Series candidly captures Terps

The Baltimore Sun

BETHESDA -- When it comes to inside access to the University of Maryland athletic program, perhaps no one is more plugged in these days than Jess Atkinson.

The 45-year-old former Maryland and NFL kicker-turned-television producer is the creative force behind the new reality TV series Terrapins Rising, which followed the football team through its spring practices as it prepared for the 2007 season.

Atkinson, whose company produced a similar documentary called Under the Shell about the women's basketball team, wanted to give Maryland football fans the kind of unfiltered access that is rarely available. That includes candid comments by players and coaches about the ups and downs of big-time college football.

"The key to this program is they talk about things that they're usually not free to talk about," said Atkinson, who played for the Terps from 1981 through 1984. "The coaches are brutally honest."

Playing the heavy

That honesty starts at the top. In an early episode, head coach Ralph Friedgen is shown repeatedly yelling at running back Morgan Green, telling him to "suck it up" and at one point calling him "soft." Green was recruited over another highly publicized running back, Steve Slaton, who ended up at West Virginia and is now a Heisman Trophy candidate.

In one scene, the clearly agitated Friedgen is so loud expressing his frustration with the redshirt freshman that his words echo through the empty stadium.

In a later episode, however, Friedgen is shown complimenting Green on his improvement, both on the field and in the classroom.

Whether the subject is breaking down players to build them up or breaking up the occasional fight, Friedgen said the show is an accurate depiction of Maryland football. How it portrays him personally is another matter.

"The one thing I get concerned about is I'm like the heavy," said Friedgen, who has approval over what is aired. "No pun intended."

The 30-minute show, which is five episodes into its 10-week run, airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet and is one of several projects Atkinson is working on.

After being let go as a sports anchor by Washington's WUSA in 2002, he decided to change careers rather than uproot his family. He started his production company and began working with university officials who were looking for innovative ways to promote their athletic program.

"They saw the value of telling their own story," said Atkinson, who began by producing the Internet show Fridge TV in 2003, featuring Friedgen. "They understood how competitive the local TV market was. If they're not going to show your stuff, why not show it yourself?"

Atkinson, who works out of his Bethesda home in a makeshift studio, teamed up with assistant athletic director Brian Ullman for this project. Ullman was looking for something that would get people talking about Maryland football during the normally quiet summer season and came up with the idea for a reality show. He said that Atkinson, as a former player, was in a unique position to tell the story accurately, and that the former kicker deserved credit for the show's success.

"It never would've seen the light of day had we not had somebody like Jess Atkinson available to work on it," Ullman said. "That's what comes with his being a Maryland Terrapin football player. The combination of his skills behind the camera as well as his innate sense of what a spring practice is like is really the only way to make the show successful."

Atkinson has created a show featuring characters and story lines such as junior quarterback Jordan Steffy's struggle to live up to the huge expectations that accompanied his arrival in 2004.

After throwing for 5,587 yards and 51 touchdowns in high school, Steffy chose Maryland over Penn State, Virginia Tech and Michigan State. His decision had players dreaming of national championships.

"When he first came here, he was supposed to be the savior," said junior center Edwin Williams in one scene. "He was supposed to take us to the promised land."

Instead, Steffy struggled, completing only 12 of 32 passes with no touchdowns as a freshman. He was redshirted for the 2005 season and played in one game last year, not exactly what he had envisioned.

"I thought things would be [where] I'd sort of pick up where I left off out of high school," said Steffy, who faces stiff competition from Chris Turner and Josh Portis for the starting job . "Now all of a sudden, things aren't too good. You find out a lot about yourself."

UM's 'Rudy'

Another Terrapins Rising segment focuses on fourth-year junior wide receiver Matt Goldberg, a member of the scout team who has yet to play.

Goldberg, who said he could have gone to West Point or Yale but chose to walk on at Maryland, is seen trying to impress his coaches enough to get on the field despite being told by assistants he would never play. A lifelong Terrapins fan, he is the school's version of Rudy, and his story is featured prominently on the show.

"Jess has the ability to arouse emotion with his video," said Friedgen, who was the offensive line coach at Maryland when Atkinson played there. "He has the sense to capture the story within the story."

Said Atkinson: "That's what my company does. We tell stories."

patrick.gutierrez@baltsun.com

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