Offensive line still looking to establish consistency

The Terrapin football team has spent its first two games playing the offensive guard shuffle, a dance featuring four 300-pound men trying to make the best of a situation that's still loaded with kinks.

Bennett Fulper, Andrew Gonnella, Justin Lewis and Lamar Young were, in many cases, the impetus for concerns about the Terps' offensive line entering training camp. And the four guards have yet to completely answer criticisms as they've been shuffled in and rotated throughout the first two games of the season.

Entering the season's third game Saturday against Middle Tennessee, Terp coaches have yet to find one specific combination that works at the guard positions. So Fulper, Gonnella, Lewis and Young all have taken equal shares at the spots in the first substantial in-game action for each. And as a result of a turf toe injury to left tackle Bruce Campbell, an anchor in pass-blocking, the Terps have been forced to make similar switches at tackle, as well.

Heading into Saturday's home game, it appears that pattern will continue.

"I think we're trying to find chemistry — see who works well with who," coach Ralph Friedgen said. "For right now, we're trying to keep fresh guys in and let them go hard and not have to worry about whether they're going to play or not. We're trying to get as much experience as we can, then try to sort it out."

Of course, while the guard-by-committee situation seems likely to remain throughout the season, Friedgen did not expect the same kind of switching at left tackle.

Campbell, a former five-star recruit with tree trunks for biceps and NFL athleticism, was expected to join center Phil Costa as one of the line's two proven commodities. But his foot injury in the season opener at California will leave him sidelined for yet another week, and no timeline has been placed on his return.

Right tackle Paul Pinegar has slid over to the left side and R.J. Dill has taken over on the right since the injury. But while Friedgen has been pleased with Pinegar's play, he admitted to having more worries without Campbell locking down blind-side pass rushers.

"We're concerned about matchups," Friedgen said. "When we had Bruce, you only had to worry about one guy."

Middle Tennessee presents a challenge for the Terps not unlike what they experienced in last Saturday's 38-35 overtime win against James Madison. The Blue Raiders offer an undersized but quick look up front, one Friedgen said was a step faster than the Dukes' approach last week.

Still, Young said the Terps' scout team was helping the line work on defending faster linemen, and he looks forward to the opportunity.

"It's a real fun challenge — as a O-line, we want to be athletic," Young said. "They're kind of small inside, but they're real shifty and quick."

Last week, against the similar James Madison front, the Terps kept quarterback Chris Turner on his feet most of the game. But Friedgen said run blocking was an issue against the quicker front.

But the signs of progress were there for the young line: Cal sacked Turner six times, while James Madison only brought him down once. And the line blocked well for several quarterback scrambles and end-around run plays.

The shuffling is part of that: The linemen are constantly fresh. And the competition for positioning is continuously played out on the field.

"Our team can't afford to have any linemen being complacent," fullback Cory Jackson said. "Coach Friedgen doesn't want any of them to feel like they have their job and don't have to work everyday. He's trying to find out whose going to work the hardest week-to-week because none of them are where they need to be yet. So he's gotta figure out the one who's going to keep fighting to keep his spot."

ajoseph@umdbk.com