SportsLine wire reports
April 7, 1999

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The Terrapin football team showed the typical signs of rustiness in its first spring practice in full pads Tuesday -- the Terps dropped passes, fumbled balls, blew assignments and missed tackles.

But the most important thing wasn't whether Terp receivers ran a five-yard route or a nine-yard route; what mattered was they had the pads on for the first time in more than four months. After spending week after week of the off-season weight training and practicing last week for two days in shorts, head coach Ron Vanderlinden's troops went 'hat on hat' for the better part of two hours Tuesday.

"It feels good to finally get to go all out," said rising senior lineman Brad Messina. "Personally, I feel you get more things accomplished when you have pads on."

The Terp coaching staff broke the team down to participate in individual and one-on-one drills, then put the offense, defense and special teams together. Finally the offensive and defensive units scrimmaged for about 30 minutes.

THE TERP ROSTER WAS DEPLETED because of injuries to several players, including rising sophomore linemen Melvin Fowler (shoulder) and Mike George (knee), rising senior defensive end Peter Timmins (hamstring), rising redshirt freshman defensive lineman Todd Bradley (hamstring) and rising senior fullback Kenny Rogers (hamstring).

"It was very challenging to get the work done we need to get done because we're so thin," Vanderlinden said.

The Terps' lack of bodies didn't hold them back from playing aggressively, however. Once the offensive and defensive units squared off against each other, emotions ran high, with several plays ending in scuffles between the two sides.

"I didn't like the way they lost their composure," said Vanderlinden, who went on to say outbursts like the Terps had Tuesday would cost them a 15-yard penalty during the season.

On one play, rising junior running back LaMont Jordan carried the ball into the secondary and was met by rising senior defensive back Renard Cox. Cox broke down to tackle Jordan, but the 1998 second-team All-ACC tailback bowled him over. Cox got up, lobbed the ball at Jordan, and a brawl ensued, with several players jumping in on each side.

"The competitiveness ... guys sticking up for their side of the ball -- that's a good thing," Vanderlinden said. "But we have to keep it in the boundaries." Some players disagreed, saying they would rather see inspired -- if undisciplined -- play from their teammates because it showed they were playing hard. Messina said the fights are part of spring practice, and he stands up to the Terp defensive players just as he hopes they do the same to the offense.

"It's always like that the first day of spring ball -- everybody's just ready to get after it," said rising senior running back Harold Westley.

With the first practice with pads -- a day "to see where everybody's at," Westley said -- out of the way, the Terps have 11 more practices before the Black-White game April 30. To Vanderlinden's chagrin, there's sure to be more than a few intrasquad skirmishes in between.