There’s just something about spring football in freezing cold and snow flurries that seems a little off. For the Terrapin football team’s offense at the first scrimmage Saturday, the weather wasn’t the only thing that was off.
The Terps’ offense scored only one touchdown and gained a total of 197 yards on 76 plays. They often struggled to gain 25 yards on a drive, making it past the 34-yard line only once.
Coach Ralph Friedgen attributed the offensive issues to injuries at running back and offensive line along with youth at key positions.
“Defensively, obviously I think they’re ahead of the offense right now,” Friedgen said. “We’re making a lot of mistakes, and we got a lot of young kids who are kinda learning.”
Freshman running back Morgan Green made the most noise during the scrimmage, rushing for a 46-yard gain down the right sideline that set up a goal-line situation. On his third attempt to score from inside the 4-yard line, Green ran in for the Terps’ only touchdown of the day.
Defensive tackle Dre Moore stood out defensively with two sacks.
As for the quarterbacks, the numbers weren’t pretty. Jordan Steffy completed 4-of-6 passes, but Josh Portis went 2-for-7 with an interception, and Chris Turner tossed a pair of interceptions. To Friedgen, it was indicative of the quarterback play lately.
“I thought Steffy played OK,” Friedgen said. “I think everybody else has got a long way to go.”
n TERP NOTES: Friedgen said X-rays were negative on guard Andrew Crummey’s injured ankle and on defensive end Jeremy Navarre’s injured knee. Friedgen said Navarre would probably miss the rest of spring practice and be out four-to-six weeks with medial collateral and patella damage in his knee, adding that he hoped Navarre would not need an operation. Friedgen also said he had a feeling running back Keon Lattimore would be out for the rest of spring practice.
Contact reporter Stephen Whyno at whynodbk@gmail.com.
