PSU-Maryland rivalry seems ready to blossom
CHICAGO — Maryland’s 20-19 victory against Penn State in 2014 was among the Terrapins’ signature moments in their first season in the Big Ten Conference.
From the Maryland players leaving the Nittany Lions’ game captains with their hands outstretched at midfield for the coin toss to kicker Brad Craddock’s 43yard fourth-quarter field goal, Maryland’s trip to Penn State paid dividends.
“I think it showed kids in our area that we can compete with them and that we can win,” Terrapins coach Randy Edsall said Thursday at Big Ten Conference media days. “Kids look at that. High school kids look at that. Penn State has always had a niche for being able to come down to Maryland and take players up, and we knew if we wanted to get some recruits, we’d have to beat them on the field.”
The Washington, Maryland and Virginia areas have long been part of Penn State’s recruiting footprint. Former defensive line coach Larry Johnson developed a reputation in the area as a top recruiter, one that he carried with him when he went to Ohio State a year and a half ago. Penn State’s presence in the region hasn’t faltered with coach James Franklin and his staff continuing to mine the talent-rich area.
Penn State’s 2016 recruiting class includes verbal pledges from four Maryland standouts, including fourstar defensive end Shane Simmons and four-star defensive tackle Ellison Jordan. Adam McLean, a former 2015 Penn State pledge who flipped to Maryland last year, will be among the group of players who help decide whether the Terrapins and Nittany Lions become Big Ten rivals.
Penn State leads the alltime series, 35-2-1, but if Maryland can keep its instate talent home, that could change in the future.
“They’re just another team, to be honest,” Maryland defensive back William Likely said. “If it comes to that, I don’t know. We need a few more games for that to happen.”
Buckeyes suspend four
Ohio State will face one of its toughest tests of the season without its best defensive player and three talented receivers.
The Buckeyes suspended All-America defensive end Joey Bosa, receiver Corey Smith and H-backs Jalin Marshall and Dontre Wilson for their opening game at Virginia Tech because of unspecified violation of athletic department policies.
Calhoun misses Narduzzi
Michigan State defensive end Shilique Calhoun smiled from ear to ear when asked about his former defensive coordinator and new Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi.
“He’s always high intensity, he’s going to be that crazy guy. He’s a fan in a coach form,” Calhoun said. “He wants to see you do better, he knows you can do better and I think that’s exactly what I’ll miss about him, just how wild he was, how crazy he was and just how in love with the game he was.”
Calhoun said it’s Narduzzi’s lively personality that resonated with him in the recruiting process. Calhoun, who returned to Michigan State for his senior season despite NFL draft projections, said he’ll always maintain a special relationship with Narduzzi.
“That is my guy,” said Calhoun, a member of the conference’s 11-player preseason player to watch list. “A lot of guys were sad that he had to go, but at the same time we realize that he’s moving on to bigger and better things, but we want him to be successful wherever he goes because he’s contributed so much to the program.”
Chryst changes game plan
Paul Chryst’s Wisconsin Badgers are picked to be among the Big Ten’s top teams, and Chryst’s time at Pitt played a role in his transition back to his alma mater.
He joked that he could write a book about what he wanted to do differently as a head coach this time around.
“I even made some mistakes, didn’t do a great job of assessing where we were at physically [at Pitt], so we might’ve worn them out too quick,” he said. “One of the things I did was I wanted to meet with the players right away, get to know the team. [I] did it too soon at Pitt. I did it later for Wisconsin because I at least wanted to know enough about them to ask the questions to get to know them. … You’re always learning.”