For Terps, again it’s title or ‘bust’

PINEHURST, N.C. — Before a flock of reporters who, on the whole, hadn't yet put much stock in the prospects of his Terrapin football team, Randy Edsall grinned. Skimming over the piece of paper in front of him — the one that bore the prediction of a fifth-place Terp finish in the Atlantic Division — Edsall said he'd seen it before.

A season ago, the former Connecticut coach's Huskies were projected to be the Big East's fourth-place finishers. Then they went to the Fiesta Bowl.

"I'm not worried about pleasing everybody because if I think I've got to please everybody, then we're not going to be as good as we need to be," Edsall said Monday at the ACC Kickoff, his first public appearance with league brethren. "And we can't develop the way I want to develop. I'm just going to go and do the things I think are right for our program."

That hasn't always been easy for Edsall in his first few months on the job. As he seeks to reshape the Terps' future in his own ways — introducing new coordinators, new rules and even new uniforms — traces of the past have cropped up to complicate matters for the team, which starts practice Aug. 9.

The Terps were stripped of three scholarships this spring after posting substandard Academic Progress Rate scores under former coach Ralph Friedgen. They also lost 2 1/2 practice hours from their weekly in-season allotment of 20 for violating practice limits last season. The departures of nearly a dozen players, either voluntary or otherwise, has also thinned the Terps considerably at several positions.

"It's not going to be an issue at all because we're not going to let it be an issue," Edsall said of the practice limitations. "It's not going to hinder us. Not going to let it hinder us."

Edsall added: "This isn't my first rodeo. Let me say this, going in to Jacksonville with the Jaguars and starting that program from scratch, then going to Connecticut and doing what I did — this has been a breeze."

After a season in which the Terps came within one win of a trip to the ACC Championship game, rising sophomore quarterback Danny O'Brien said, "The goal is ACC title or bust."

For now, few see that happening. Florida State (65 first-place votes) emerged as the overwhelming media favorite to take the Atlantic, with Clemson (four) and Boston College (two) also garnering mention and NC State projected to finish third. Only Wake Forest received fewer votes than the Terps in the division — not that Edsall was taking notice.

"My thought process is we're going to compete for a league championship this year," Edsall said. "That's the whole mindset."

TERP NOTE: Linebacker Kenny Tate was named to the preseason All-ACC team Wednesday. Tate is the only Terp representative on the team.

O'Brien received four votes for preseason conference player of the year, making him one of only two quarterbacks to earn first-place nods. Florida State's EJ Manuel, who was tabbed as the preseason All-ACC quarterback, earned 14 of 71 votes, behind only Boston College running back Montel Harris (26).

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