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Maryland freshman Kearse a medical hardship candidate

When Desmond Kearse left the Sept. 25 game against Florida International with ankle and knee injuries, it didn't seem as though he would be out too long.

Maybe a week. Perhaps two. Nothing to really justify the possibility a couple readers floated shortly thereafter: "Medical redshirt."

(As an aside, the NCAA's preferred phrase and technical term for that is "medical hardship waiver.")

Anyway, Kearse has missed the last four games, will sit out Saturday at Miami and shows no signs of being ready to contribute soon.

He has a "high, high ankle sprain," said coach Ralph Friedgen, who added Kearse has a shin problem as well. "He's still hobbling around."

Which swings things back around to the medical hardship waiver.

An athlete can compete in up to 30 percent of his team's games in the first half of a season and still be eligible for a waiver. Kearse played in three games, which is 25 percent of the regular season, and has not played in the second half of the season.

As a result, the waiver could be an offseason priority for the Terps.

"We'll try to get that," Friedgen said.

Based on the rules, it's definitely doable. And based on how it sounds like Kearse is faring, it will probably make sense for Maryland to go that route if he can't make a meaningful contribution in November.

Safety Kearse still ailing

Freshman safety Desmond Kearse is still ailing for Maryland.

Kearse, who left the Terrapins' Sept. 25 game against Florida International with ankle and knee injuries, was expected to visit a doctor this week for a re-examination. Kearse missed the Terps' Oct. 2 game against Duke.

"He's still hurt," Friedgen said. "I thought he'd well by now."

Kearse filled in as a pass-rusher earlier this season, and is one of three true freshmen to play this year. His loss will be offset because of linebacker David Mackall's return from a concussion. Safety Eric Franklin, who was used in a specialty role last week, is also back following a hamstring injury.

Ultra-quick Kearse has nose for the quarterback

Desmond Kearse admits he was nervous. First college game, a chance to shine with a small package of plays and help Maryland get to 2-0.

He just didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

"[Defensive coordinator Don Brown] told me I was going to play, but I wasn't expecting him to call on me the second play of the game," Kearse said. "So I said 'Oh, I gotta go in right now.' So I just went in."

Promptly, the true freshman safety attacked the quarterback, setting up a sack for Joe Vellano.

At 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, Kearse doesn't look the part of a potent pass rusher. When he walked into the auditorium in the Gossett team house this week, I'll admit I did a double take. This was not a guy with the typical build of someone who will harass passers for some time.

"Would you believe 52 sacks in his high school career?" Brown said a few minutes later. "It's hard to believe."

Kearse was one of Maryland's recruiting prizes out of Florida, an area reopened with Brown on the staff.

Of course, Brown's aggressive scheme didn't hurt in attracting a guy who could rush the quarterback from nearly any spot on the field.

"I just committed because he had the right defense for me," Kearse said.

Installing speed was a priority for Brown, who watched his defense absorb some gashings a year ago as he tried to mesh inherited personnel with his preferred system.

In some ways, the plan is to use Kearse as a smaller version of the role Kenny Tate was envisioned to fill a year ago. Tate wound up in a more conventional position thanks to injuries, and he later missed time at the end of the season.

Kearse, though, has a chance to thrive in a specialized role since it's evident Maryland doesn't plan to give him too much in his first season.

"He's something," Brown said. "Cut the clips out of his edge stuff. One time he's on the edge hitting the quarterback in the back, the next time he's 10 feet in the air batting the ball in the air and almost catches it and then gets [leveled] and then pops back up. He's like the Energizer Bunny. He goes. And he's fast and he's quick. We have a few guys, and thank God we do, that have the unique ability to play with big people and they're not big."

Maryland was reluctant to use Kearse too quickly. After all, his pass rushing skills would be neutralized in an opener against Navy, a team that runs more than 80 percent of the time in many games.

So Kearse had to wait until the second week to debut. Not that he much minded, especially after quickly being called upon against Morgan State.

"They've been working on that defense since spring, that option [defense], and I wasn't even here yet," Kearse said. "So they were like just wait until the second game to start playing."

Brown personally scouted Kearse, and with the help of Kearse's tape convinced coach Ralph Friedgen to offer the Fort Myers native a scholarship.

Less than a year later, Kearse is one of three true freshmen to appear in Maryland's first two games.

"We're asking a little more this week than we did last week," Brown said. "Now, he's getting involved in special teams, too. So you get a little nervous about that. Right now, it'll be a big test. He made it through the execution part. Would he go into that game and derail? Would he fracture and not do things the right way and not function within the concept? He passed that with flying colors."

Losing their shirt?

A popular question as Maryland's season opener lurches to just 10 days away: Which true freshmen will play?

The answers seem a little bit clearer to coach Ralph Friedgen these days.

Offered the chance to rattle off some names, he mentioned safeties Matt Robinson and Titus Till, defensive end Ian Evans and left tackle Max Garcia. Left off, but almost certain to play, is linebacker David Mackall.

But a couple defensive backs made the list that were a little eye-opening: Jeremiah Johnson and Desmond Kearse.

Johnson is a cornerback who at least is in the discussion unless the unit stays completely healthy.

"He's a young kid, I think he just turned 17, and even though he’s a very light kid, he’s a pretty aggressive guy," Friedgen said. "He'll hit you. He has very good coverage skills. It's one of those things where if we got a couple more guys hurt, he’d play."

Translation: Seems like the sort of guy Maryland will make an effort to redshirt, even if coaches like what they see so far.

The optimal scenario with Kearse would also be a redshirt. But with Maryland lusting for speedy players who can effectively rush the passer, Kearse provides an interesting element for defensive coordinator Don Brown to work with. For now, Kearse is among the reserves in the Terps' nickel package.

"He’s not very big, but he’s very quick, and he is relentless," Friedgen said. "He's got him all over the place --- in the secondary, at linebacker. He’s all over the place. Doesn’t need much to get by you, too. He’s like a contortionist.  He’s another guy you’d like to redshirt. He was probably 169 pounds when he came here. After two-a-days, he’s probably about 150. But he can rush the passer. He can do that."

Lempa looking for big things from big freshman safeties

As Maryland's camp begins, a popular topic over the next few weeks will be just which true freshmen have a chance to contribute.

After all, 10 true freshmen made it onto the field last year.

The early guess as the best place to look for an impact is safety, where the Terrapins have only three guys who have any game experience: Starters Kenny Tate and Antwine Perez, and sophomore Eric Franklin.

However, Maryland brings in three freshmen at safety --- the highly regarded Titus Till, as well as the physically imposing Matt Robinson and the quick Desmond Kearse.

"If you just look at them, physically all three of them are 6-2, 6-3," safeties coach Kevin Lempa said. "They're all tall, lean and they all ran in the 4.5s. That's very unusual for one guy [Robinson] who's 220, the other guy [Till] is probably 195, the other guy [Kearse] is 180-something. To run that fast, that's a good thing. They seem really bright, they seem very smart and they're fairly strong. So that's a good combination."

Lempa has pegged Robinson to play at Maryland's rover position, with Till settling in at free safety (behind Tate and Franklin).

Kearse, who probably wasn't as discussed as either Robinson or Till in terms of immediate help, could figure in at the pup/dog spot Tate was supposed to play considerable time at last year.

"He's a guy who comes off the edge and has great quickness," Lempa said. "We're going to look at him seriously about that. His tape in high school showed great burst. He had 70-something --- [a] ridiculous [number] --- sacks [in his career]. I don't care what level you are. I'm excited about those three guys. I'm waiting to see what they can do."