season, dropped its first conference game of the new season, 79-75, to Boston College despite a career-high 27 points from center Jordan Williams. The Eagles won by shooting 7-for-12 on 3-pointers in the second half. They made 13 3s in the game. With the Terps trailing 78-75, Maryland guard Terrell Stoglin (14 points on 6-for-17 shooting) missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 17 seconds left.

Maryland (4-2) vs. Elon (2-2) When: Friday, 8 p.m. Where: Comcast Center Television: Comcast Sportsnet Radio: 105.7 FM Last meeting: Maryland won, 76-50, in the only meeting in school history on Dec. 30, 2008. Preview: The Terps are looking for their second consecutive win after beating Delaware State, 72-54, on Tuesday. All four of Maryland's victories have come at home this season and the Terps are unbeaten at Comcast Center in their past 13 games.

COLLEGE PARK -- Cliff Tucker, considered by many among the nation's top high school guards, signed and faxed a letter of intent yesterday to play for Maryland, the athletic department announced. Maryland still has one scholarship remaining, leaving the option open for popular prospect Jai Lucas, whose father, John, played for the Terps. Lucas has prolonged his recruiting process and is still uncommitted. Tucker, a 6-foot-5 senior swingman from Chapin High School in El Paso, Texas, is a four-star recruit ranked the No. 19 shooting guard in the country by Rivals.

Nineteen games had passed since Maryland seniors Cliff Tucker, Adrian Bowie and Dino Gregory were all in the starting lineup. But there they all were Saturday afternoon, getting the start together and eagerly hoping to make their final home game memorable — even if much of the season that preceded it was not. What the seniors got instead was more disappointment in the form of a 74-60 loss to Virginia — Maryland's third straight and...

One month after his Maryland basketball career came to an end, Cliff Tucker made his public debut on the football field for the Terps. The swingman-turned-wide receiver showcased his quick hands and athletic ability during Thursday's open practice. Listed at 6 feet 6, Tucker — sporting No. 88 — towered over most of the other receivers. "He's got good size and good leaping ability," Maryland coach Randy Edsall said. "We have to get him back to catching that oblong ball instead of that round ball, which is a little tougher to catch.

Maryland had one more opportunity Friday night to get it right, one precious chance -- in a meaningful game in March -- to finally claim a memorable win against a ranked team while retaining a shred of hope of securing an NCAA tournament berth. After having gone 0-6 against Top 25 teams, the Terps fell, 87-71, to No. 5 Duke in perhaps the costliest loss of all because it ended their ambitious goal of winning the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament as a seventh seed and claiming the conference's automatic NCAA bid. It was a rough, contentious, quarterfinal played in front of a heavily pro-Duke crowd.

The Cliff Tucker Maryland needs in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament is the one who scored 22 points in a win over No. 5 North Carolina in 2009, or who rained down a buzzer-beater to defeat Georgia Tech last season. The Terrapins need the Tucker who doesn't brood. The interesting part about Tucker's final-second shot — it was the most memorable of his career — is there was no time to think. That's key for the senior, who conceded Wednesday that he tends to ponder and pout when not getting the playing time he believes he deserves.

Nineteen games had passed since Maryland seniors Cliff Tucker, Adrian Bowie and Dino Gregory were all in the starting lineup. But there they all were Saturday afternoon, getting the start together and eagerly hoping to make their final home game memorable — even if much of the season that preceded it was not. What the seniors got instead was more disappointment in the form of a 74-60 loss to Virginia — Maryland's third straight and...

Even with all the indignities it endured this season -- the eight single-digit losses, the seven starting-lineup changes -- it seemed improbable that Maryland would drop its final regular-season home game to a Virginia team it led in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings. Not on Maryland's Senior Day. Not when the Terps urgently needed a lift after two straight ACC defeats. Not under a coach who habitually gets his players to finish with flourishes and whose team went undefeated here last season in conference play.

With the Maryland Terrapins third loss in the last four conference games ("Another blow to fading Terps," Feb. 16), the men are now completely out of the NCAA tournament discussion, and now the only way they get in is with a near impossible ACC tournament championship. Although the team lost Greivis Vasquez to graduation last year, this was by no means considered a rebuilding year. Key players Adrian Bowie, Cliff Tucker and Dino Gregory are all seniors, and Sean Mosley is a junior.

With the Maryland Terrapins third loss in the last four conference games ("Another blow to fading Terps," Feb. 16), the men are now completely out of the NCAA tournament discussion, and now the only way they get in is with a near impossible ACC tournament championship. Although the team lost Greivis Vasquez to graduation last year, this was by no means considered a rebuilding year. Key players Adrian Bowie, Cliff Tucker and Dino Gregory are all seniors, and Sean Mosley is a junior.

The Atlantic Coast Conference tournament has a familiar feel for the second-seeded Maryland Terrapins. After all, they have played each of the participants this season and could find themselves playing at least one team for a third time. At the same time, the tournament is very different -- the schedule is more compressed -- than the regular season. Preparing for it requires a new set of procedures. About the only thing like it for No. 19 Maryland this season was the Maui Invitational, in which the Terps played three games in three days in November, losing two. The team could have a similar schedule at Greensboro Coliseum if it wins Friday night and Saturday to advance to Sunday's final.

Adrian Bowie winced as if he'd just eaten a sour grape. It was late January, and Maryland's senior guard was talking about missing the NCAA tournament in his freshman year and playing in the NIT instead. "We don't want to be there again," Bowie said. "It was horrible. " If Bowie and fellow seniors Dino Gregory and Cliff Tucker need any more motivation in the final six regular-season games, they only need to recall how it felt missing the party in 2007-08, when the Terps went to the NIT. Maryland made the NCAA tournament the next two seasons.

To warm up for fifth-ranked Duke, Maryland fans jubilantly practiced new cheers, donned free gold T-shirts and were told by coach Gary Williams how much he appreciated their devotion to his team. The fans -- who seem to reach for new decibel levels whenever the Blue Devils are in town -- couldn't have been more primed. But the Terps -- eager for a win against a top team that had beaten them in seven of the past eight meetings -- couldn't contend with Duke's size and inside-out balance and lost, 80-62.