COLLEGE PARK — For the second consecutive August at Maryland, a quarterback competition featuring multiple candidates with varying levels of experience has loomed over the Terps' fall camp and the run up to the season opener.
Nearly a year ago in an open scrimmage on a sunny Saturday, Perry Hills showcased an offseason's worth of improvement and emerged as former coach Randy Edsall's starting quarterback despite being overshadowed by Caleb Rowe and Daxx Garman for most of the summer and the early part of fall camp.
On a similar day at Maryland Stadium on Saturday, Hills once again showed off the work he did over the summer and took the majority of the Terps' first-team reps while freshmen Tyrrell Pigrome and Max Bortenschlager worked with the second and third team, and Rowe and redshirt freshman Gage Shaffer watched from the sidelines.
But coach DJ Durkin won't tip his hand as to who Maryland's starting quarterback will be when Howard visits for the season opener on Sept. 3, and he's not ready to declare the quarterback job — which he has maintained is a five-man competition — decided or even close to decided.
"I know everyone wants to judge us right now. I just walked off the field," Durkin said. "This is, we go in as a staff, we watch every play multiple times, we talk as a staff. So I don't have any, 'This guy, this is where he's at.' I don't have that for you."
In Saturday's open practice, which featured some seven-on-seven passing periods and more 11-on-11 situational periods, Hills once again showed off the athleticism he used last season to rush for 535 yards and buy time with his legs when he was pressured.
He also showed his chemistry with some of Maryland's veteran receivers. His three touchdown passes during a red-zone drill late in practice all went to seniors: Malcolm Culmer found a soft spot in the defense for a 25-yard score, DeAndre Lane leaked out of a bunch formation and into space and Levern Jacobs hauled in a fade.
But there were still some shortcomings in his game. Early in practice, cornerback Alvin Hill nearly picked off Hills on a pass to the sideline intended for wide receiver Jahrvis Davenport. Cornerback Jarrett Ross later picked off a Hills pass that had been batted at the line of scrimmage.
"Perry's fine," Durkin said. "That's a tough guy. He doesn't get rattled by that stuff."
Pigrome, the freshman from Pinson, Ala., had his chance to make his public debut for Terps fans on Saturday afternoon, and he showed the combination of athleticism and arm strength that helped him account for 111 total touchdowns in 30 games as a starting quarterback in his two seasons as a high school starter.
He worked with freshmen running backs Jake Funk and Lorenzo Harrison in some read-option plays and was able to pick up yardage on designed runs. Pigrome made a nice throw on an out to wide receiver Jacquille Veii, but he also showed that he can improvise if he needs to.
"Some of the best things he does is when everything's not so right," Durkin said Friday.
Hills and Pigrome have both made impressions on their teammates during fall camp, and their performances received positive reviews from their teammates after Saturday's open practice.
"I think both guys did great," cornerback Will Likely said. "When it's been Perry, he's a senior so he's very experienced. He did what a senior quarterback does, limited turnovers. Pig, he did a pretty good job, too, being a freshman, just coming in, not worrying about anything, just playing fast and you can't really ask for more than that."
Said wide receiver Teldrick Morgan: "I think everybody did good. I really can't decide on that. The coaches are going to choose from there."
At Maryland's media day last week, Durkin said he didn't have an exact timetable for when he wanted to name the quarterback, and wanted to wait until "we're comfortable that someone has clearly emerged as the guy." But he emphasized that he wants his quarterback to take care of the football and command the offense, especially after a disastrous 2015 season for Maryland at the position.
All the quarterbacks entered camp with a clean slate with Durkin and offensive coordinator Walt Bell, and the five have had a chance to make their own first impressions. After the open practice, Durkin said he and his staff will start to narrow their vision for the depth chart so one can be installed by the week of the Howard game.
But quarterback remains a hovering question mark with the season opener two weeks.
"Every guy has different strengths in terms of what his abilities are talent-wise," Durkin said at Maryland's media day Tuesday. "We can design our offense based on that, whatever that is. It's the guy that makes the best decisions and can lead the team the best way and really, really manage what we do."
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