Younger players will get chance in final 3 games

The Terrapin football team will play its last game of the season on Nov. 28. Unlike many sports where an ACC Tournament title could extend a hapless season beyond its expected limits, the Terps are relegated to moving forward knowing there will be no postseason.

Three more weeks remain in a season that started off on the wrong foot and has hopped around on it since.

The silver lining for this team lies in, perhaps, its greatest flaw. Where the 2009 Terps were a young, inexperienced group, the 2010 team will feature a bevy of returnees with significant in-game experience. Even 2011 appears rather promising at this stage, with 20 players with at least two years of eligibility remaining having started at some point this season.

Still, the team has set its focus on winning. The underclassmen want to win to send the 14 seniors out right. The seniors want to win to give the underclassmen momentum for the future. The coaches? They always want to win. That's just part of being a coach.

"I'm going to do whatever it takes to win," head coach Ralph Friedgen has said repeatedly this season, whether being asked about the future of the quarterback position or playing a senior on special teams.

Still, as is the case for any Division I head coach, Friedgen cannot afford to forget about the future of the program. Even as some critics call for his firing, the ninth-year coach has two seasons after this remaining on his contract, and he has admitted to pondering his team's future as this season sputters to a finish.

At quarterback, last weekend's injury to senior starter Chris Turner has forced Friedgen's hand, and though Turner could still play Saturday against Virginia Tech, the Terps have prepared with sophomore Jamarr Robinson under center this week in practice.

At other positions, the task of evaluating the future becomes more difficult.

"We have a group of guys that are seniors that you've got to be fair to," defensive coordinator Don Brown said. "We've got to get guys time and get them evaluated. But you try to take care of all pieces of it. You make sure the guys that have been grinding away all year, you don't take their heart away."

For Brown, that means balancing the recent solid play of sixth-year senior cornerback Richard Taylor with junior Michael Carter's progression in practice. It also means sorting out a thick group of young defensive linemen, all while preserving snaps for seniors Deege Galt, Jared Harrell and Travis Ivey, who have each started every game this season.

On the other side, the Terps' young offensive line loses just one senior, center Phil Costa.

But inconsistency and injuries have left the Terps starting nine different players along the line. For offensive line coach Tom Brattan, then, the question is of finding stability for this season, but also for the future.

"I think given where you are in the season, [the future] is way, way, way back in your mind," Brattan said. "Our focus is always winning the next game. ... You may say you can project so-and-so as a starter next year, but I don't think that's affected our player selection. The best five play."

Players and coaches, alike, admit they are excited by the large group of contributors returning next season. The 14-man senior class is the smallest in Friedgen's tenure, though 11 of the 14 entered the season as starters.

That leaves a lot of jobs to be won next spring. But it's not something players are interested in right now, as they attempt to salvage the remaining scraps of a season gone awry.

"The coaches, they're going to make their decision," true freshman defensive tackle Zach Kerr said. "The only thing I can do about it is just play."

ajoseph@umdbk.com