Maryland Football

College Park -- Maryland lost more than its homecoming game against Virginia last night - the Terps also lost their second starting offensive lineman in two weeks. Left guard Jaimie Thomas broke his right fibula early in the second quarter and is out for the rest of season, coach Ralph Friedgen said last night after his team's disappointing, 18-17 homecoming loss to Virginia. Right guard Andrew Crummey broke his left fibula on Oct. 6 against Georgia Tech. Clemson @Maryland Saturday, 3:30 p.m., chs. 2, 7, 105.7 FM, 1300 AM

COLLEGE PARK -- Dirt covered half of Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen's black windbreaker, and the knees of his tan pants were wet and smudged with dirt and grass. He looked as bedraggled as his players, who trudged off the field after a 30-17 loss to Clemson yesterday covered in mud and slowly soaking in the fact that they are more than likely out of contention for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship. Maryland@North Carolina Saturday, 3:45 p.m., ESPNU, 105.7 FM, 1300 AM

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

Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. -- About two years ago, Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen repeatedly found himself nodding off behind the steering wheel on his way home from College Park - most often after a typically long day during the season that began around 5 a.m. and ended after 11 p.m. "I think people thought I was drunk," Friedgen said yesterday to a small group of reporters at his interview table at the ACC Football Kickoff. "I'd be at a red light and nod off." He has since traced the cause to sleep apnea, a condition that stops breathing for 10 to 30 seconds numerous times a night during sleep.

COLLEGE PARK - As little Steve Suter bounced around the practice field yesterday on the first day of workouts for 27 newcomers to the Maryland football program, it was hard to imagine how the 5-foot-9, 175-pound freshman wide receiver from North Carroll could ever hold his own against a Florida State team that is expected to dominate the Atlantic Coast Conference again this year. Suter just smiled when it was mentioned that he might be in over his head against the behemoths from the defending national champions.

Even if Towson basketball coach Pat Skerry can pull off the most drastic turnaround in college basketball history, his team will not play in the postseason next year. Towson, which finished 1-31 in Skerry's first season, was one of 10 Division I teams - three-time national champion Connecticut was another - banned from NCAA tournament play because of an unsatisfactory score in the Academic Progress Rate report released Wednesday. Maryland football, meanwhile, compiled a single-year 972 APR for the 2010-11 school year, pushing the Terps ' four-year average above the 925 penalty line (to 931)

By late January, Jeremy Navarre will have earned enough credits to leave Joppatowne High School and enroll in classes at the University of Maryland. In the spring, he will join the Terps at football practice. The senior All-Metro football player and heavyweight wrestler will take advantage of a national trend called early enrollment, a process designed to allow athletes to make an early transition to college life. But that's nothing new. What is new is the wrinkle Navarre has added, one that will allow him to retain his high school athletic eligibility long enough to compete for a third state wrestling title in March.

COLLEGE PARK - They left Washington as friendly rivals, respecting each other's talents and having formed a bond from summer camps and scouting combines. They reunited as teammates briefly, first at the University of New Mexico and later at a junior college In Iowa. They are now back together, "like brothers" they say, hoping to help revive a Maryland football team that has won just six games in Randy Edsall's first two seasons. Each could play a significant role under offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, the coach and confidante who has figured in their lives for years.

A few months after his team failed to hold late leads in several games, Maryland football coach Randy Edsall and his staff won three key down-to-the-wire recruiting battles Wednesday that could help hasten the rebuilding process for the Terps . In announcing the signing of 22 players, Edsall admitted that the late decisions by linebacker Yannick Ngakoue, wide receiver Taivon Jacobs and cornerback Jacquille Veii turned what was considered by...