Junior enters spring with no competition
C.J. Brown used to have to wait to get snaps in practice. Not anymore. The offseason departure of Danny O’Brien leaves Brown as the only scholarship quarterback in spring practice.
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“It’s weird just because at one point there were six of us,” Brown, a rising junior, said. “It’s definitely different, but I’m not getting treated any differently.”
In the Terps’ first practice of the spring, Brown rolled left and pulled up as two tacklers closed in, drawing the ire of offensive coordinator Mike Locksley. “Run through the whistle,” Locksley shouted.
Brown isn’t the only quarterback in camp. Senior walk-on Ricky Schultz (Mount Hebron) has joined the team, but the April 21 Red-White spring game is likely to be the only time he plays at Byrd Stadium. Unless the Terps add a JUCO quarterback, incoming freshmen Caleb Rowe (Greer, S.C.) and Perry Hills (Pittsburgh) will battle in August for the backup job. Maryland coach Randy Edsall said he would not tweak the offense to protect Brown.
“We’ll get [one of them] ready to play,” Edsall said. “We’re not going to change what we do. We’re going to do what C.J. can do well and emphasize those things.”
Maryland practiced with pads for the first time on Thursday, then departed for spring break. The Terps will resume next Tuesday with practice three days a week leading to the spring game.
Through three practices, the lone casualty is sophomore defensive end Ian Evans (hip flexor), who will miss the rest of the spring. Senior offensive tackle Justin Gilbert, who was left off the depth chart after suffering an ankle injury, has been practicing and is ready to reclaim his starting job.
“I got the old man thing going on now. It’s my fourth spring now,” said Gilbert, who suffered a torn ACL of his left knee in 2010 and a recurrence of the same injury last spring. “Knees feel great. Body feels great, anxious to get a good senior year in.”
Gilbert’s health is critical. Offensive line has the potential to be a trouble spot after the departure of guard Andrew Gonnella (graduation) and starting tackles R.J. Dill and Max Garcia (transfer). Keeping Brown upright will be a continuing theme in the fall.
“I’m not really worried about that right now. I’ve put on a little bit of weight, gotten stronger. I have faith in the offensive line,” Brown said. “You have to go out and play and whatever happens, happens.”
Brown, who finished last season at 195 pounds, now weighs 210. There are other weighty matters as he takes over the quarterback job full-time, learns a different offense for the third time in as many years and has to produce immediately for a coach who is under fire after a 2-10 season.
“I think everything happens for a reason,” Brown said of O’Brien’s departure. “We’ve been through a lot over the past year since Edsall’s been here. But right now the guys that are here want to be here. Everyone respects that.”
