Linebacker

About 20 injured football players did not participate in Maryland's third and final summer scrimmage yesterday, including four linebackers and the Terps' top three receivers, coach Ralph Friedgen said. By the end of the scrimmage, another linebacker had been injured. Among the sidelined were linebackers Erin Henderson (stinger) and his backup, Rick Costa. Linebacker Chase Bullock (ankle) is still out, and Dave Philistin, who had taken over for Bullock, pulled his hamstring yesterday. Philistin's backup, Ben Pooler, is out for three weeks.

The Ravens filled one area of need by selecting Florida safety Matt Elam in the first round Thursday night, and now they might go after a middle or outside linebacker. Finding a middle linebacker is more of a pressing need, but the Ravens will stay with their philosophy of taking the best player available. A few inside linebackers the Ravens have an eye on are Notre Dame's Manti Te'o, Louisiana State's Kevin Minter and Florida's Jonathan Bostic. They also like Connecticut outside linebacker Sio Moore and Kansas State's Arthur Brown.

The news that Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher had died in a murder-suicide hit Ravens defensive lineman Arthur Jones particularly hard. Belcher was a childhood friend and former wrestling teammate of Jones, who grew up in upstate New York. Highly upset about the tragedy, Jones sent the following text to The Baltimore Sun regarding his memories of Belcher. "We wrestled every year on the same New York state team together since middle school through high school," Jones wrote.

The Boston private high school football scene isn't known for producing tons of Division I talent. In 2011, the entire state of Massachusetts pumped out just 13 DI players - a surprisingly low figure that helps explain how Abner Logan entered the winter of his junior year with no scholarship offers. “The kid's goal at this time last year was to get a scholarship,” said Casey Day , Logan's coach at the Dexter School in Brookline, Mass. “We're from Boston, from the Northeast.

Not long after one of his starting outside linebackers signed with the San Diego Chargers during the first week of free agency, Ravens coach John Harbaugh popped in film of one of Jarret Johnson's potential replacements. And after watching every play that Paul Kruger participated in during his third NFL season, Harbaugh was even more convinced. “I think Paul is probably the leading candidate for the [strong-side] linebacker job,” Harbaugh said. “I could very definitely see him doing that.

The Ravens have so much depth at linebacker that the competition for a backup position is just as intense as for earning a starting spot. It has gotten fierce on the inside, where second-year player Tavares Gooden appears to be a starter but is being challenged by Jameel McClain, also in his second year, and rookie free-agent linebacker Dannell Ellerbe. There is one other linebacker. His name is Prescott Burgess. In his third year out of Michigan, the 6-foot-3, 247-pound Burgess has played well running with both the first and second teams at various times at inside and outside linebacker.

Last week, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he wouldn't know what to expect from linebacker Terrell Suggs if he played Sunday against the Houston Texans. Maybe he was being coy at the time, but he admitted on Monday that even he was surprised by how much Suggs played in his return from a torn right Achilles tendon. The reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year played 44 of their defensive snaps -- or 55 percent of those plays. “I didn't know he would be able to play that many snaps, in all honestly,” Harbaugh said.

Micah Kiser Gilman, linebacker, senior Henry Poggi Gilman, lineman, senior Opponents found it exceptionally difficult to run on the Greyhounds with Kiser and Poggi clogging up the middle. Coaches needed at least a double team to contain the 6-foot-4, 258-pound Poggi at tackle, and it was tough to counter 6-2, 227-pound middle linebacker Kiser with one player. They fed off each other in leading a defense that allowed just 8.1 points per game, as the No. 1 Greyhounds (9-2)

Hard-core Ravens fans and HBO viewers know what Kenny Jackson did on his big night out during training camp. He gave an unequivocal thumbs-up to Planet of the Apes, even if it wasn't the most memorable film he has seen this month. Jackson is the unusual rookie free agent whose quest to join the Super Bowl champions was developed into one of the subplots on Hard Knocks, the HBO chronicle of the Ravens' preseason. He's a chiseled 6 feet 2, 253 pounds, and there are plenty of rough edges to his game.

Two years ago, Albert McClellan was starting at Marshall University. On Thanksgiving night, he was starting in place of Ray Lewis. McClellan, an undrafted rookie who spent the 2010 season on the Ravens practice squad, started in the team's 16-6 victory over the San Francisco 49ers Thursday night. He filled in for Lewis, the 12-time Pro Bowler who missed his second straight contest due to an injured toe on his right foot. “I was excited, starting my first NFL game,” McClellan said.