QB throws two TDs in Terps’ spring game
It didn’t take Danny O’Brien long to warm to the downfield offense of new Maryland coach Randy Edsall.
On his first pass of the Red vs. White Spring Game, he fired a 65-yard touchdown strike to Ronnie Tyler, starting the Red on its way to a 35-7 victory Saturday at sparsely attended Byrd Stadium.
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“It was the perfect way to start off any game,” O’Brien said.
Or any coaching tenure.
Throwing longer routes and more from the pocket than last season, O’Brien thrived in Edsall’s vertical scheme, completing 16 of 23 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns.
“His command of what we want to do, you can just see that getting better with each practice,” Edsall said. “I thought he looked very comfortable, and very poised. He’s just going to get better and better.”
O’Brien tossed two interceptions, but both came in the final minute of the first half as the Red Team was running a hurry-up offense. A potential O’Brien pick-six was dropped on the sideline by sophomore Dexter McDougle, who later atoned, hanging onto an interception.
Also performing well behind a patchwork offensive line were backs Davin Meggett (12 carries, 73 yards) and D.J. Adams (13 carries, 56 yards), who each scored first-quarter touchdowns. Senior reserve defensive back Anthony Green added a 51-yard interception return for a touchdown to complete the scoring for the Red Team.
The quarterback victimized by that score, sophomore C.J. Brown (9 of 24, 96 yards), struggled early, but recovered in the second half, directing a touchdown drive, which he culminated with a 5-yard touchdown run, accounting for the lone score by the White Team.
On the day after his 2010 go-to receiver, Torrey Smith, was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens, O’Brien showed chemistry with holdovers Kevin Dorsey (four catches, 32 yards), Quintin McCree (four catches, 25 yards), Kerry Boykins (two catches, 37 yards), and Tyler (three catches, 99 yards), who added a 27-yard fourth-quarter touchdown reception, one-handed.
“I’m excited about the receivers we have coming back,” Edsall said. “Those guys just have to work together a lot this summer.”
