Josh Portis

COLLEGE PARK // Quarterback Josh Portis has enrolled in classes at the University of Maryland and will participate in spring drills when the Terps hit the practice fields in April. Portis, who spent his true freshman season at Florida, will be eligible to compete in the 2007 season. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound sophomore was the backup to three-year starter Chris Leak in Gainesville this past season, completing 6-of-11 passes for 81 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. He was also the Gators' fourth-leading rusher with 163 yards on 24 carries despite playing in just six games.

If the Ravens pick Penn State offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski in April, it will come 29 years after his father was drafted by Baltimore. Of course, in 1982, it was the Baltimore Colts who chose nose tackle Leo Wisniewski in the second round. Wisniewski played in Baltimore two years before relocating with the team to Indianapolis in 1984. That was his final season in a career shortened by knee injuries. "He doesn't talk about playing in the NFL much," Stefen Wisniewski said Friday.

Given Chris Turner's resemblance to Napoleon Dynamite, maybe Maryland should hire Uncle Rico as quarterbacks coach. If you never saw the Dynamite movie, you might feel a little lost. Which might be where the Terps are right now with their quarterback situation. Ralph Friedgen had the chance to make Turner the starter heading into the season, but the coach chose Jordan Steffy instead. Now, after one game, Steffy is out at least three weeks, so Turner steps back into the job he held for the second half of last season, when he went 3-5 as a starter.

COLLEGE PARK - After losing the starting quarterback competition in the preseason, junior Chris Turner contemplated his future at Maryland. He ultimately decided to stay, reasoning he would surely be called on during the 13-game season. "Inevitable" was the word Turner used to describe the chances he would call signals this year. He just didn't know his "inevitable" moment would come so soon. Turner was named the starter yesterday after tests showed ligament damage to Jordan Steffy's right thumb that will sideline him for a minimum of three weeks.

College Park -- At Maryland's most recent scrimmage, backup quarterback Josh Portis missed a call -the same play coach Ralph Friedgen called again at a recent practice to see whether Portis had learned it. "I said, `I bet you an ice cream at dinner tonight that you don't get it right,'" Friedgen told Portis. "He turned to me and said, `I'm gonna get 'em all right.'" Portis executed that play - and apparently enough others - this summer to convince Friedgen he has learned the offense, and when the time is right, Friedgen said he won't hesitate to play him. He just didn't say when or how. "I think [Jordan Steffy is]

COLLEGE PARK -- James Franklin was at Maryland during coach Ralph Friedgen's first four seasons, so he's hardly new to College Park. But Franklin's playbook is new, as are some looks to the Terrapins' offense that the offensive coordinator - rehired in December after spending the past two seasons at Kansas State - is installing. Fans might notice some of the changes as early as Saturday afternoon's Red-White spring game. They might see more three-step drops by the Maryland quarterbacks.

Hyattsville -- Maryland quarterback Josh Portis had a confession to make, and a small cafeteria filled with wide-eyed, waist-high elementary school students looked up at him yesterday morning, waiting for it. "I told them," he said. "I was like, `Unfortunately I made a mistake in the classroom by looking on somebody's paper.'" It was a mistake that cost Portis his eligibility for the 2007 season - a year, as it turned out, the Terps definitely would have used him - and one he told the students at Lewisdale Elementary School not to repeat.

COLLEGE PARK - After losing the starting quarterback competition in the preseason, junior Chris Turner contemplated his future at Maryland. He ultimately decided to stay, reasoning he would surely be called on during the 13-game season. "Inevitable" was the word Turner used to describe the chances he would call signals this year. He just didn't know his "inevitable" moment would come so soon. Turner was named the starter yesterday after tests showed ligament damage to Jordan Steffy's right thumb that will sideline him for a minimum of three weeks.

COLLEGE PARK - Last year's losing season certainly wasn't the best thing for Maryland football's recruiting efforts, but, as it turns out, it wasn't the worst, either. True, the Terps may have missed out on a few recruits after suffering their first losing season in four years, Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen acknowledged yesterday. But years of progress weren't going to be erased by one bad season, the coach added. Not when Maryland won 31 games in Friedgen's first three seasons. "We had a few doors close on us because we went 5-6, but not that many," Friedgen said.

Gary Williams ranted and lurched on the sideline Thursday night when the game between his Terps and North Carolina was still up in the air. When the Tar Heels pulled away in the second half, Williams became less agitated, obviously coming to terms with the defeat, and perhaps a greater realization. He would never admit this, at least not publicly, but as he watched his disappointing team of juniors and seniors misfire, and then looked across the scorer's table at North Carolina's freshman-dominated team, he surely experienced pangs of envy.

Given Chris Turner's resemblance to Napoleon Dynamite, maybe Maryland should hire Uncle Rico as quarterbacks coach. If you never saw the Dynamite movie, you might feel a little lost. Which might be where the Terps are right now with their quarterback situation. Ralph Friedgen had the chance to make Turner the starter heading into the season, but the coach chose Jordan Steffy instead. Now, after one game, Steffy is out at least three weeks, so Turner steps back into the job he held for the second half of last season, when he went 3-5 as a starter.

COLLEGE PARK -- James Franklin was at Maryland during coach Ralph Friedgen's first four seasons, so he's hardly new to College Park. But Franklin's playbook is new, as are some looks to the Terrapins' offense that the offensive coordinator - rehired in December after spending the past two seasons at Kansas State - is installing. Fans might notice some of the changes as early as Saturday afternoon's Red-White spring game. They might see more three-step drops by the Maryland quarterbacks.

Hyattsville -- Maryland quarterback Josh Portis had a confession to make, and a small cafeteria filled with wide-eyed, waist-high elementary school students looked up at him yesterday morning, waiting for it. "I told them," he said. "I was like, `Unfortunately I made a mistake in the classroom by looking on somebody's paper.'" It was a mistake that cost Portis his eligibility for the 2007 season - a year, as it turned out, the Terps definitely would have used him - and one he told the students at Lewisdale Elementary School not to repeat.

College Park -- At Maryland's most recent scrimmage, backup quarterback Josh Portis missed a call -the same play coach Ralph Friedgen called again at a recent practice to see whether Portis had learned it. "I said, `I bet you an ice cream at dinner tonight that you don't get it right,'" Friedgen told Portis. "He turned to me and said, `I'm gonna get 'em all right.'" Portis executed that play - and apparently enough others - this summer to convince Friedgen he has learned the offense, and when the time is right, Friedgen said he won't hesitate to play him. He just didn't say when or how. "I think [Jordan Steffy is]

College Park-- --The rhythms of the season are changing, and Ralph Friedgen has been in the game long enough to know when Week 1 is near. A veteran coach can measure the calendar with tightened nerves and sleepless nights. Friedgen has been leaving the University of Maryland's football offices about 11 o'clock each night. He gets home and gets only about halfway through an episode of Law & Order before falling asleep. Inevitably, he'll wake up about 4ish, turn off the TV and snooze until about 4:45 a.m., when he wakes up and makes a beeline back to work.

Gary Williams ranted and lurched on the sideline Thursday night when the game between his Terps and North Carolina was still up in the air. When the Tar Heels pulled away in the second half, Williams became less agitated, obviously coming to terms with the defeat, and perhaps a greater realization. He would never admit this, at least not publicly, but as he watched his disappointing team of juniors and seniors misfire, and then looked across the scorer's table at North Carolina's freshman-dominated team, he surely experienced pangs of envy.

College Park-- --The rhythms of the season are changing, and Ralph Friedgen has been in the game long enough to know when Week 1 is near. A veteran coach can measure the calendar with tightened nerves and sleepless nights. Friedgen has been leaving the University of Maryland's football offices about 11 o'clock each night. He gets home and gets only about halfway through an episode of Law & Order before falling asleep. Inevitably, he'll wake up about 4ish, turn off the TV and snooze until about 4:45 a.m., when he wakes up and makes a beeline back to work.

If the Ravens pick Penn State offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski in April, it will come 29 years after his father was drafted by Baltimore. Of course, in 1982, it was the Baltimore Colts who chose nose tackle Leo Wisniewski in the second round. Wisniewski played in Baltimore two years before relocating with the team to Indianapolis in 1984. That was his final season in a career shortened by knee injuries. "He doesn't talk about playing in the NFL much," Stefen Wisniewski said Friday.

COLLEGE PARK // Quarterback Josh Portis has enrolled in classes at the University of Maryland and will participate in spring drills when the Terps hit the practice fields in April. Portis, who spent his true freshman season at Florida, will be eligible to compete in the 2007 season. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound sophomore was the backup to three-year starter Chris Leak in Gainesville this past season, completing 6-of-11 passes for 81 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. He was also the Gators' fourth-leading rusher with 163 yards on 24 carries despite playing in just six games.

COLLEGE PARK - Last year's losing season certainly wasn't the best thing for Maryland football's recruiting efforts, but, as it turns out, it wasn't the worst, either. True, the Terps may have missed out on a few recruits after suffering their first losing season in four years, Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen acknowledged yesterday. But years of progress weren't going to be erased by one bad season, the coach added. Not when Maryland won 31 games in Friedgen's first three seasons. "We had a few doors close on us because we went 5-6, but not that many," Friedgen said.