TURNING PAST TURNER?

Chris Turner has been sacked 23 times this season. He's thrown eight interceptions and fumbled five times. In the rain against Virginia last Saturday, the third-year starter completed less than half of his passes for the first time all season, threw two interceptions and was unable to lead his team to a single touchdown in a 20-9 loss.

Then Sunday, Turner went online and read some of his coaches' comments to the media. In the weekly day-after teleconference, Terrapin football coach Ralph Friedgen said he would consider using one or two of his reserve quarterbacks should the season continue its downward spiral.

Turner's reaction was only natural. He sent a text message to offensive coordinator James Franklin, questioning the head coach's statement. The shaken senior wanted to know if he would be under center for tomorrow's game at Duke.

The answer was decisive: "Yes."

"It's over," Turner said Wednesday. "After the game, I was a little insecure with myself as you might imagine. I wanted to call and make sure, and it was all cleared up."

Still, even as the situation for this week is settled, Friedgen's outlook toward the remainder of season cannot be overlooked. This week, the ninth-year coach reiterated his point: If the Terps (2-5, 1-2 ACC) cannot put a halt on the worst start in Friedgen's tenure, he will look toward the future. The Terps are now two losses from being ineligible for a bowl game, and it's likely, should they reach that point, Friedgen will give sophomore Jamarr Robinson and perhaps even true freshman Danny O'Brien test runs under center.

Neither Robinson nor O'Brien were made available for comment.

Turner is the first three-year starting quarterback under Friedgen. He's displayed grit and intelligence under fire, even as a young offensive line often fails him and inexperienced receivers prove inconsistent. Despite mediocre numbers — in the first seven weeks of the season, Turner has accumulated 1,651 passing yards and nine touchdowns along with those eight picks — teammates have praised the California native for his resilience and leadership.

Both Friedgen and Franklin have openly endorsed Turner this week as the team's clear-cut top quarterback. But they've also suggested the 6-foot Robinson, whose athleticism led him to being considered at safety early in his Terp career, could offer the offense a different look, one they have tried to take advantage of throughout the season.

Robinson has yet to attempt a pass, and he fumbled on one of his two rushing attempts this season.

"We were going to try to play Jamarr all year long, but that was going to be based on how he practiced," Franklin said. "Early on, we played him. And the time he played, he fumbled. And that's been an issue, so I wasn't going to put him back in, just going from there. I think early on, if he had taken advantage of the opportunities he had, he'd probably be playing a little bit more."

Franklin said he regularly looks toward the future. Every week in practice, he pulls aside scout team members for individual drills, hoping to turn recruits and reserves into starters and stars.

The future at quarterback, then, has left the Terp offensive coaches quite pleased. Last spring, Turner and Robinson were the only quarterbacks on the roster for spring drills, limiting Friedgen's options for organizing practices.

Next spring, the Terps project to have four returning quarterbacks on the roster. While Turner departs, they will still have Robinson, who is joined by true freshmen O'Brien and C.J. Brown and Miami (Ohio) transfer Clay Belton, who joined the team as a walk-on at the beginning of the school year.

In addition, the team is bringing in two recruits, Devin Burns of Columbus, Ga., and Tyler Smith of Easton, Pa., in the fall.   

"I am determined that we are going to have five legitimate quarterbacks in this program every single year," Franklin said. "Not this situation like it was in the spring, where we had two quarterbacks. Five legitimate quarterbacks. We're going to sign a big-time quarterback every single year. So after this year, we will sign one a year. We're kind of back on schedule."

Going into the spring, it appears Robinson and O'Brien will be battling for the starting job. Robinson boasts "the strongest arm of any quarterback I've every worked with," wide receiver Ronnie Tyler said, while O'Brien, a North Carolina product, has earned superfluous praise for his intelligence and poise, even as a true freshman.

But coaches will likely keep the competition open. Brown, so far held back by his simplistic high school scheme, is an athletic dual-threat quarterback. Belton is the tallest of the bunch at 6-foot-6, and the lefty is also the only returning quarterback who has attempted a college pass, throwing for 639 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions with the RedHawks last year.

"I get the question every day of who I think is going to play [next season]," Turner said. "The reality is, we're stacked at quarterback. A lot of good players. But I can't see into the future right now. ... It could be a long, drawn-out thing or they could name the quarterback right out of the spring."

It appears Robinson will have the opportunity to make the coaches' jobs a bit easier this season. Friedgen said he wouldn't play O'Brien, who has closed in on the second-string job, this year "unless we don't like what we've seen we've seen with Jamarr."

Robinson will play again at some point this year. He was scheduled to attempt his first pass as a Terp against Clemson, but a back injury kept him out of the game, Franklin said.

In the spring, the coaches were frustrated by Robinson's lack of development. Friedgen was not sure Robinson could earn the second-string job, even as defensive back Anthony Green was tentatively the third quarterback on the roster at the time. For Robinson, consistency remains an issue, but his flashes of brilliance shine.