Scrimmage latest test for Statham

Earning the job in practice was the easy part. Now Maryland quarterback Joel Statham must prove he deserves it under game conditions.

Statham will start in today’s Red-White spring game before an expected 10,000 at Byrd Stadium. He never has started nor thrown a touchdown pass, but the Terrapins’ bid for a school-record fourth straight 10-win season depends on Statham leading a power offense that will offset a young defense.

Statham struggled Thursday in the final workout as the secondary intercepted one pass and batted away several during team drills.

Statham’s consistency and growing familiarity with the complicated offensive scheme allowed him to gain the job over Sam Hollenbach. But replacing departed two-time bowl MVP Scott McBrien will be taxing. Although quarterbacks won’t get hit during today’s scrimmage, Statham will face a secondary seeking validation after losing three starters.

“I feel a little pressure, but I expect to win 10 games,” he said.

Instilling confidence in Statham has been paramount the past three weeks. The Terps need him to return for practice Aug.10 as a leader rather than an uncertain replacement. Maryland has simplified its offense to Statham’s strength of medium-range passes. Then again, maybe a simpler approach on offense will help the Terps start quickly after opening 1-2 and 0-2 the last two seasons.

“What we have done in the past is try to get as much of our offense in as we possibly could in the spring so you have something to pull from next season,” coach Ralph Friedgen said. “But we took a different approach this year. Maybe this is the right approach and maybe why we haven’t done well in the beginning of the season in the past.”

Not that the Terps have lowered expectations for a young roster with 40 players entering the fall with four years of eligibility. However, that widespread inexperience may help avoid a repeat of last September. when overconfidence led to an 0-2 start despite a No.15 preseason ranking. Maryland then won 10 of 11, including the Gator Bowl, but didn’t gain confidence until the final weeks.

“There is an expectation that wasn’t here before,” Friedgen said. “They want to be good and expect to be good. When I talk in terms of youth, they don’t really want to hear that. There’s going to be some growing pains that you go through, but they’re learning experiences. Sometimes it’s not as fast as we’d like. We’re ahead of what I thought we would be at this point in time.”

Said linebacker Shawne Merriman: “We’re young, but we’re really eager, and that’s the most important part of getting better. It’s going to be tougher this year because we’re young, but we put it on ourselves to win 10.”

The Terps need to temper their enthusiasm against each other. Friedgen has had to restrict normally intense hitting to avoid injuries.

“We’ve got a very young but enthusiastic group,” he said. “If anything, we’ve had to calm the team down. But from a coach’s standpoint, it is better to have to calm them down than to turn them on.”

The right side of the offensive line could be decided by the scrimmage because Maryland will match its starting offense and defense before playing reserves. Guard Andrew Crummey is a front-runner while Lou Lombardo and Brandon Nixon are vying at tackle.

“I’m looking for effort,” Friedgen said. “I want to find out who can handle the pressure. This scrimmage will be evaluated very carefully as far as how we line up next fall.”