Not much news from the ACC teleconference this morning, at least with Ralph Friedgen‘s segment on there. And that’s really no surprise.
The only highly notable thing was that Friedgen isn’t ruling Bruce Campbell (turf toe) out of Saturday’s game against James Madison.
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“We’re hoping to get Bruce back,” Friedgen said. “We’ll see, but we’re hoping to get him.”
That goes without saying. But Campbell was hobbling around toward the end of his stint against California on Saturday, and even if he somehow could go, would it be worth exacerbating the situation for later in the season?
That’s why I asked about the rest of the tackles —- Paul Pinegar, R.J. Dill and Justin Gilbert, all of whom would presumably play a lot in the Terrapins’ home opener.
“Actually, I thought Dill did OK, probably played like a first-year freshman but I wasn’t disappointed,” Friedgen said. “Gilbert pretty much the same way. I thought Fill played better. Pinegar fought very hard, got beat once, but other than that he played better than I anticipated. We’re hoping we’re going to be able to get [Tyler] Bowen some work this week, and [Pete] DeSouza didn’t look bad yesterday.”
Bowen, whose career has been beset by foot injuries, has always been a vital element for this team. If he could remain healthy and available, he’d probably be the best option at right tackle.
As for DeSouza, it’s hardly a good sign the Terps are even talking about possibly going so deep as to play a true true freshman at tackle. Sure, Campbell and Jared Gaither played shortly after arriving, but they had a year of prep school to their credit.
DeSouza doesn’t. But if injuries beyond even Campbell’s start piling up, it might not matter.
—- Patrick Stevens
