Prepare to read about Maryland's quarterbacks. Again.
The Terps' Red-White scrimmage will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at Byrd Stadium, and the main highlight will be Jordan Steffy and how he fares against his backup, Josh Portis.
The way coach Ralph Friedgen describes it, there are "three guys who are still battling for the starting position." Don't forget about Chris Turner.
"All of them have shown improvement," Friedgen said. "Right now I'd say Jordan Steffy has a slight lead, but Portis and Turner are very close and gaining."
He would know. Friedgen has been charting what the quarterbacks do on each drive, and he charts every throw they make that's competitive.
Off of the top of his head, Friedgen rattled off a few numbers today. Steffy had 298 throws this spring and threw two interceptions. (On one of them, Friedgen pointed out, a receiver slipped.) In a scrimmage this past Saturday, all three completed 50 percent of their passes. Turner and Portis fumbled inside the five-yard line, though, and stopped drives.
Last weekend might have been more telling because the defense was throwing everything at them – all of the formations, motions, blitzes. Saturday's scrimmage should be more basic formations. What Saturday will provide is a game situation – something none of the quarterbacks has seen much of.
Not that Saturday will determine the starting quarterback. It's simply a better evaluation. Again.