The Tunnel

From ESPN Insider

"Maryland's four-way quarterback competition won't start in earnest until fall camp. But spring practice could give an early glimpse of what could happen as the Terrapins attempt to bounce back from a disastrous 2012 campaign where the team was down to a linebacker playing behind center due to multiple injuries. The position should be upgraded in 2013, and one of the signal callers will get a head start over the rest of the bunch during the spring.

"Perry Hills and Caleb Rowe will miss spring practice while rehabbing from ACL tears," Alex Prewitt of the Washington Post noted. "Devin Burns transferred, looking elsewhere for opportunities at quarterback. And incumbent starter C.J. Brown, the first egg to crack in August, hasn’t yet reached 100 percent.

"So that leaves Ricardo Young."

Young is a transfer from New Mexico (via Virginia Tech and a community college stop prior to Maryland) who played under then New Mexico head coach and current Maryland offensive coordinator Mike Locksley.

"(Young) should be very comfortable, because he doesn’t have to learn terminology," Maryland head coach Randy Edsall told Prewitt. "He understands what the offense is all about and he’s familiar with Deon. Now he has to use that knowledge that he has, and the skill set that he has, to go out there and develop it each and every day. No, he’s got to challenge himself to be best he can be. If he does that, I think it’ll work to his advantage. If he doesn’t, it wouldn’t be as advantageous with all the things that he knows.”

The advantage is potentially becoming the Terrapins starting quarterback. Young has an opportunity to lock up the position before any other signal caller truly has a chance to enter the fray. He simply needs a standout spring effort to put the rest of the quarterbacks on their heels.

C.J. Brown is expected to start when it's all said and done, but Young has a legit possibility to take a hold of the position and not let go. Otherwise, Brown will be in position to resume his role in the fall.

“The one thing that we aren’t going to do is rush (Brown back from injury),” Edsall said. “We are going to do the things that we feel or the doctors tell us that he can do. I think he is. He has worked his tail off in terms of the rehab. Whatever we can get with him this spring in terms of the throwing, and different things will be a bonus. He is pretty much ahead of schedule.” "