Some items of note from the Sunday teleconference …
* First, the injuries. Punter Travis Baltz has a severe sprain of his non-kicking ankle (i.e. on his plant foot) and is expected to miss two weeks. Freshman Nick Ferrara would likely fill in, but coach Ralph Friedgen is reluctant to have him do all three phases of the kicking duties.
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Meanwhile, tackle Paul Pinegar has a “bruise on his butt,” and Friedgen is optimistic he’ll be available Saturday. Also, guards Bennett Fulper (neck) and Lamar Young (shoulder) are battling injuries.
* Friedgen re-iterated that quarterback Chris Turner wasn’t the only offensive player to struggle and is optimistic he’ll rebound.
“He’s been banged up a little bit,” Friedgen said. “He’s getting a little skittish. I have every faith in Chris. He’ll come back. He always has. I have a lot of confidence in him.”
* Neither Justin Anderson nor Eric Franklin got in yesterday. Friedgen said defensive line coach Dave Sollazzo told him he was reluctant to use Anderson while he was still adjusting to tackle. Friedgen also said starting tackles Travis Ivey and A.J. Francis were “much more productive than what they had been in the past.”
* Jamari McCollough appeared on four snaps. Friedgen expects him to be closer to full strength on Saturday.
* There were 12 snaps at the end for Gary Douglas, in case anyone wanted a hard number there.
* Friedgen put a different spin on those 61 points opponents have scored off turnovers.
Namely, that it could be worse, considering Rutgers did not score off a pair of turnovers that left the Scarlet Knights with the ball in Maryland territory.
Considering Maryland has yielded eight touchdowns and two field goals off 13 turnovers, things couldn’t be that much worse.
—- Patrick Stevens
