Maryland freshman Devin Burns probably didn't expect to be in a position to play this season.
In some ways, that's understandable. Just about no one else figured the quarterback who arrived in spring ball would be in serious contention for playing time. The Terrapins had three quarterbacks in front of him, and playing him this year would place him in the same class as both Danny O'Brien and C.J. Brown.
That hasn't changed quite yet, but Burns is the No. 3 quarterback for Maryland when it visits No. 21 West Virginia tomorrow. That won't change in the next two months as Brown recovers from surgery performed Thursday to fix a broken collarbone.
If either O'Brien or Jamarr Robinson goes down, though, Burns would be the proverbial sprained ankle away from the spotlight --- whether he's ready or not.
"He's gotten a little bit more work in practice and he did some good things [Tuesday]," offensive coordinator James Franklin said. "He really did. The funny thing is I talk to him all the time --- the young kids get into a 'Ah, I'm probably redshirting' mode or 'I'm probably not going to play' mode. Then you have a few injuries and now all the sudden it's real."
Maybe a little too real.
Robinson knows. He came to campus in the spring of 2007 as the No. 6 quarterback. Then Jeremy Ricker transferred. Bobby Sheahin followed. Josh Portis was suspended for an academic code violation. Jordan Steffy was concussed.
Less than nine months after arriving, Robinson was Chris Turner's backup for about a month.
Burns isn't quite in that situation yet. But judging from Franklin's assessment of this week's practice, it's clear he's started thinking about what could happen if another injury befalls the Terps' quarterback corps.
"I said 'How come you were asking me so many more questions in practice today, Devin? In the meetings you were asking so many more questions,'" Franklin said. "[He said] 'Well, it's real now.' Well, I told you two months ago it could be real real quick if something happened. He did some good things today. I just wish they would take that approach from the day they step on campus, and Danny's that kind of that guy."
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