Maryland Football

BETHESDA -- When it comes to inside access to the University of Maryland athletic program, perhaps no one is more plugged in these days than Jess Atkinson. The 45-year-old former Maryland and NFL kicker-turned-television producer is the creative force behind the new reality TV series Terrapins Rising, which followed the football team through its spring practices as it prepared for the 2007 season. Atkinson, whose company produced a similar documentary called Under the Shell about the women's basketball team, wanted to give Maryland football fans the kind of unfiltered access that is rarely available.

COLLEGE PARK -- Marlon Moore is like every other Maryland football player and student.The starting sophomore linebacker constantly faces the temptations of the bright lights of the College Park bar scene and the campus party life.The difference for Moore now is that he can say no to that lifestyle a lot more easily because of a decision he made more than two years ago while he was a student at Potomac High in southern Prince George's County.Moore decided before his senior year that he would give up the social life with his buddies for an opportunity to get a college education and play football at Maryland.

Maryland football wide receiver Moises Cruz has been charged with assault by Prince George's County police in connection with a fight outside a popular College Park bar and restaurant Sunday night in which a man's face was cut with a bottle.Cruz, a 21-year-old junior, was charged with misdemeanor first- and second-degree assault and released on his own recognizance. No trial date has been set.A Maryland teammate of Cruz's, fullback Matt Kalapinski, was hit in the back of the head during the fight and went to a hospital, said Kalapinski's father, Paul, who spoke to his son last night.

COLLEGE PARK -- There is no need to wonder why Ron Vanderlinden has closed Maryland football practices to the media this week and virtually shut his players and himself off from all interviews.The Maryland-Virginia duel at Byrd Stadium at noon Saturday is the biggest game Vanderlinden has coached in his three years here.The first 32 seem like preliminaries to the high stakes facing the Terps (5-5, 2-5) when they take the field for the final regular-season game of the year.The school's first bowl bid since 1990, which would produce an $800,000 paycheck, Vanderlinden's first winning season, Maryland's first winning season since 1995 and continued belief in the Vanderlinden way, will be on the line.

Make Terps a priorityFor many years I have been an avid reader of your paper and have enjoyed it very much. As a proud University of Maryland alumnus, I have always enjoyed The Sun's coverage, perspective and editorials on Terps athletics.Most recently, however, I have become disturbed with the small emphasis you are giving to Maryland football.I have noticed you send only Bill Free to cover the Terps' football games. He is an excellent reporter and is very thorough. The problem is having only one reporter cover the games.

Ruth M. Adams, a homemaker and an enthusiastic supporter of University of Maryland football, died Wednesday of heart failure at Blakehurst Retirement Community in Towson. She was 88.The longtime Guilford resident, who seldom missed a Terrapins football game, was married in 1936 to Dr. Thurston R. Adams Sr. Dr. Adams, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and chief surgeon of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, died in 1978.The former Ruth Makley was born and raised in Lauraville and was a graduate of National Park Seminary in Washington.

COLLEGE PARK -- Maryland's football program has been in sharp decline since 1986, when coach Bobby Ross left for Georgia Tech.The reasons for the fall to the bottom echelon of the Atlantic Coast Conference have been well-documented, but no one has been able to provide enough answers to halt the losing.But to a former member of Maryland's coaching staff during happier seasons, winning seems so easy."I could come out of retirement and win at Maryland," said Jerry Eisaman, who had a memorable 10-year run as quarterbacks coach -- he recruited future pro quarterbacks Boomer Esiason, Frank Reich and Stan Gelbaugh -- for Jerry Claiborne and returned to work for Joe Krivak in his final two years as head coach.

COLLEGE PARK -- The Maryland Stadium Authority and the Ravens expected 10,000 to 15,000 more fans for Saturday's Maryland-Georgia Tech game at Ravens stadium, but there are still plans to pursue future Maryland games at the stadium.A crowd of 25,183 attended the noon game on a perfect 61-degree day, even though Georgia Tech came to town with a No. 23 ranking."Georgia Tech was not our first choice," said Ravens vice president of sales and marketing David Cope, who said he will call Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow in a month to discuss next year's game.

COLLEGE PARK -- Run, Jones, run.A sagging Maryland football program desperately needs all the speed and natural ability Randall Jones brings to the quarterback position.Not to mention an exciting knack the freshman from Thomas Johnson High in Frederick has for turning ordinary plays into spectacular runs.Jones lives to tuck the football under his arm and slide along the line looking for the slightest hole to dart through for a first down or long gain.It almost seems the three-sport star at Thomas Johnson was born to run the football and an option offense, although he has spent more time running in the hills around Frederick under the guidance of his father, Randy, who is the track coach at Thomas Johnson.

When Gary Williams returned to his office in College Park yesterday morning, there were dozens of congratulatory messages awaiting the Maryland basketball coach. They were the result of his team's still-hard-to-believe 85-75 comeback victory Wednesday night over North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C.Most of what he figured to be about 50 messages were from people Williams speaks with on a regular basis, but a couple were from some friends he had lost touch with over the years. "There was one from my dry cleaners at Ohio State," said Williams, "and one from a guy in Maine I played with at Maryland named John McDonald."

COLLEGE PARK - -As the Maryland football team's charter flight crept home from a 52-13 embarrassment at California early Sunday morning, most of the players slept - some in the aisles, some sprawled across three seats. The position coaches enjoyed no such luxury. They graded their players' performances on video until their laptop batteries gave out. Then they were handed fresh batteries from a video assistant and started anew. The grading procedure - each Terp is scored from "0" to "2" on each play in which they participate, with "1.5" as a passing grade - is part of the meticulous research that Maryland conducts on itself and its opponents before games.

COLLEGE PARK -- For years, the University of Maryland has chartered flights to carry the football team to games at Duke and the other schools in North Carolina. But not this season. In one of many telling symptoms of the rough economy on college athletics, the Terps will travel by bus to and from Duke - a 270-mile trip - for the Oct. 24 game. The university estimates the savings at $80,000. The athletic department is also exploring taking buses one way - and flying the other - for games at Wake Forest on Oct. 10 and North Carolina State on Nov. 7, administrators said in interviews.

COLLEGE PARK - Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen has shown in recent months that he isn't as intractable as some believe. Friedgen brought in a new offensive coordinator, James Franklin, named him assistant head coach and let him overhaul the offense. Now, entering his eighth season at Maryland, Friedgen seems willing to alter his philosophy when it comes to his quarterbacks. With incumbent Chris Turner unable to separate himself from either Jordan Steffy or Josh Portis, Friedgen said earlier this week that he might consider using a two- - or even three- - quarterback system this season.

COLLEGE PARK - From his office overlooking the east end zone, Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen can peer inside Byrd Stadium and track the progress of its renovation. He can hear the satisfying rumble of construction and feel its vibration. The makeover of the 58-year-old stadium is critical to Friedgen's vision for Maryland's football future, but it's far from the only component. Entering his eighth season, Friedgen is contemplating a number of strategies - including scheduling more games with geographic rivals, working to expand the booster group and adding new incentives to motivate players - for ensuring the program is on an upward arc. In a 90-minute interview as he prepared to open preseason practices, Friedgen, 61, shared a half-dozen ideas for trying to win more games and heighten the program's profile.

ALCATRAZ ISLAND, Calif. -- In an age when college football coaches hope their players stay out of trouble, Ralph Friedgen brought his Maryland Terrapins to one of history's most notorious prisons Monday afternoon. Visiting Alcatraz, a penitentiary that has been closed since 1963 and is now an official U.S. landmark, is part of the nonfootball itinerary for the Terps as they get ready for Friday night's Emerald Bowl against Oregon State at San Francisco's AT&T Park. Emerald Bowl Maryland vs. Oregon State, San Francisco, Friday, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, 105.7 FM, 1300 AM Line: Oregon State by 5

SAN FRANCISCO -- The college football careers of Maryland quarterbacks Chris Turner and Josh Portis have been connected since their high school days in Southern California. When coach Ralph Friedgen recruited Portis, then one of the nation's top prospects, he made a side trip to see Turner, who was considered a notch or two below. Emerald Bowl Maryland vs. Oregon State, San Francisco, Friday, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, 105.7 FM, 1300 AM Line: Oregon State by 5

COLLEGE PARK -- The evidence can surface, like dusted fingerprints, in ways that are easily seen by the most untrained of eyes. A precisely run pass route and catch, an interception, a well-timed hit. But it's the subtle clues that most often buoy a head coach. A sack is avoided, resulting in a long gain, because a freshman picks up the blitz and makes a crucial block that gives his quarterback time to release the ball and find an open receiver. Emerald Bowl Maryland vs. Oregon State, San Francisco, next Friday, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, 105.7 FM, 1300 AM Line: Oregon State by 5

College Park -- Each time the television cameras focus on Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen as he patrols the sideline, it's fair to wonder whether he's clutching a chart of his offensive plays or his team's medical records. Injuries have punctured deep holes in his roster, most notably along the offensive line. But news that the Terrapins were chosen to play in the Emerald Bowl also brought renewed hope that the unit will be intact for the Dec. 28 game against Oregon State. Emerald Bowl Maryland vs. Oregon State, San Francisco, Dec. 28, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, 105.7 FM, 1300 AM Line: Oregon State by 5

Maryland junior linebacker Erin Henderson, the team's leading tackler the past two seasons, said yesterday that he will consider skipping his senior year and entering the NFL draft. Henderson, who is scheduled to graduate this month, will file papers with the league to gauge teams' interest in him before making an official decision. "There are too many questions out there, and I don't know what issues are going to pop up," Henderson said after practice yesterday. "I really enjoy playing here at the University of Maryland.

Please. Don't cry. There's no crying in sportswriting. OK, OK, seriously. A few final thoughts on the Terps - both hoops and football - for you, as this will be my last blog post for The Sun. ... The best part about covering Maryland football the past few years? The players. They're good kids who have stayed out of trouble, and their personalities have always made the late-night waits for their interviews worth it. The worst part? Standing at practice in the freezing cold. Standing at practice when it's 115 degrees.