COLLEGE PARK, MD - With the season opener against James Madison on August 30 rapidly approaching, the Maryland football team gave its fans a look at the 2014 Terps during Fan Appreciation Day Saturday at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium.

The event consisted of a two-hour scrimmage followed by an autograph session with the players on the field.

The Terrapin defense put on a strong performance, forcing five turnovers and producing a number of big plays. Defensive back Jeremiah Johnson took a pick back for a touchdown late in proceedings after junior Denzel Conyers, junior Sean Davis and freshman Josh Woods all recorded interceptions.

Woods’ pick may have been the nicest play of the bunch as he made an over the shoulder catch on a throw intended for sophomore Jacquille Veii down the field.

“We did alright. We had some explosive plays and scored on defense,” Davis said. “I think we did a solid job stopping the run and we attacked the ball well in the air.”

The offense also showed well. Senior Deon Long nabbed a slant pass from junior Caleb Rowe and ran through defenders for a 53-yard score. For the day, Long caught eight passes for 136 yards. Rowe also threw a touchdown pass to redshirt freshman Taivon Jacobs.

In the kicking game, redshirt freshman Adam Greene and junior Brad Craddock both were 1-for-3 on the day with Greene connecting from 47 yards.

The winning score came when Will Ulmer found Malcolm Culmer on a short throw.  Freshman defensive back Daniel Ezeagwu also performed well throughout the scrimmage.

“We wanted to see some guys. Alvin [Hill] didn’t go today because we wanted to see Daniel and now we will evaluate it,” Edsall said. “He’s done some good things in camp. We’ll see how he graded out today and see if he can get on the bus or if he’s going to be able to contribute in some way.”

Overall, head coach Randy Edsall saw some positives in today’s effort.

“I thought there was some good and some bad today, but again, the big thing is today to get a look at different guys and see what they could do so we can evaluate some more,” head coach Randy Edsall said. “The players are off tomorrow to get their legs back and the coaches will sit down and evaluate today’s scrimmage along with what took place the previous practices we had and then we will probably come up with a new depth chart on Monday.”

The Terps open the season August 30 against James Madison at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium.

Head Coach Randy Edsall

COLLEGE PARK, Md. –

Opening Statement:

“I thought there was some good and some bad today, but again, the big thing is today to get a look at different guys and see what they could do so we can evaluate some more. The players are off tomorrow to get their legs back and the coaches will sit down and evaluate today’s scrimmage along with what took place the previous practices we had and then we will probably come up with a new depth chart on Monday.”

On quarterback Caleb Rowe:

“I just wanted to take a look at different guys. I thought Caleb was very inconsistent today. I didn’t think he made a lot of good decisions out there and again, that’s one of the things I wanted to see. I wanted to see him out there with the one’s and get him some work and let him know that he is one play away from having to go in and play. When you are, you have to go out and perform. I don’t think he performed up to his capabilities today. Hopefully he’ll learn from it.”

On the offense:

“I thought there was inconsistency there. I have to look at the film. We did some good things, but then again, we did some things where we threw interceptions, we fumbled the ball. We just weren’t consistent where I would have liked to be today. The defense has something to do with that. I’m not disappointed when you go in these type of situations you’re going to have some give and take. That’s why you practice and that’s why you do these things and now we’ll settle in. When you game plan it’s a lot different. We didn’t game plan for any of this stuff. We just came out to evaluate guys and that’s what we are going to do. We’re going to evaluate them.”

On the rotation of playing time of the wide receivers:

“Just things we wanted to take a look at. Like I said, we’ve evaluated all throughout camp and we took a look at things and we’re going to evaluate things after this scrimmage. Now we will take a look at where we are and put together a depth chart and personnel groupings as we see fit based on what we’ve seen.”

On defensive back Daniel Ezeagwu:

“That was a good thing. That’s what we wanted to do. We wanted to see some guys. Alvin [Hill] didn’t go today because we wanted to see Daniel and now we will evaluate it. He’s done some good things in camp. We’ll see how he graded out today and see if he can get on the bus or if he’s going to be able to contribute in some way.”

On wide receiver Deon Long:

“He made good plays, but I want to look at the whole film to see if it was consistent. It’s more than just catching the ball and that’s what we have to understand at every position.  It’s more than just one or two plays. We’re looking for the consistency, play in and play out, for a total of 60 minutes. I’ll have more to be able to talk about after we evaluate the film and I can really analyze after looking at it tonight and tomorrow.”

On linebackers Yannick Ngakoue and Yannik Cudjoe-Virgil:

“That’s something that those guys have worked very hard on during the preseason. We’ll watch the film and we’ll evaluate it, but those two guys have worked extremely hard on their games and what they did is the same thing that they’ve been doing during the past 14 or 15 practices that we’ve had.”

On if running backs Brandon Ross and Albert Reid performed:

“Brandon will be fine. I want to be able to look at guys and see what they can do. Also for guys to know that they need to be ready if somebody goes down. They’ve got to be able to step up. For a coaching staff, it’s a good indicator for me how a guy’s going to respond when they get a chance to be a starter or gain more reps. That’s what a lot of today was about to see things and evaluate where we are and now what we’ve got to do is we’ve got to get ourselves ready to play James Madison.”

On the offensive line:

“I’ll take a look at the film and I’m not going to make any comments until I see the film in terms of what they were doing. Sometimes you’ve got to understand that’s not the offensive linemen. It might be a bad read and the quarterback holding the ball too long. I think sometimes the offensive line might get undo criticism for things when it isn’t really their fault and that’s why we’ll take a look at the film and see where we are and see where we need to improve upon.”

On the punting game:

“It was inconsistent in totality. There were some good kicks. We’ve got to learn to be able to kick the ball into the wind and not worry about the conditions out here and focus on our fundamentals and technique. If we do that, then we can execute in any kind of weather and any type of situation and that’s one of the big things for our team. Just go out and execute your fundamentals, play with good technique, and if you do that nothing else is going to matter or going to bother you.”

On linebacker Alex Twine:

“Alex is a young man who is starting to get his confidence back a little bit more with that shoulder injury. As I watch the film today, I want to see if he played with any more confidence and if he was playing any faster than he was in the first 14 days.”

On wide receiver DeAndre Lane returning punts:

“DeAndre has been back there all preseason returning punts. There are four guys back there returning punts: DeAndre [Lane], Taivon [Jacobs], Will [Likely] and Stefon [Diggs]. Don’t read too much into this stuff, guys. It’s a chance to get guys work that we’ve been working and this is kind of the last opportunity for these guys to show us what they can do. That’s all we were doing. We were out here trying to see the personnel and get as good an evaluation as we possibly can on all the guys. Don’t read into it any more than what we were trying to and what we were trying to do is get good evaluation and utilize people and see where they are. Now we’ll go back as coaches and evaluate it and come up with a two-deep and get ourselves ready to play James Madison.”

On defensive back Sean Davis:

“Sean’s had a good camp and you saw him standout today and do some things. It’s probably that he played as well as he did because he’s been playing consistent throughout camp.”

Head Coach Randy Edsall

COLLEGE PARK, Md. –

On how practice is going:

“We’re still putting some things in, a couple of little minor things and going over situations. That’s the big thing we’re finishing up on here in camp. I thought the four-minute drill we could have done a better job in some situations. Some guys were staying in bounds and not going out of bounds to keep the clock moving. Just teaching things that we can do to get better. Now I think the overall consistency of doing things correctly all the time. Now it’s time to get the legs back and refine all the things we that we’ve done so far this preseason.”

On Keenan McCardell:

“Keenan is somebody who is very knowledgeable. He understands how to play the position at a very high level. He teaches the game extremely well. He is very demanding of the players. He controls the room that he has. He brings instant credibility with coaching the position because the success he’s had as a player. When you watch him teach and do the drills that he is doing, the kids sit up and listen and take everything in and I’ve been pleased with the work he’s done with those guys. I think our guys understand that if the listen to him and do the things that they ask him to do they’ll become the complete wide receiver that we’re looking for. With that brings a level of their game that they want to get to. I’ve been very pleased in terms of what he’s done.”

On what Sean Davis needed to improve on after last season:

“We always sit down with all the kids. The biggest thing is that you’ve got to be upfront and honest with them. You can’t sugarcoat what you’re going to tell them. We told him exactly the things that he needed to work on to get better. A lot of it is from a preparation standpoint and a mental standpoint and understanding what offenses are doing and angles to the ball and eye discipline. The physical part of Sean’s game was not the issue in terms of the height, weight, speed and strength. For Sean, it was all about him understanding what it takes to be a defensive back in terms of your eye discipline and angles and approach to the ball and recognizing formations and knowing down and distance. You have to be able to really narrow down the number of options that you are probably going to see from the offense. Those were the biggest parts for him. It had nothing to do with his physical abilities. It was more from a mental and preparation and the understanding of what people were going to try to do to you.”

“No question [there’s improvement]. He had a great summer in terms of the preparation part. You can see him doing things he wasn’t doing before. It gets back in the same situation. It was unfortunate we had to play him as a freshman, but we did and now he understands more of the bigger picture of what he takes to be a defensive back, not just going out there to run around and do the things he thought would make him better.”

“He does. It’s hard work. That’s the biggest thing to impress upon all these kids, just the hard work you have to put in order to be good. Sean did a great job this summer. He always worked, but he probably put a little more into it this summer. That was one of the things we told him as well. We wanted him to get his weight up.”

On Andrew Zeller:

“He has the ability it takes to be a really good football player. The biggest thing with Andy is bending his knees and playing without being overextended. That’s his biggest issue, the times when he gets overextended and then it’s hard for him to be able to do the things he needs to do. That’s the big thing we’ve been working on is just keep your hips underneath you and take your feet with you and when he does that, he’s pretty darn good.”

On Will Likely:

“We like Will because of his approach to the game and how hard he works and how hard he studies and then when he comes out here he’s always playing at a high level. He’s got a really good skillset. One of the things with Will is that he understands that he’s not the biggest guy out there, so what he has to do is he has to be very sound with his technique. He has to be good with his fundamentals. He works at it each and every single day on the field to get better but then he puts in a ton of time watching film. What you see happening out there in practice and in games from him, it’s not surprising because of the amount of work that he puts into it. He’s got good quickness. He understands leverage and how you have to play people. To be able to have a guy that can play not only outside but can go inside and play the nickel position, that’s very helpful. He understands those and he can be interchangeable with that. What we always have to do is make sure to not put him in a bad situation in terms of matchups based on his height. Even though he might be at a disadvantage, he’s always going to work to be successful and do the things necessary in order to be productive and help the team.”

On Jeremiah Johnson:

“He’s more comfortable and he’s more confident. I don’t think he’s thinking about his hamstring, but he’s getting better. We’ve got great competition. The thing about it is with the sets you play they’re all three starters. I don’t get hung up on who’s starting and who’s not starting. To me all of them are starters and depending on matchups and depending on personnel he’s going to be out there. Those guys understand that and they’re going to get their plays in so I’m not going to concern myself with who’s starting or who’s not starting because all of those guys are starters.”

On using the three top defensive backs:

“We’re going to utilize guys based on what is the best plan to put together with the opponents we’re seeing and what they’re doing. However that works out we will do that. I think it’s always good when you have guys with versatility within your system that you can utilize and do different things with. That’s one of the things we look at when we recruit. Can they play different positions and do different things for you and if they can, that’s what you really want.”

On who is separating themselves at No. 3 wide receiver:

“They’re competing. You’ll see by practice if there is anybody separating with who’s with the one’s and who is with the two’s so the thing that I like is that we’ve got good competition. Guys know that have got to work. Guys know that whoever is performing the best is going to be out there regardless of who it is.”

On what he’s looking to accomplish during Saturday’s scrimmage:

“We’re going to be limited in what we do because it’s any open scrimmage and I don’t want to show too much. It’s another day to come out here and get better at our base stuff that we’re going do offensively and defensively. We’ll do some live stuff in the kicking game.  It’s another opportunity to get out here and compete.”

Wiley to Participate in Goodwill Tour Overseas

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Maryland men’s basketball freshman Dion Wiley has been selected to participate in the Global Sports Academy’s 2014 Men’s Basketball Goodwill Tour. The trip will include stops in Belgium, Germany and England, and runs from Aug. 13-21.

The team, coached by Siena College assistant coach Greg Manning Jr., will play a total of five games over nine days. The roster includes two Siena players as well student-athletes from Brown, Mount St. Mary’s, NC State, St. Bonaventure and West Chester.

Manning works under former Maryland assistant coach Jimmy Patsos at Siena. His father, Greg Manning Sr., was a four-year player for the Terps from 1977-81 and was an All-ACC Academic team three times as well as a member of the 1000-point club.

Global Sports Academy is a non-profit organization that puts together athletic competitions between equally matched teams at all level. The group was established in 1991 and has grown to support 12 different sports in 25 different countries. Their major goal is “Education, Good Will and Sportsmanship through Sports.”

Wiley will suit up for the Terrapins this season as part of a decorated freshmen class that also includes Melo Trimble, Michal Cekovsky and Jared Nickens. Rated 52nd in the nation by ESPN.com, Wiley averaged 17.6 points as a senior at Potomac High School.

Head Coach Randy Edsall

COLLEGE PARK, Md. –

Opening Statement:

“Quick turnaround here today. We’ll give a couple guys a break today. Some guys won’t practice in the morning and some other guys might not practice in the afternoon. We’ll take some of the guys that have been around here the practice off and give some of the two’s and some of the three’s a little bit more work. We’re really happy to have the two kids from Casey Cares here today spending some time with us to get their minds off of their health issues that they have. It makes our guys appreciate what they have afforded to them a little bit more.”

On the addition of Coach Greg Studrawa:

“He’s a very good teacher. He’s a very knowledgeable coach. The demeanor and enthusiasm in which he coaches I think the kids really gravitate to it. He knows how to push the buttons. But he’s very knowledgeable and he has a way of reaching guys and making them understand that to be successful, you’ve got to do the fundamentals and the techniques the right way.”

On if the offensive line is performing better under Coach Studrawa:

“I think we’re playing better. I think the offensive line is playing better. They’re improving. They still have room for improvement, but we’re making the progress we need to make and we just need to continue that progress each and every day.”

On the offensive line:

“Offensive linemen are a unique bunch as it is. To play offensive line you’ve got to have that pack mentality and those guys are the most together group on the team because of what they have to go through and they like to have fun. It’s a group that wants to do well.  People sometimes get on them a little bit in terms of being maligned. They have a lot of pride and you can just see that they’re getting better and they are working together as a group. That’s what they have to do. Those five really have to be in cohesion and working together and communicating extremely well.”

On Michael Dunn:

“Michael Dunn is just a great story. You take a local kid here that walked on and earned the right to earn a scholarship. You see the improvement in each phase that we go through. He’s a guy that’s able to move around from right tackle to left tackle. He’s still getting better. He’s going to be really good when it’s all said and done. The progression that he’s going through right now and the development he’s made and where he’s going to be I’m very happy that he’s worked that hard and wants it that bad.”

On why Andrew Isaacs has separated himself at tight end:

“He’s come out here and done his job. He’s come out here and worked hard.  He’s done the things that his position has asked him to do. He’s been very productive doing those things. He’s another young guy that’s going to continue to get better. He’s got all the intangibles and all the qualities that you want in a tight end.”

On if he’ll use all three tight ends:

“I don’t know. We’ll sit down here at the end of camp and figure out and make the coaches make a list of who are top 12 or 15 guys. Based on our personnel will dictate the sets and personnel groupings that we use.”

On how long it will take Quinton Jefferson to get back up to speed:

“It’ll probably take him a few days. I was teasing him that he didn’t get a lot of conditioning in at the hospital.  He wants to be out here. He ran all the sprints and did all that. I like Quinton and he’s not going to forget what he had. He was glad that his wife was okay and that he was able to get back out here. He’ll be one of those guys that we won’t give time off to because he wasn’t here. I’m not worried about Quinton at all. He’ll be fine.”

On if the players had hit a wall at this point in camp:

“I told the coaches this morning that we’ve got to have a lot of juice this morning. I was down in the training room before we came out and you could just see it. They need a little bit, which is natural at this point in camp. We’ll get out here and get it going. We’ve got the officials from the Big Ten today and we had a great session with them last night. The kids will rise up and meet the challenge and we as coaches got to kind of get them through it this morning and be very enthusiastic and pump them up, get them going and have a little bit of fun.”

On Sean Davis:

“He’s got a very good skillset to play the position. He’s got the size and strength and the athletic ability. He’s come a long way in terms of the mental part of the game and now what he’s got to do is continue to put it all together, but he’s playing well. He’s put the time and effort to play well, so it’s not surprising.”

Head Coach Randy Edsall

COLLEGE PARK, Md. –

On the status of Quinton Jefferson and Perry Hills:

“Quinton will be back out here today with us. His wife was released from the hospital, so he’ll be out here today. She’s doing better. It’s good to have him back out with us. Perry is not here with us today. Other than that, everybody else is out there. We’ve got a couple of guys that have some nicks and things along those lines, but other than that, we’re in pretty good shape.”

On Jacquille Veii’s play at Tuesday’s practice:

“I thought Jacquille had a good day yesterday. It is kind of what I expected out of him. Having the opportunity to watch him and do the things that he can do, those were the things that myself and the coaching staff thought he would do and that’s part of the reason that we made the move that we did with him.”

On the competition between Jeremiah Johnson and Alvin Hill:

“Just guys that are competing very hard. With the schemes that we play, they’re both going to play. We’ll see how it continues to play out through the rest of preseason camp, but both of them are really competing. J.J. is not showing any signs of issues right now with the leg. We hope that continues. He’s a guy that’s got experience. He knows how to play. He’s a leader. Alvin is just getting better all the time We’ve just got to get him to be a better tackler overall. I’m really pleased with how both of those guys are competing and working.”

On the kick and punt returner positions:

“I think there are going to be other things that come into play there. I know we have Stefon [Diggs] who has demonstrated that he can be outstanding in that area. Will [Likely] has demonstrated that he can be very good and I think Taivon [Jacobs] can be very good. I would probably say right now that with punt return that either Stefon or Will would be the guy in that area. I think from a return standpoint, you can throw Taivon into that mix as a kickoff returner along with Stefon and Will. We’ll see how it all plays out, but the good thing is that we have some really good options there to deal with guys that can take the ball the distance in both phases.”

On Brandon Ross’ development:

“He’s been out here doing everything, hasn’t missed anything. I hope that continues. Like anything else, the older you get, the more mature you become, the better you handle situations and the better you deal with things. I think that’s been the biggest case with Brandon. Now he’s been in the system three years and he really gets it. He really understands it. He’s more comfortable with the playbook, all those things. Sometimes it takes some time. I wish we could go back to the rule when all the freshmen were ineligible to play because I think just the transition from high school to college, and not only for football but academically, socially maturity and all those things. He’s really come a long way and I’m very proud of how far he’s come.”

On the offense at Tuesday’s practice:

“I thought they had probably their best night or best practice that we’ve had so far. Again, it’s one of those things of everything coming together. We’ve still got a lot of work to do, there’s no doubt about that. Now they’ll build on that today and we’ll have a good day today and keep getting one percent better each and every day. If we can do that, we’ll start to get to where we want to be by August 30.”

On Damian Prince’s move to guard:

“I told him this morning that I thought he had a pretty good day. It’s not perfect and it’s not going to be perfect, but you saw a guy who almost looked like he felt a little bit more comfortable with that position. I think he’ll be better today. He’s a very coachable young man. He takes corrections very well and he wants to do well. I’m pleased with what I saw for the first day and now what he’s got to do today is work hard to get better and work on those things that Coach Stud [Studrawa] told him that he needs to work on.”

On if Spencer Myers’ play has surprised him:

“I wouldn’t say I’m surprised because the young man has played football in high school, and I know it’s different, but having the competitiveness that he has and seen what he’s done as a wrestler, I think those things carryover to the football field. You can see as he’s out here each and every day, he’s getting better. The thing that Spencer gives you is that he’s just relentless. He’s going to just keep attacking you and getting after you. What’s going to happen with him is that every practice he’s out here and every rep he gets he’s going to get better because he’s going to get back into the swing of things with the technique and doing the things you’re supposed to do and understanding everything. I’m very pleased with him so far and I know he’s just going to get better. It wasn’t good that Quinton wasn’t here but it allowed more repetitions for him, which he needs. He had the opportunity to do something and he showed us. Now he’s earned the right to get more repetitions.”

On if the receivers responded to his comments at media day:

“I just said what I thought was the truth. If they heard it, I would hope that they would do that because they’re young men who want to do well. Every day is a new day and every practice is a new practice. We’ll see.”

On how many true freshmen he thinks will contribute this season:

“I’ll have a better feel once we get through the scrimmage on Saturday and even next Wednesday when we scrimmage. I still want things to play out. Guys still have the opportunity to show what they can do here to see if maybe somebody can develop into a backup that’s got a legitimate shot to get on the field and then a lot will depend on what they can contribute from a special teams standpoint. I’d rather wait until we get through this scrimmage and then maybe not until we get through the next one on Wednesday.”

On Matt Gillespie:

“He’s doing a good job. He’s out there competing and doing a good job. Again, just another one of those freshman who’s out here learning each and every day and taking all in and trying to get better.”

On Malik Jones;

“I think Malik has done a good job. The one thing I’m pleased with with Malik is kind of twofold. One he’s put on quite a bit of weight since he’s gotten here. He’s stronger and you can see how much he’s grown and developed and picked things up. He’s not anywhere near where he’s going to be. If he continues to work and he continues to be coachable and continues to study and prepare the proper way, he’s got a chance to be a really good defensive end for us. I like his mindset and I like his focus for us. He’s just young and that’s what we do. When we recruited him, we knew he’d be a guy that developed. We saw a guy with work ethic and had the size to him and he’d been able to put on the weight. So far he hasn’t disappointed. Where that ends up for him this year we’ll see. He’s doing all the things that you should be doing to put himself in the hunt to earn playing time.”

On the music at practice:

“You’ll see it every day. You do research as a coach and there are things that you want to do. It helps us because of this new system that we purchased just will help us from a practice standpoint when the horns blow and then we want to get started. Plus we wanted to make sure, as I told the kids, with the music it’s just something you can set the kind of music with the type of periods you want where it’s up-tempo. The only thing I said is that there has got to be some country music because if not, we’re not going to this system. When we do special teams, there is country music and that’s the head coach’s special deal. The kids liked it. It helps because we are going to play in front of crowds where there is crowd noise. I think it also helps the focus and the attention and the things you have to do to make them in this day and age to get them going a little bit. It’s not my playlist. If it was my playlist it would probably all be country music and everything else. I’m smart enough to stay away from that. I’ll take advantage of the head coach’s prerogative, but I’m not selecting the playlist. The kids like it. If they don’t like it, I’m sure they’ll say, Coach we’ve got to change some of those songs.

Big Ten & SEC Men’s Hoops Doubleheader Highlight ESPN Super Tuesday

16 Games Feature At Least One Preseason-Ranked Team

ESPN’s 2015 Super Tuesday schedule – showcasing a game from the Big Ten and SEC each Tuesday – will matchup top teams in the nation beginning January 6. The doubleheader will feature a game at 7 p.m. ET and 9 p.m., with the conference contests switching between the timeslots on varying weeks, concluding the nine-week series on March 3.

Sixteen games featured have at least one team ranked in the ESPN.com men’s preseason top 25 poll. Highlights:

The potential of two top-25 Big Ten matchups featuring No. 25 Iowa at No. 4 Wisconsin on January 20 and a battle between 2014 Elite Eight participants and in-state rivals No. 18 Michigan State at No. 24 Michigan on February 17.

• ·        Wisconsin, which earned a 2014 Final Four berth, is featured on the schedule four times including road games at Nebraska on February 10 and at first-year Big Ten member Maryland on February 24, as well as at home versus Indiana onFebruary 3.
• ·
• ·        Michigan also plays at Ohio State on January 13 and at home against Nebraska on January 27.
• ·
• ·        Iowa also appears in the Super Tuesday finale at Indiana on March 3.
• ·        Ohio State freshman D’Angelo Russell leads the list for the ESPN 100 Top Shooting Guards.

Overall, ESPN networks will offer a full slate of games from both conferences during the 2014-15 season. Full conference schedules will be announced at a later date. ESPN’s 2013-14 season was the most-viewed and highest-rated regular season ever.

All Super Tuesday telecasts will also be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

ESPN’s Super Tuesday Schedule (all games on ESPN; subject to change)

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Sports Illustrated has named Maryland wide receiver Stefon Diggs to its 2014 Preseason All-America Team, the publication announced Tuesday. SI selected Diggs as a second team returner on special teams.

It is the third All-America team Diggs has been named to this preseason. The junior wide out also earned a spot on the Athlon Sports and Phil Steele All-America teams.

Last season, Diggs finished second on the team in receptions and receiving yards despite missing the last five games with a leg injury. In seven games, Diggs had 34 receptions for 587 yards and three touchdowns and averaged 83.9 yards receiving per game.

To see the full All-America team, visit si.com.

Head Coach Randy Edsall

COLLEGE PARK, Md. –

On position changes:

“There were a couple of position changes that we made. We took Jacquille Veii and moved him into the slot. We took Damian [Prince] and put him in at guard. Again, things that we think can help us as guys continue to work at practice. Really those were the only to position moves that we made. We moved Stefon [Diggs] outside as well, but again, our receivers can pretty much play different positions. Those are things we felt could help us.”

On the freshmen offensive linemen:

“What everybody has to understand is that these young guys, Damian [Prince], Brandon Moore and Derwin Gray, they are young men that have a lot of ability, but it’s a process for them to go through in terms of the technique. We’ve got to get them to learn to get their hands inside. They want to go and take them and bear hug people so we’re working on them. Damian has great size and good strength. The more reps he gets the better he’ll become in getting the playbook down. Right now, Brandon is probably playing the fastest of those three. For the freshmen, it’s about them understanding the playbook. It’s hard because of how much is thrown at them. It’s not that anybody’s disappointed in them. We understand as coaches that it’s a process. We’re not disappointed. Most of the freshmen should get redshirted anyhow, unless they show something that they are so outstanding. If we get our program where we want it, it’s going to be very hard for freshmen to come in and play truthfully.”

On why he moved Damian Prince to guard:

“We’re going to put him at guard because we’ve got a need at guard. That was one of the reasons we put him in there. We feel that with the four tackles we have we feel pretty solid. Right now he was really the fifth tackle. Now you put him inside at guard and he’s a backup in there at left guard. For him to be able to get on the bus and help us, it’s going to be better at guard. Probably in the long run he’s more suited to be a guard than a tackle. He does have a skillset where he could be possibly a right tackle more than a left tackle, but for us and for where we are and for what we want to accomplish we feel guard is the best spot for him.”

On why he moved Jacquille Veii to wide receiver:

“One thing is he’s a guy that is a dynamic guy for us. You can’t play four tailbacks. You just can’t do it. Putting him out there I think that helps us. It helps the wide receiver room. It gives us a guy that has a lot of energy and a lot of enthusiasm and can block. It enhances us from an offensive standpoint that we put him there. One of the things he’s demonstrated through practice and his hard work is that he deserves an opportunity to be out on the field helping our team win in whichever way he can. He was excited about the move and it’s something we think it going to benefit us quite a bit.”

On Jacquille Veii’s transition to wide receiver:

“I don’t think it will take him too long. He was in here late last night, well, not late but until bed check. He was in here today after the morning session watching film. Some of the things he’s doing there he did as a running back because we did some things with the running backs at that position. It won’t take him long. I’m not worried about that with him. I think you’ll see tonight probably that he’ll be out there doing things. He’ll be fine.”

On Quinton Jefferson’s situation:

“I just got some information right before I came out here, but I haven’t had a chance to talk to Quinton. I think things are positive, but I don’t really want to say too much until I get an opportunity to speak to him.”

On Perry Hills’ absence:

“Perry Hills won’t be here for a couple days. He had to go home because his grandmother passed away. He left last night.”

On Evan Mulrooney:

“Evan is back. He’s with us now. No [he won’t practice]. That’s not going to happen. He’s got some medical conditions that he’ll have to take care of within the next two weeks to get some more tests done and he’ll do those things once they take a look at those tests and everything else, we’ll go from there. Next week he’s got some tests he’s got to do and then a week after that he’s got some more so it’s two weeks right now before the tests will be done to see where he is and where we go from here.”

On the running back competition:

“I’m looking for the guy that is the most complete guy. You see things with Brandon [Ross] that he can catch the ball, he can run the ball, he can block. I’m seeing much more consistency out of him. Thank goodness he hasn’t missed anything. One of his issues had been he had had a little bit of the injury bug that’s kind of slowed him down a little bit, but I haven’t seen any of that. I see a guy that has really caught hold of the system and is preparing well. He’s out here being productive.”

On L.A Goree

“L.A., it’s interesting. We were in the coaches meeting and talking and I see him doing his job, but he’s kind of going unnoticed a little bit. I think he’s got that mentality hey, I’m going out there and I’m going to do my job and do it to the best of my abilities and lead by example. That’s really what he’s doing. He’s playing physical and right now he’s had a couple of nagging things with him, but he hasn’t had any of that. He’s playing with confidence and playing with enthusiasm and being productive.”

On what he saw in morning practice:

“That it rained like crazy. I still think I’m waterlogged a little bit. We almost had to get the paddleboats out. I haven’t practiced in any weather like that kind of rain. That’s our wet ball day that we had. Hopefully we won’t have any more days like that, but the kids were very focused and fought through it. Brad Craddock had a great morning. He was perfect on all of them. He was 5-for-5 with a 51 yarder. Adam [Greene] was 4-for-4 and missed a 51 yarder. I thought the concentration was good throughout the practice and guys didn’t really let that bother them. It was hard to throw the ball because of how much rain was coming down, but we had some center quarterback exchanges, but we have to get used to that so when we play in it, we can handle it. At least now guys will have some recall when we play in it in terms of the gloves and those sort of things to combat those elements.”

On position battles:

“There are not that many positions that really we’re looking for. Tight end has kind of separated itself. Running back has kind of separated itself. Andrew [Isaacs] is the No. 1 guy and P.J. [Gallo] and Derrick [Hayward] fighting there for the two’s. What’s happening now is you going to see some guys that might be two’s that could overtake somebody who’s a one based on what they’re doing in practice or maybe what somebody else isn’t doing.”

On Andrew Isaac’s development:

“I just wish he was a redshirt freshman. I wish we could have redshirted him last year, but we didn’t have the opportunity to do that. That’s what we’ve got to remember. He got an injury coming out of high school and got in last year and you can start to see it. He’s a worker. He’s a guy that really works hard. You can see it in his body. He’s out there playing with more confidence now and he’s a student of the game. We like what we’ve seen so far and we just want him to keep improving. That’s another guy you don’t have to worry about. He’s self-motivated and is going to do the things necessary to be as good has he needs to be.”

“He’s probably moving a little bit better. I think he’s sculpted himself a little bit more. I think he’s about 247 pounds after this morning’s practice. He was up to 255 or something. He’s moving good and doing all the things that you’d like him to do.”

On what he likes from practice so far:

“I like the attitude. I like the way these guys are competing with each other. I like the way our defense is flying around and communicating really well. Offensively, you can really start to see it coming into shape now as we cut back now in the installation and we go over things. Even though it was wet, I thought we did some better things. I’m very pleased with where we are from a field goal standpoint. We’ve just got to get better each day. We had Jon Gordon in here and one of the things he told the guys was just get one percent better every day you go out there. If they can do that and we can keep that mindset, then we’ll be where we want to be August 30.”

On what the offense has done better:

“Just from a crispness standpoint and guys doing what they’re supposed to do. We didn’t have as many penalties in the scrimmage that we did. It’s guys just getting back in the swing of things and just getting into the playbook and knowing more what you’re doing and getting more confident with what you’re doing. It’s those little things that you see. Hopefully, you’re not going to see a lot of big plays because of what we’re doing defensively. We’ve still got to better defensively and make sure we maintain our gaps and hit the right our gaps. We’ve gotten better from a technique standpoint, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do there so it becomes habit. That’s the one thing that we’re going to constantly harp on and coach up.”

Times & Networks Announced for Annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge

ESPN has finalized the time and network designations for the 15th annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge Presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. ESPN networks will combine to cover every game of the event during the first week of December. ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will televise the 14 games of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge – including all 14 Big Ten schools and 14 of 15 ACC teams – from Monday, Dec. 1 through Wednesday, Dec. 3.

The ACC and Big Ten have split the past two events, winning six Challenge games each in 2012 and 2013. In the event of a tie, the Commissioner’s Cup remains with the conference that won the previous year, which was the Big Ten in 2011. The ACC won the first 10 Challenges (1999-2008), while the Big Ten won the next three (2009-2011).

• ·         Nine teams in the ESPN.com men’s preseason top 25 poll: No. 2 Duke, No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 7 Virginia, No. 8 Louisville, No. 18 Michigan, No. 21 Syracuse, No. 24 Michigan and No. 25 Iowa.
• ·         The potential of three top-25 matchups:

o    No. 21 Syracuse travels to No. 24 Michigan on Tuesday, for a 7:30 p.m. tilt on ESPN.

o    No. 25 Iowa at No. 6 North Carolina on Wednesday, also at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

o    A Challenge culmination of No. 2 Duke at No. 4 Wisconsin on Wednesday, at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN.

• ·         No. 8 Louisville – in its first year as an ACC member – hosts Ohio State on Tuesday, at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN.
• ·         Also competing in the Challenge, No. 7 Virginia plays at former ACC opponent Maryland at 9:15 p.m. on ESPN2.
• ·         Wednesday night also features No. 18 Michigan State at Notre Dame at 7:15 p.m. on ESPN2.
• ·         Nine ACC and eight Big Ten teams participated in the 2014 postseason:

o    The ACC had seven teams – Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, NC State, Pitt, Syracuse and Virginia – earn NCAA Championship berths, while Clemson and Florida State advanced to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) semifinals.

o    The Big Ten saw Wisconsin advance to the Final Four, in addition to Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska and Ohio State earning NCAA berths.

o    Minnesota captured the 2014 NIT title and Illinois was a second-round participant.

2014 ACC/Big Ten Challenge Presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods Schedule (subject to change)

Date
Time (ET)
Game
Network

Mon, Dec 1

7 p.m.
Nebraska at Florida State
ESPN2
Rutgers at Clemson
ESPNU

Tue, Dec 2

7 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Indiana
ESPN2
Minnesota at Wake Forest
ESPNU

7:30 p.m.
No. 21 Syracuse at No. 24 Michigan
ESPN

9 p.m.
Illinois at Miami
ESPN2 or ESPNU
NC State at Purdue
ESPN2 or ESPNU

9:30 p.m.
Ohio State at No. 8 Louisville
ESPN

Wed, Dec 3

7:15 p.m.
No. 18 Michigan State at Notre Dame
ESPN2
Virginia Tech at Penn State
ESPNU

7:30 p.m.
No. 25 Iowa at No. 6 North Carolina
ESPN

9:15 p.m.
No. 7 Virginia at Maryland
ESPN2
Georgia Tech at Northwestern
ESPNU

9:30 p.m.
No. 2 Duke at No. 4 Wisconsin
ESPN