In Friday Night Lights, the quarterbacks for the show have been Jason Street, Matt Saracen, and J.D. McCoy, and of the three, only Saracen has actually won a state title for the Dillon Panthers.  Now you would probably describe Jason Street and J.D. McCoy as the superstar quarterbacks with the ability to make any throw, but Saracen has something even more valuable and that is leadership and the ability for his team to believe in him and rally behind him in spite of his perceived weaknesses.  Even in the new season, the team doesn’t begin to gel until the quarterback situation is taken care of and Vince becomes the primary signal caller.

So why do I mention Friday Night Lights, well, this week I am writing about the quarterback position for the Maryland Terrapins.  The incumbent for the team is junior Jamarr Robinson (6’0, 195).  Due to the injuries and ineptitude for Chris Turner last year, Robinson got his shot to play and started in two games and played in seven total.  He has grit and determination as shown by his starts against Virginia Tech and Florida State.  Against a stout Tech D, he had 233 total yards with 129 coming on the ground.  As for the game against the ‘Noles, he showed off his arm and completed 20 of 27 for 213 yards.  For the year, he completed 54% of his passes for 459 yards and two scores.

With Robinson, I feel very confident in his ability and feel the Terps can win with him at the reins.  He has the receiver with Torrey Smith and Da’Rel Scott at the tailback slot to work with plus he has elusiveness and speed which is something the quarterback slot at Maryland has been lacking for awhile.

As for the backups, the Terps have sophomore Danny O’Brien (6’3, 215) and freshman C.J. Brown (6’3,195).  O’Brien worked his way to the number 3 quarterback slot last year, and he is now considered the primary backup for Robinson.  He has a strong arm and a high football IQ picking up the offense very well last year as a red shirt freshman.  As for Brown, the coaches love his potential with his 4.6 40 yard dash and the best ever vertical jump for a Maryland quarterback at 35 inches.

The other quarterbacks for the team are freshman Devin Burns (6’2, 185) and junior Clay Belton (6’6, 225).  Burns turned heads with the fastest Maryland quarterback time ever for the 40 at 4.5.  He impressed a lot during spring practice as he was an early enrollee.  His ability to get out of the pocket and make plays will definitely help him.  Belton is a juco transfer from Miami (Ohio) who has a big, strong arm that plays well with his body.

Here is the Fridge’s take on the quarterback position, “I think if Jamarr can play well, and Danny and C.J. mature, we have a chance to have a pretty good football team,” and I tend to agree with him.  Leadership and the ability for teammates to rally around your quarterback are huge and I really feel good about the quarterback position this year.  “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose!”