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Maryland kicker Ferrara scuffling as season opener approaches

First it was an injured foot.

And then a bunch of blocked kicks.

This week, Nick Ferrara's miserable sophomore camp got even worse: A groin pull for the Maryland football team's incumbent kicker.

Travis Baltz handled the kicking for the Terrapins in Thursday's practice, and it might be time to wonder if Ferrara will be a credible option in time for the Sept. 6 date with Navy at M&T Bank Stadium.

"Some people talk about a sophomore slump and things like that, but I don't believe in that," special teams coordinator Charles Bankins said. "I think he had some early success and didn't quite prepare as well as he needed to and that allowed him to get injured."

While Baltz could step in as an emergency substitute, what Maryland really needs is for Ferrara to get well. Baltz has never attempted a field goal in college, and it's clear his greatest skill is as a punter.

Ferrara was a freshman All-America pick by the FWAA a year ago, when he made 18 of 25 field goals and connected on all 26 extra points. He also was the team's kickoff specialist, and played half the season at punter when Baltz got hurt.

In short, he was one of a handful of bright spots in a dismal 2-10 season. And before his sophomore season is underway, it looks like Ferrara will be hard-pressed to match his strong debut without a quick turnaround.

"We all get excited when we get accolades," Bankins said. "He's third-team freshman All-American or whatever, but they neglected to tell him there's only like four freshmen kicking in the country when they have him that award. He kind of let that go to his head, and he performed on par with Travis last year punting, so of course he probably was feeling his oats a little bit and he didn't prepare properly. Now, it's catching up with him and he has to come along. The special teams are only as good as the specialists."

Bankins wants tight end pecking order to evolve quickly

Charles Bankins' first season as Maryland's tight ends coach wasn't what he was accustomed to.

The unit wasn't particularly impressive in the spring. It slogged through camp. It was barely noticed in the fall.

Tommy Galt, a fifth-year senior whose forte was blocking, played well. Beyond him, there simply wasn't much production from a group that seemed stuck in a perpetual logjam.

"You're talking to a guy who's had a national championship and a guy that had two backs go over 1,000 yards for two seasons at Hampton University," Bankins said. "I'm used to guys competing to be the top players at their position in the country or in the conference or what have you. I think it might have been the first or second time I've coached that I didn't have an all-conference player. It was kind of different."

OK, so the still untapped talent of guys like Devonte Campbell and Lansford Watson didn't come together last season. But that wasn't the most frustrating part of the season.

Bankins waited for someone --- anyone --- to emerge as the Terrapins' clear-cut top tight end.

And waited.

And waited.

And after months of hoping it might happen, Maryland was 2-10, the season was over and the unit was still unremarkable.

Bankins hopes he won't need nearly as much patience this season.

"We're going to have one guy that's going to step up and be the bell cow, and then the rest of the guys are going to know their role and get it done," Bankins said. "I don't know who the bell cow is going to be, but that's our plan. I told them by the end of the first two weeks of camp, somebody's got to rise to the top. I'm not kumbaya, feel-good, democratic. I'm a Darwinism guy --- survival of the fittest."

The best candidate for that could be Campbell, but Watson will have a say as well. So, too, will Will Yeatman, who played tight end for Notre Dame in 2006 and 2007. Another credible option is holdover Matt Furstenburg.

All but Yeatman were part of the unit last year, which means Bankins has invested as much in reshaping his unit's outlook as trying to polish and improve its skills.

"We got to get out of that as a position and has a team that I just wait my turn and it's time to go," Bankins said. "Every day you have to compete. ... It was like 'I'm afraid to buck the crowd.' I told them you guys are like a union here --- 'We can only work 60 hours. That's it. We're not working anymore.' Hold on and come back to the group. Like I said, I'm a Darwinism guy."

There are signs the unit is, for lack of a better term, evolving. Campbell is more versatile. Bankins said Watson, despite some knee swelling early in camp, is more upbeat than in the past. And Yeatman, with his previous experience and eagerness to return to football after a two-autumn hiatus, is pushing his new teammates as well.

"As a group, we've been more positive," Bankins said. "I think they're excited about the opportunity. They see in goal-line, we typically go three backs and two tights. They're like 'We should go two backs and three tight ends.'"

That would allow plenty of the fittest to survive. And maybe that could happen.

Ultimately, though, Bankins would like to see one set starter. If so, maybe things will start getting back to normal for him --- and Maryland's offense as well.