Amid many worries, a special concern for football

Only minutes after the Terrapins football team had retaken the lead in the fourth quarter of Saturday's eventual loss to No. 8 Clemson, Tigers wide receiver Sammy Watkins effectively deflated the Terps sideline and the Byrd Stadium crowd with a momentum-killing, 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

The impressive burst through the Terps' coverage team gave the Tigers a lead they wouldn't surrender. But perhaps more significantly, it also served as yet another in a long line of special-teams gaffes that have seriously cost the Terps.

"It's a concern, there's no question about that," coach Randy Edsall said in his weekly press conference yesterday. "The times when we do the things we're supposed to, we're fine. There's some things that happen, for instance, on kickoff coverage.

"Sometimes, somebody might not do the right thing, but we still have a guy that's behind that who should compensate and fill where needed based on if somebody does make a mistake. And what happened in the one for the touchdown, we had somebody make a mistake, and the young man who could have compensated … didn't really get done what he needed to get done."

While Edsall maintains the special-teams problems are simply an issue of execution, poor field position has only added strain to a team stretched thin by injury.

The Terps rank last in the ACC and 118th in FBS — out of 120 teams — in kickoff coverage, surrendering an average of 27.7 return yards per kickoff.

Their return game's been no better, averaging 19.3 yards per kick return, also last in the conference.

"Coach has been telling us since spring that special teams is just as important as offense and defense," cornerback Dexter McDougle said yesterday. "Guys are buying into it; we've just had a couple of mistakes."

In the other two facets of the game, the Terps have been far from perfect. But to pull out of the downward spiral they've been on since their season-opening win on Labor Day, a good place to start would be on special teams.

"We've just got to get better at what we're doing," Edsall said. "The scheme is fine."

LEAK ON THE RISE

After top wide receiver Kevin Dorsey left Saturday's game with an undisclosed injury and wide receiver Ronnie Tyler continued to struggle with drops, Edsall has looked to an unlikely source to bolster the team's passing game: true freshman Marcus Leak.

Leak made two grabs against the Tigers and is listed as the Terps' starter opposite Quintin McCree as they prepare for their game at Florida State this weekend.

"I think Marcus has done a good job throughout the preseason when he was here and through the season … and in football you have injuries," Edsall said. "He's done a good job, but his elevation is more this week due to an injury factor more than anything else.

"But we feel very, very comfortable because we had been playing him. Now, his opportunity's presented there, so he has to go in and play as well or better as Kevin did."

Leak has four catches this season. Wide receivers Tony Logan and Kerry Boykins are listed as the backups to Leak and McCree.

INJURY UPDATE

In what has become a recurring trend this season, Edsall announced yesterday that two more players — wide receiver Tyrek Cheeseboro and linebacker Avery Graham — will be out for the season.

Cheeseboro and Graham, who played primarily on special teams this season, both left Saturday's game with undisclosed injuries. Five Terps have now been lost for the year due to injury.

And while there's hope for some of the team's walking wounded, including Dorsey and the entire starting linebacker corps, to return this season, the seemingly endless list of injured players is starting to take its toll on the team.

"It hurts to see these guys going down," McDougle said. "These are guys you fight with and work hard with every day, but we know that there's guys that are ready to step up and ready to play."

Edsall said he'll seek a redshirt for Cheeseboro, who appeared in three games, and injured sophomore safety Matt Robinson, and added that injured offensive tackle Justin Gilbert will likely return to the field Nov. 5 against Virginia.

Gilbert tore his ACL last season and has not played in a game since.

cwalsh@umdbk.com