Know Your Terps: Matt from Turtlewaxing on Maryland's 5th string QB, key injuries and the fan factor on Saturday

Our thanks to Matt for still being willing to talk about his team after its nightmare season of lousy luck.

What are you hearing about the injury status of key players like LB Demetrius Hartsfield, WR Stefon Diggs and RB Wes Brown?

A: Hartsfield's is out for the rest of the year and his career at Maryland is over as he is a senior. Diggs should be fine but Wes Brown is having shoulder surgery and is out for the rest of the season. Looks like Brandon Ross is the man at RB. Ross is coming off a 16 carry 102 yard performance against Clemson. My guess is Ross will get the bulk of the carries but Edsall does tend to flip flop with his backs.

Shawn Petty was a last resort at QB after injuries to all others at the position. Do you see him improving (he ran for 40 yards and passed for TD against Clemson last week) and learning the playbook enough to open up the offense?

A: In short, no. Mike Locksley (off. coordinator) stated this week that they have had to scrap about 50% of their playbook at this point and they have to ask "can Shawn run this?" about every play. I think he looks better than he did a few weeks ago but the improvement has not been dramatic.

Maryland is second only to FSU in Total Defense and fourth in Scoring Defense. Do they have the kind of pass rush to pressure EJ Manuel like Va. Tech did last week?

A: Maryland's pass rush is decent as Joe Vellano (6.0 sacks) and Darin Drakeford (6.0) have both shown the ability to sack the opposing QB. Vellano is not 100% and has been battling an ankle sprain for the last few games. Problem is when you are down two touchdowns out of the gate your pass rush isn't very effective. I think the defensive rankings are a little suspect for Maryland. A solid defense they do possess but I think it is a unit that is crumbling as the season has gone on. Clemson and Georgia Tech had their way with them. I don't see them giving FSU too many problems moving the ball.

Do Maryland fans agree with Senior OL Justin Gilbert who said this week that Randy Edsall has "turned the program around and got guys on the right track"?

A: My first instinct would be to say no, they do not agree. There were plenty of people who thought that Ralph Friedgen was doing a decent job even though he was only saved by a lack of money to fire him after his 2-10 season. Ticket sales were in terminal decline as well and Friedgen's lack of personality meant he did not have many supporters outside of casual fans. Edsall was going to a different world coming from UConn to the suburbs of Washington D.C. to coach football. The public relations fallout from his "my way or the highway" coaching style was an utter disaster. It allowed many critics to just gloss over the mediocre results of the latter part of the Friedgen era and the abysmal academic record the football team was producing. When you also consider the financial mismanagement of the former AD Debbie Yow that left the new AD Kevin Anderson no choice but to start cutting programs, it was a toxic situation. Many fans were not interested in hearing that the football program needed a complete overhaul. They believed the fantasy that the 9-4 team that went to a bowl game with the overrated Danny O'Brien at QB was a very good team. It would appear that the 9-4 season was a fluke of good fortune with 2-10 seasons as bookends. Of course fans don't want to hear that. Still, Edsall has become a polarizing figure and a decent proportion of fans will continue to dislike him regardless of the results on the field.

Will fans respond to Randy Edsall's call to “fill the place up” on Saturday?

A: I doubt it. Maryland fans are a fickle bunch. The weather is supposed to be decent (mid-50's and sunny) so that may help but I think the fans in the area have already moved on to basketball. If they get 35,000 for the game I'd be surprised. For the Georgia Tech game a few weeks back the attendance was 33,000.