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Loss of Lansford Watson restricts Terps' options at tight end

The news of the weekend out of College Park was the loss of tight end Lansford Watson to a slightly torn MCL.

OK, that wasn't the news. The junior's injury was known about in the first couple days of camp.

The more relevant development was coach Ralph Friedgen's decision to tell reporters Watson will undergo season-ending surgery this week. Given Watson's inability to practice, this seemed like a possible outcome for more than a week.

There's also a trickle-down through the entire banged-up tight end unit. They include ...

* Devonte Campbell, whenever he returns from his concussion, will almost certainly be Maryland's top receiving tight end. In fact, here's a prediction: The sophomore will have more receptions at season's end than the rest of the Terrapins' tight end corps combined.

* Sophomore Matt Furstenburg could easily turn into the Terps' top blocking tight end. Furstenburg played off and on the last two years, but he's managed to stay mostly healthy throughout camp and is probably the biggest individual beneficiary of Watson's injury this season.

* Will Yeatman will surely have a role when he returns from a broken finger in September. The Notre Dame transfer already was pushing Maryland's holdovers when he got hurt, and was likely to provide some help regardless. Minus Watson, the Terps might need him to provide a lift with both his blocking and receiving.

* At the least, Dave Stinebaugh and Ryan Schlothauer could help out on special teams and maybe goal line formations. If the Terps ever use a set with three tight ends --- particularly before Yeatman returns --- one of these guys will be needed. Tight ends also often occupy a place on Maryland's kickoff return team, and that might be a way for the Terps to get both Baltimore County products some experience.

As for Watson, he would be a longshot possibility to collect a sixth year of eligibility via medical hardship. He did redshirt in 2007, undergoing surgery to correct a meniscus tear during camp. But he probably wasn't going to play that season anyway, so injuries have really only cost Watson one season rather than two. That usually isn't enough for the NCAA to grant an extra year.

Post-practice quick hits: Aug. 18

Odds and ends from Maryland's morning practice ...

* Tight end Lansford Watson (slightly torn MCL) will visit with team physician Craig Bennett. Watson has not practiced since the first day of camp, and despite initially hoping to avoid surgery could wind up facing an operation to fix his knee.

"He's struggling," coach Ralph Friedgen said. "We may end up operating there. I think we'll check it one more time. We thought he'd be ready to go. He tried to go Monday and he was still sore and he tried to go yesterday again and he's having trouble. Lansford wants to have the cartilage out, but I'm not so sure if he gets the cartilage out if that affects the ACL."

* Friedgen said the academic status of wideout Ronnie Tyler and nose tackle Zach Kerr has yet to be resolved. Both have practiced throughout camp.

* Anchor Carl Russell (shoulder) and fullback Louis Berman (AC sprain) returned to practice today. Tight end Devonte Campbell is still suffering from symptoms of a concussion suffered during Monday's scrimmage.

* Friedgen said not to read too much into the limited pass attempts for C.J. Brown in Monday's scrimmage. Brown played with the third team.

"We're encouraged with C.J.'s passing," Friedgen said. "I think it's improved quite a bit. I think his technique  has improved."

* Friedgen planned to spend a little time at a reception for new campus president Wallace D. Loh this afternoon before returning to the team house and preparing for a scheduled afternoon practice that could be displaced by the rain.

Me: "Lovely day to greet him, huh?"

Ralph: "Yeah, I hope that's not an omen. It's supposed to clear up while he's here."

* Asked about how reserve defensive lineman Masengo Kabongo, who played early last season but was barely heard from after September and pretty much never in the spring and this month, is faring.

"So-so," Friedgen said. "He has to be more consistent and more dependable in all areas of his life."

Translation: With Justin Anderson, Isaiah Ross, Russell and even freshman Ian Evans all possibilities at Anchor, it'll take quite a push from Kabongo to become a factor at the position.

Maryland tight end Watson has slight MCL tear

Tight end Lansford Watson will undergo a second MRI exam to determine the severity of a knee injury, Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said.

Friedgen said team medical personnel believes Watson has a slight tear of an MCL, but don't expect the junior to miss time this season.

"They think he cna get by with a brace and want to make sure his meniscus is all right," Friedgen said. "Lansford wants to try to play. If we can get by with the brace, we'll probably operate after the season if everything goes well."

Watson is competing with sophomore Devonte Campbell for the Terrapins' starting tight end job.

The Brooklyn, N.Y., native had seven catches for 66 yards a a season ago, and owns 17 receptions for 181 yards and a touchdown for his career.

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.