D1scourse.com

Da'Rel Scott scores touchdown in Senior Bowl

Former Maryland running back Da'Rel Scott scored the only touchdown for the North team in its 24-10 loss in Saturday's Senior Bowl.

Scott had five carries for 15 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown run, and added a 34-yard reception.

Scott's performance came a week after he had one carry for five yards in the East-West Shrine game.

Maryland has one more senior scheduled to play in an all-star game; linebacker Adrian Moten was invited to the NFLPA game next week in San Antonio.

Other Maryland performances in postseason games:

WILL YEATMAN

Eastham Energy All-Star Game: 4 receptions, 49 yards

TRAVIS BALTZ

Eastham Energy All-Star Game: 1/3 FG, 2/2 XP, 4-44.8 punting

Reviewing Maryland's 2006 football recruiting class

As Maryland convened more than four years ago for the 2006 season, it was coming off consecutive losing seasons and had added a 17-man freshman class in Dave Sollazzo's first year as recruiting coordinator.

Only one of those players --- fullback Cory Jackson --- was a contributor on Maryland's Champs Sports Bowl team. Many of those players didn't see the field at all. And a few guys --- transfer Antwine Perez and walk-on Paul Pinegar --- joined the team within months.

As much as fans salivate over recruiting rankings, few bother to look back at a recruiting class and see how it really worked out in the long run. Of course, that's only possible once everyone has passed through a program.

The time to assess the '06 class in its totality is now, when their accomplishments are still fresh in mind. This isn't an analysis of pure talent, per se, so much as it is as close to an objective assessment of production over the course of a career as is possible.

Prep school products like Bruce Campbell, Quintin McCree and Ronnie Tyler --- all of whom signed in 2006 but didn't enroll until 2007 --- are pushed into the next class. Same goes for Jamarr Robinson, who grayshirted and didn't come to College Park until '07.

In any case, here's the tiering system:

5 stars: All-America performer or high NFL Draft selection
4 stars: Multi-year starter at a high level
3 stars: Multi-year starter or strong one-year starter
2 stars: One-year starter or organizational player who contributed for much of his career
1 star: Organizational player with modest on-field contributions
0 stars: Never played

Of the 19 players evaluated (and 17 members of the original class), nine contributed nothing or very little on the field. As a whole, it was one of Ralph Friedgen's least efficient recruiting classes, and there's no doubt it led to the holes that fostered the Terps' 2-10 nosedive in 2010 2009. But there were still good pieces in that class, as you can see after the jump.

Maryland running back breakdown by quarter

The never-ending search for data to aggregate has led to this little project --- trying to figure out usage patterns and strengths of Maryland's tailbacks.

It's somewhat raw --- it doesn't take into account for level of competition --- but there are a few intriguing stats that emerge after breaking down the quarter-by-quarter numbers for Davin Meggett, Da'Rel Scott and D.J. Adams.

For example ...

* Meggett is at his strongest in the bookend quarters. He has more yardage in the first quarter than the second and third periods combined. The same holds true with fourth quarter vs. quarters two and three. Remember, long runs against Navy (first quarter) and Florida International (fourth quarter) play a role.

* Scott is averaging 3.35 yards a carry after halftime and has just 12 rushes for 35 yards in the fourth quarter through seven games. At times, Maryland abandons the run in the final period, but Meggett holds a greater edge in fourth-quarter carries than any other period.

* Meggett's usage is remarkably consistent through games. His quarter-by-quarter carries totals: 18-18-18-20.

* The top six individual quarters of the entire season:

82: Meggett, Q4 vs. Florida International
75: Meggett, Q1 vs. Navy
68: Adams, Q4 vs. Morgan State
60: Scott, Q2 vs. Florida International
43: Meggett, Q4 vs. Duke
40: Meggett, Q1 vs. Morgan State

More after the jump:

Maryland and a primary back: A possibility, not a likelihood

Earlier this week, Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen hinted at the possibility of sticking with a primary back, something the Terrapins have veered away from this season.

The divide in carries through six games has swung between Davin Meggett receiving five extra carries and Da'Rel Scott taking seven more attempts.

So, what's the verdict?

"If they're both running good, we'll probably stay the way we have," Friedgen said. "But if one's having a better game than the other, we'll probably stay with that guy, whoever that is. Maybe D.J. Adams."

Well, here's a look at how the carries have shaken out so far this season

Game	Scott	Meggett
vs. Navy	10-58-1 TD	8-105-1 TD
Morgan State	8-42	8-50
at West Virginia	4-6	9-30
Florida International	15-103-2 TD	8-83-1 TD
Duke	14-50	18-57-1 TD
at Clemson	4-18	8-29

Meggett had 59 carries to Scott's 55, and the job effectively has been a timeshare throughout the season. Even if Adams, a redshirt freshman, noses his way into things (and that seems likely only in short-yardage situations), it would be a remarkable change from what the Terps have done so far.

More likely, the question Saturday at Boston College will be how many carries there are to divvy up in the first place. With the Eagles producing another solid unit against the run, Maryland's effectiveness in the ground game is aprobably a more legitimate question than just who will actually handle the bulk of the work.

Terps mix things up with Da'Rel Scott split out wide

For Maryland fans who like to take note of personnel peculiarities, there was one particularly offensive goodie of note on Saturday.

Tailback Da'Rel Scott lined up as a receiver on a handful of plays, a look that at the least provides something for opposing defenses to consider --- namely that a traditional two-back, one-tight end personnel group might not necessarily be what it seems for the Terrapins this year.

Running backs coach John Donovan said there was a chance Maryland could use multiple tailbacks at the same time, but acknowledged the uncertainty of a Scott or another tailback set up as a slot receiver was appealing for the offense.

"The best thing about what we did with those guys the other day is that you can be in a traditional I-formation personnel group, and then all the sudden you're in one back," Donovan said. "Now the defense maybe has a run coverage or front and you're throwing the ball. It keeps them guessing not knowing what formation you're going to be in based on personnel. That can be a positive for us."

So the next logical question is easy to pose: Is there a chance Scott and fellow tailback Davin Meggett are on the field at the same time.

The quick answer: Maybe.

Both Donovan and offensive coordinator James Franklin said the scenario is possible. But Franklin noted there was a chance the Scott-Meggett combination might actually lend itself to a bit of predictability in some stages of a game.

"If it warrants it, there's no reason why we couldn't do that," Franklin said. "We actually have some packages now where we do that. What you have to decide is if it's a pass play, is that guy more valuable than Ronnie Tyler. There's always that fine line you have to determine. Does that give you some advantage of having those two guys on the field? Are they going to treat it like it's a running set? Well, they're probably not because one of them is not a lead back. You have to decide who's most valuable to have on the field for that specific situation."

Da'Rel Scott eager for bounceback season

BALTIMORE --- There's a lot of things working in favor of Da'Rel Scott bouncing back from an injury-riddled junior season.

He's healthy.

His offensive line is better.

And he might just be quicker, too, after an offseason of running track.

"This is probably the best I've felt since I've gotten here," Scott said. "My whole body-wise --- just physically prepared, mentally prepared. I just feel very prepared right now."

Scott ran for just 425 yards and four touchdowns a year ago, missing five games with a broken forearm. But despite some offensive line issues, he still averaged five yards a carry.

That wasn't quite the same as his 1,000-yard season in 2008. But Scott was still effective when healthy.

Nonetheless, he wanted to get better. So he returned to one of his high school sports --- track --- and ran sprints for Maryland during last winter's indoor season in an effort to feel better than ever.

"That had a lot to do with it, just getting my legs back and getting my speed back," Scott said. "I still had speed, but I didn't have the speed I had when I first got here."

Now, it's on Scott to make it pay off as a senior.

He enjoyed a strong camp, producing a scrimmage that prompted offensive coordinator James Franklin to declare it was the best he'd ever seen Scott play. And coach Ralph Friedgen is especially optimistic Scott can regain his 2008 form.

"I think when Da'Rel's right, he's pretty good," Friedgen said. "He just has to be more consistent. We've talked about it. He's matured ... His whole demeanor is more mature, more serious, less whining, more mental toughness. He's a man right now. He's grown up. I know he wants to have a good year. I think he's worked very hard at doing that."

That means an increased devotion to pass protection, route running and better faking when he doesn't have the ball.

In short, numbers alone won't be the only things going for Scott this season.

"He used to be a guy who just did something when he had the ball and didn't do the things to make everybody else better," Friedgen said. "I don't see that right now. I see him working very hard to be a total football player."

A big Maryland question: How good Scott and Meggett be?

Another day, another snippet of praise for Maryland's running backs.

A lot of good things have been said about Da'Rel Scott and Davin Meggett. Meggett certainly looked stellar in the 15 minutes of a goal line scrimmage reporters saw on Saturday.

And the raves continued after the Terrapins' soggy morning session today.

"The guy that's running very good right now is Da'Rel," coach Ralph Friedgen said. "He's got a real burst right now and he's running harder than he's ever run and lower than he's ever run. I think the same thing for Davin. I think Davin, he's really maturing. I'll be really disappointed if those two guys don't have good years. I think they've really worked really hard. They're doing a lot of the little things right, but they're also carrying the ball pretty good."

OK, so they're running well. But how much of an impact will it really make? After all, it's hard to forget last year's collective cratering (which was, to be reasonable, influenced some by Scott's broken forearm):

MARYLAND TOP TWO RUNNING BACKS, 2001-09

Year	Back No. 1 (Yards)	Back No. 2 (Yards)	Sum of Top 2 backs
2001	Bruce Perry (1,242)	Marc Riley (338)	1,580 (11 G)
2002	Chris Downs (1,154)	Josh Allen (405)	1,559 (14 G)
2003	Josh Allen (922)	Bruce Perry (713)	1,635 (13 G)
2004	Sammy Maldonado (560)	Josh Allen (533)	1,093 (11 G)
2005	Lance Ball (903)	Mario Merrills (313)	1,216 (11 G)
2006	Lance Ball (815)	Keon Lattimore (743)	1,558 (13 G)
2007	Keon Lattimore (805)	Lance Ball (768)	1,573 (13 G)
2008	Da'Rel Scott (1,133)	Davin Meggett (457)	1,590 (13 G)
2009	Da'Rel Scott (425)	Davin Meggett (338)	763 (12 G)

This, of course, really isn't about the tailbacks. It's about the offensive line.

Scott and Meggett will be more productive this year, in part because it would be very difficult for the pair to combine to average less than 65 yards a game again.

But there is virtually no trepidation among coaches and teammates in declaring the line to be substantially better than it was a year ago. Unlike last year, when the line was acknowledged as a giant question, those in the program are optimistic about the first unit.

Is that really the case? It's tough to know right now. But Maryland at least seems happy rather than hesitant about the starting line it will likely field Sept. 6 against Navy.

That, in turn, is enhancing the optimism for Scott and Meggett to return to at least their circa 2008 form.

"In reality, it’s been hard to evaluate the running backs," offensive coordinator James Franklin said. "It’s been hard at times to evaluate our quarterbacks because of some of the issues weve had on the offensive line. I think they’re vastly improved and I think it’s allowing us to show some of the talent we’ve been able to recuit at some of the other positions. It’s opened up everything. It’s changed everything. Just like the quarterbacks, it’s not a finished product, but we’re so much further ahead than we were at this time last year."

Maryland's Stocked Fridge: No. 40 Da'Rel Scott

Sizing up Da'Rel Scott's place in Maryland football lore as he enters his senior season:

* 308 carries (20th in school history)

* 1,693 yards (15th in school history)

* 5.5 yards per carry (third in school history)

* 12 rushing touchdowns (tied for 20th in school history)

* 6 games of 100+ yards rushing (tied for fifth in school history)

It'll be a lot easier to place Scott among the top contributors of the Ralph Friedgen years after his senior season is through.

Assuming he can stay healthy --- which he did not as a junior --- he'll probably rise into the top 10 of most categories. He might even join Charlie Wysocki as the only players in Terrapin history to roll up a pair of 1,000-yard seasons.

Certainly, some of his star turns as a sophomore --- including the 174-yard outburst in the second half of the Humanitarian Bowl --- warrant plenty of respect. His two fourth-quarter touchdowns earned him the game's MVP award.

Yet in some ways, his most impressive feat was averaging 5.0 yards as a junior behind a struggling offensive line. By comparison, the rest of the team averaged 2.6 yards a carry. With sacks removed from the equation, Maryland still managed just 3.8 yards a carry when Scott wasn't rushing.

Scott already has a first-team all-conference season to his credit. If he puts together a full season this fall, his ranking among the top players of Friedgen's tenure would skyrocket as a result.