Terrapin football coach Ralph Friedgen is clear about his quarterback situation.
Junior Chris Turner needs to be more consistent.
Senior Jordan Steffy has to relax.
And junior Josh Portis must show he can learn the playbook.
But those assessments lead Friedgen right back where he was last season: entering preseason camp without a set starting quarterback.
The Terps kicked off their preseason camp Monday afternoon ready to sort out their quarterback situation for a second-straight season.
Friedgen declined to put Turner, who started the final eight games last season, at the top of the depth chart before camp began. Turner will have to beat out Steffy, who started last season’s opener, and Portis, who was academically ineligible last season because of a violation of the school’s academic honesty code.
“We may play multiple quarterbacks,” Friedgen said. “I don’t know. It’s an area that, if we can get the production we expect, we have a chance to have a good offense.”
Steffy started the first five games last season before he was injured against Rutgers, when Turner took over before halftime and led the Terps to an upset road victory. The Terps finished 6-7 after a 21-14 loss to Oregon State in the Emerald Bowl. This season, they return nine offensive starters to take on a schedule that includes eight teams that reached postseason play last year.
Friedgen hopes to have all his starters decided a week earlier than last season, when he named Steffy his starter August 24 – one day before camp ended.
But Friedgen said if no one clearly wins the job, he’s prepared to go into the season “doing it by situation.”
“I think it puts the pressure on the players to make it clearly obvious that they’re ‘The Guy,'” offensive coordinator James Franklin said. “They need to separate themselves from the crowd because it shouldn’t just be obvious to me and coach Friedgen who the starter is. It should be obvious to everyone on the team.”
Turner, who threw seven touchdowns in 11 games after entering last season third on the depth chart, feels he can handle the position.
“I’m at the top of the depth chart right now,” Turner said. “I have a lot of confidence. I know what it takes to be the starting quarterback.”
Steffy’s ready to prove he can put his injury-riddled past behind him and relax.
“I definitely think everyone can contribute in a different area, but we’re all competing to be the quarterback, not one of the quarterbacks,” Steffy said.
And Portis said the time he’s spent with the playbook learning Franklin’s offense has paid off.
“I feel real astute with it,” Portis said. “I’ve been studying real hard.”
It’s clear entering camp Steffy and Turner are very close in the minds of the coaches, while Portis is a step behind. But Franklin said his offense is versatile enough for any of the quarterbacks to be successful.
For now, the Terp offense and its talented, young wide receivers led by preseason honorable mention All-American junior Darrius Heyward-Bey must be ready to be led by any or all of the three.
As the Terps prepare for the season-opener against Delaware August 30, senior tight end Dan Gronkowski would be happy if one of the quarterback troika stepped up to earn the job soon.
“You always want to know who’s going to be your starting guy,” Gronkowski said.
“Hopefully, we get somebody out of that we can say is our starting quarterback, someone we can rally around.”
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