Spring Football

— Fans who attended Maryland's spring football game Saturday at Byrd Stadium saw a new head coach and coordinators, new looks on offense and defense, and nine players in different positions than a year ago. There was even a wide receiver — Cliff Tucker — trying to make the transition from a basketball player in short pants to a football player in pads and cleats. With all the changes afoot, it must have been comforting for fans and new head coach Randy Edsall to watch returning quarterback Danny O'Brien — the Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year — fade back on the game's first play and loft a 65-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Ronnie Tyler.

These are among the things I'll be watching at Byrd Stadium tonight (7:00 p.m., open to the public). * The passing and mobility of quarterback Ricardo Young. I haven't seen him much. Actually, almost nobody has seen much of him in game situations recently. He had to sit out last season after transferring, although I caught him in August practices a few times. This is a delicate subject, but I wonder how he feels about C.J. Brown already being named the starting quarterback.

WASHINGTON -- To paraphrase that eminent philosopher Andre Agassi, attitude, not image, is everything.The gang rode into town looking the part of all the others hoping to get a new league off the launch pad with one notable exception: They appeared well versed on the subject of fledgling sports operations.Too often, well-heeled gents with a couple of bucks to blow and an overwhelming desire to see their names and faces thrust before the public get involved in sports franchising. They talk humbly, but in their hearts see themselves as big shots.

It's not enough to give Stefon Diggs more touches this season. Maryland coaches also want to give him more of a leadership role. Coach Randy Edsall said after Friday night's spring game that the team has named the receiver-returner as one of 10 members of its leadership council. The team won't use permanent captains in the fall. Rather, it will name captains game by game. It sounds like Maryland really wants Diggs invested in the team. Not that he wasn't last season. But it's difficult for freshmen - still transitioning to college life - to play leadership roles.

Danny O'Brien likes most everything about Maryland.  That's certainly been a positive for the quarterback and the school.  And it clearly factors into the inner debate he's been having -- for months, those who know him say -- about where his immediate football future should be spent. Largely through his family, I've kept tabs on O'Brien. Here is some of what I know: * In recent months, he's tried to focus on recovering from the broken bone in his left arm. He suffered the injury when he was slammed to the turf during the Notre Dame loss on Nov. 12. He adhered to a routine in his recovery, and getting healthy seemed to take precedence over other matters.

As he focused in recent months on classwork and recovering from a broken left arm, Maryland quarterback Danny O'Brien has also pondered whether to return to the Terps next season, according to a relative. With spring football approaching, O'Brien's uncertain future was the subject of tweets Wednesday from media members and anxious Terps fans. One tweet by sports anchor Dan Hellie of Washington's NBC4 said: "Source: Maryland QB Danny O'Brien is leaving. Met with Randy Edsall today and will transfer.

Springtime in Baltimore brings two things dear to my heart: The beginning of the Orioles' season and the beginning of our coed spring football season. We've been playing SOBO Football for about four seasons and it's been a blast. Sobo Sports is a Baltimore-based sports and social club offering coed sports, social events and activities to members. After graduating from college, I was worried that the fun would end and that the "greatest time of my life" was over. Fortunately, I learned that fun after college was possible, and that SOBO Sports was one way to continue the fun. Jay Rendin and his staff are easy-going but efficient and they work hard to make SOBO Sports a great experience for all who participate.

During spring football in 2008, Minoso Rodgers met a mature-beyond-his-years running back named Albert Reid and immediately predicted big things for the eighth-grader. “I loved his build,” said Rodgers, the running backs coach at Friendship Collegiate High in Washington. “He had a nice, thick frame and he definitely got started in the weight room and looked like a football player. He got himself on the field, making some upperclassmen look [silly] in spring ball … making them miss.

When Navy's defense lines up against Army on Saturday, it will be staring at some tall timber on the flanks. Two of Army's wide receivers stand 6 feet 6 inches, with co-captain Clint Woody weighing in at 230 pounds and the talented Aaron Alexander at 203. They could pose all kinds of problems for the Midshipmen, particularly for the much-smaller cornerbacks who will be assigned to cover them. "Everybody they've played, they have effectively thrown the ball against," said Navy defensive coordinator Buddy Green.

- With no crowd noise, much of the sound coming from Maryland's spring football practice Tuesday was generated by the "pop" of collisions on the field. Among the players initiating the most contact was Brandon Ross, a running back with a physical style. The 5-10, 205-pound player is competing with sophomore Justus Pickett for a starting spot. "He has the ability to hit the home run with that closing and finishing speed," said offensive coordinator Mike Locksley of Ross, whos is from Newark, Del. "Very explosive, and not just an outside guy. He's a guy that runs physical in between the tackles.

  Baltimore Sun reporter Jeff Barker, intern and Diamondback co-sports editor Josh Vitale, and editor Matt Bracken weigh in on the three biggest topics of the past week in Maryland sports. Were you surprised that junior point guard Pe'Shon Howard plans to transfer? Jeff Barker: No. It's too bad it didn't work out better for him - he's a smart, sensitive guy. But it wasn't surprising. The marriage between Maryland and “Hollywood P” wasn't working this season. How do we know?

Horse racing Rules on claiming horses toughened The Maryland Racing Commission toughened its rules on claiming horses at its monthly meeting Wednesday, addressing an issue that some believe might have contributed to an early-year spike in racetrack deaths at Laurel Park. The commission passed a new rule that will prevent a claimed horse from racing within 30 days unless the purse is at least 25 percent higher than in the thoroughbred's previous run. The new rule is designed to prevent owners from making a quick profit by claiming a horse and running him without proper rest against inferior competition in another claiming race.

Navy's annual spring football game has been canceled due to a scheduling conflict, coach Ken Niumatalolo said Wednesday. The game had been scheduled for April 12 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Niumatalolo said in a news release that the team will add one practice to get to the full allotment of 15 workouts allowed by the NCAA in the spring. Two of the practices -- scrimmages on March 30 and April 6, both starting at 9 a.m. at the stadium -- will be open to the general public.

Junior college transfer Deon Long, a promising wide receiver, will begin practicing at Maryland atop the depth chart. The team released the chart as it prepared to open spring practices. Long, from Iowa Western Community College, may play right away. The Terps could have a dangerous receiving corps, with Long joining star slot receiver Stefon Diggs and others. Long is from Washington D.C., and attended New Mexico as a redshirt freshman. He told The Baltimore Sun's Matt Bracken recently: “Being a successful JUCO player, it gives me a lot of confidence to prove to people that I deserve to be on this level.

Maryland football coach Randy Edsall wants to make Terrapins spring football more of a fan event - and he hopes to start by bringing it on the road, including perhaps to Baltimore. Edsall said Friday he'd like to hold a spring scrimmage or two away from College Park. He mentioned Baltimore and the Frederick area as possibilities. "Instead of always having people come to us, we go there and make it easier for them," Edsall said. Edsall and other Maryland coaches already travel around the state with athletic department staff, talking to fans during the spring and summer.

- With no crowd noise, much of the sound coming from Maryland's spring football practice Tuesday was generated by the "pop" of collisions on the field. Among the players initiating the most contact was Brandon Ross, a running back with a physical style. The 5-10, 205-pound player is competing with sophomore Justus Pickett for a starting spot. "He has the ability to hit the home run with that closing and finishing speed," said offensive coordinator Mike Locksley of Ross, whos is from Newark, Del. "Very explosive, and not just an outside guy. He's a guy that runs physical in between the tackles.

On the first day of spring football practice, new Navy football coach Ken Niumatalolo was still answering the same questions that greeted him the day he was hired to replace Paul Johnson. That's what happens when you take over a program that turned much deeper shades of Navy Blue and Gold under your predecessor. So, I guess this is as good a time as any to throw out the obligatory quip about Ken's hard-to-pronounce surname, which I'm pretty sure means "has a tough act to follow" in his ancestral Polynesian tongue.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Jack Lengyel, the athletic director at the U.S. Naval Academy, is one of the major power brokers here at the 85th annual NCAA convention.Lengyel was slated to become chairman of the nation's Division I-A athletic directors in June. But he assumed that position last month when Miami's Sam Jankovich, the previous chairman, became general manager of the New England Patriots.The 106 schools that make up Division I-A are the most visible group within the NCAA. Among other stands, they want spring football practice to return to the more liberal standards of the past.

Brye French looked at Navy spring football practice a little differently during his first two years at the academy. It was a time Frye put on another kind of helmet and shoulder pads, picked up a lacrosse stick and gave football a rest. That changed last year, when French decided to finally commit to football fulltime. And it is certainly different this year, with the senior inside linebacker recently being selected, with senior slot back Bo Snelson, as a co-captain for the 2012 team.

Maryland is preparing to open spring football practice with 10 starters back on defense, questions on the offensive line and a promise from coach Randy Edsall that "we're on the right track. " Coming off a 2-10 season in Edsall's first season in College Park, the Terps begin three days of practices on Saturday. After spring break, they return for more workouts leading to the Red-White game April 21. "It's more motivation [this season]," said linebacker Demetrius Hartsfield, who ranked second in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season in tackles with 12 per game.