Backing off?

Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen was asked about his true freshmen running backs today.

And after a few days of practice, he seems a little less gung-ho about using both Caleb Porzel and D.J. Adams on Saturday at Wake Forest.

"I don't know. We'll have to see," Friedgen said. "They're progressing, but they're still blowing a few pickups. They're working hard. I don't think we'll start them, but we may play them. I don't know how long."

That would indicate Davin Meggett and Gary Douglas will handle the majority of the workload in the backfield going forward --- and perhaps that the Terps will try to preserve the redshirts of one or both of their freshmen.

I'll have a chart on Maryland's usage of a third running back later on (either tonight or early in the morning), but Porzel remains an intriguing possibility because of his speed even though he's missed nearly half the season.

Whether Porzel's really ready or not considering the injury remains to be seen. And it would seem Friedgen is giving this a lot of thought to this rather than thrusting either guy into the picture.

--- Patrick Stevens