Injuries sideline two more players

Maryland’s mounting woes continued yesterday with two more marquee players injured. Guard Lamar Bryant will miss 4 to 6 weeks with a broken foot and linebacker Shawne Merriman 1 to 3 weeks with a torn knee cartilage.

Bryant joins running back Bruce Perry (ankle) and returner Steve Suter (hamstring) among players expected to miss the season opener at Northern Illinois on Aug.28. Merriman is questionable.

Both players were hurt late Wednesday in non-contact drills. A strong run blocker after earning second-team All-ACC honors last season, Bryant had started 34 games since missing his freshman season with a broken foot. Ed Tyler or Akil Patterson will replace him.

“Lamar solidifies our offensive line,” coach Ralph Friedgen said. “I think he’ll come back from this.”

Merriman is competing with Jamahl Cochran for the “Leo” tweener linebacking position near the line. The sophomore finished third among the Terps with five sacks last year despite only one start. He had arthroscopic knee surgery yesterday. Defensive tackle C.J. Feldheim returned Wednesday after undergoing the same procedure Aug.7.

The Terps canceled a planned scrimmage because of the injuries hampering more than a dozen players. The injuries could impact some red shirt decisions in coming weeks. Instead, the team worked on situationals like red zone and two-minute drills overseen by game officials. The Terps even practiced the coin toss.

Maryland will scrimmage publicly at Byrd Stadium on Sunday in its final major tuneup before Northern Illinois.

“We probably got as much out of it as if we had scrimmages,” Friedgen said. “I worry if we’re going to be hit-ready in two weeks.”

Evans emerges

Senior Orlando Evans seemingly has emerged as the No. 2 quarterback after working with the second-team offense. He threw a 90-yard touchdown to receiver Dan Melendez during practice.

“He’s really improved and is throwing the ball better,” Friedgen said.

Brain teaser

Friedgen loves to chide kicker Nick Novak. There’s usually some jab at the junior, who often quietly converts nearly all of his daily kicks.

“I get in his head,” Friedgen said. “I told Novak I have his brain in a jar on my desk.”

Countered Novak: “He plays mind games with me constantly to make me mentally tough. He thinks he controls my brain. My goal is to prove him wrong.”

Novak is on the preseason watch list for the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top kicker after scoring a school-record 125 points last year. He converted a Terp-best 24 of 28 field goals, including three of four from at least 50 yards.

A slow start as a freshman taught Novak to ignore everything during his kicks. He finished 2001 making 16 of 25, with a school-record 41 of 42 extra points, but those early misses continue to keep him humble.

“Don’t think, don’t overanalyze, just go out there and do it,” he said. “Don’t think too much, or you mess up. You have to stay in your head. You have to be positive and confident in yourself.”

Novak overcame a bad snap to convert a 46-yarder that forced overtime in a nationally televised 2001 game at Georgia Tech. Maryland later won 20-17 en route to its first ACC championship in 16 years.

“I’ve heard so many stories from people of where they were at during that kick,” he said. “Just thinking about it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. It’s such a good memory.”