2013 Outlook - Maryland

Last year Randy Edsall took over the Maryland Terrapin program from longtime HC Ralph Friedgen, after demonstrating some success at UConn.  After going 2-10 in his first year, Edsall has to see that he has his work cut out for him.

Going into 2013, JR CJ Brown will be the starting QB for the Terps.  He is a good athlete, but not much of a passer at this point in his career.  He will need to better his 49% completion mark from a year ago if he is going to have any hope of helping this team improve.  True FR Wes Brown will be his primary ball carrier this year.  Wes Brown is talented, but has no experience at this level.  Edsall had some good RBs during his time at UConn though, so he stands a chance of developing the youngster over the next few seasons. SR WR Kevin Dorsey should be the most reliable target in the passing game, but there will be a few youngsters mixed in as well, including the very highly touted true frosh, Stefon Diggs.  The o-line is also a young bunch, so I really see this offense starting with the odds stacked against them.

Defensively, the team has a couple of good ball players to build around.  Up front, SR DT Joe Vellano is the top player.  He penetrates well, and that will be a necessity.  SR DL AJ Francis will need to be more productive though if this team is going to stop opponents from running on them in 2013.  At linebacker, SR Kenny Tate returns as the team's most talented player.  The former safety plays fast and hits well.  His play and attitude have to be contagious though for this ball club if they are going to win games.  In the secondary, hey have a bit of experience, but their most exciting player is SO S, Matt Robinson who returns from injury.  As a FR last year, he was leading the Terps in tackles when he was lost for the year, so getting him back will be a big plus.

Unfortunately for Edsall, the 2013 outlook for the Maryland Terps is not much better than that of the 2012 version of this team.  They have some good young athletes on the roster, but they are too inexperienced as a team to really pose a treat the the conference's elite teams at this time.  In another year or two however, this could be an entirely different story.