By Justin Ford, on March 15th, 2012  The Ravens have always employed the ‘best player available’ philosophy in the NFL Draft and there is no reason to believe they will waiver from that strategy this year. Over the next month and a half I will be posting about players I believe the Ravens are or should be targeting in the draft. First up, Georgia Tech’s Stephen Hill.
Stephen Hill
Position: Wide Receiver
College: Georgia Tech
Height: 6′ 4″
Weight: 215
- Ozzie Newsome said it himself at the “State of the Ravens” address: he will look to improve the team at wide receiver this off-season. The Ravens have their possession wideout in Anquan Boldin and their deep guy in Torrey Smith, but what they are missing is their ‘big’ receiver. Stephen Hill stands 6′ 4″ and weighed in officially, at 214 pounds.
- His game tape shows exceptional hands. He often makes plays above the head of the defensive back, which is referred to as ‘going up the ladder’. He makes all his catches with his hands and away from his body, as opposed to trying to trap the ball against his chest.
- Hill’s speed is a questionable area. He blazed at the combine, running a 4.31 forty, which was best among all wide receivers, but his game tape does not suggest he plays at that speed. He has more build up speed, he gains momentum as he continues to run, as opposed to just blow you off the line speed like Mike Wallace possesses.
- Hill played in the triple option offense at Georgia Tech so he could have some issues translating to an NFL playbook early. While I don’t share the concern that he will have problem learning the route tree, I think Hill will struggle more with “on the fly” or “option” reads. Contrary to what the Madden video game would have you believe, there are very few NFL passing games that have routes set in stone. Wide receivers need to read the defense, see the same thing the quarterback sees and adjust accordingly. This will be Hill’s biggest obstacle in his rookie season.
Outlook: Stephen Hill is a talented wideout with all the physical tools to succeed in the NFL. He will struggle with certain aspects of the NFL game, but what rookie doesn’t? The Ravens would be lucky to find Stephen Hill still on the board come pick 29.
Justin Ford lives in Carroll County, MD. He has been playing and coaching football for 13 years. Follow him on Twitter- @JRFord0
By Marco Romanell, on February 25th, 2012 
Maryland Terrapins (16-11, 6-7 ACC) At Georgia Tech (9-18, 2-11 ACC)
Saturday Feb. 25 2:30pm Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA
Leading scorer: MD – Terrell Stoglin 21.3 ppg
GT – Mfon Udofia 9.8ppg
Last game: MD – def. Miami 75-70
GT – lost to Clem 56-37
Outlook:
I have been trying to think of ways to get people to spend two hours of their Saturday to watch this game but I can’t think of any reason anyone would want to. I am sure we all have something better to do right? Why not make it a Saturday funday and just drink every time Terrell Stoglin puts up a shot?
I wouldn’t recommend that if you had to drive anywhere. If you do decide to watch this game you are likely to see some sloppy basketball and poor offensive execution at some points during the game. Georgia Tech lost their leading scorer Glen Rice Jr. and is coming off a stellar 38 point performance at home against Clemson, so there is no way the Terps can go in there and lose, can they?
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By Tracy Smith, on September 28th, 2011  Last week, I wrote that the ACC had made a statement. That it could be proud of the results of the previous week. Miami and Clemson won games over ranked opponents, and Florida State and Maryland held their own against two others. That while they hadn’t completely gotten over the hump, things were looking up.
Then the ACC football squads set foot on the field for last weekend’s games.
First, someone had to lose the Clemson-Florida State game, but the fact that it was the Seminoles that went down proved that the revival in Tallahassee isn’t complete just yet. It also raised hopes that Clemson may finally be worthy of some hype as the best team in the conference. Stop me if you’ve heard that before. The Tigers can take a giant step forward with a win on Saturday in Blacksburg against the Hokies of Virginia Tech. Unlike previous years, the Hokies haven’t played a tough non-conference opponent, but they also haven’t suffered an embarrassing loss. The winner of this game becomes the conference favorite, except for…Georgia Tech, which is also undefeated, thanks to its victory over North Carolina, dropping the Tar Heels from the unbeaten ranks. The Yellow Jackets didn’t roll up another 700+ yards of offense, but they still made their share of big plays. Tech could be the best team right now, but it’s still early.
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By Clark, on February 9th, 2009
Yes, the saying may be “Stupid is as Stupid does,” but at this point, anything goes. Maryland, coming off a 108 – 91 loss to the Tarheels, needed to step up and play a balanced game to end the week. Losers 6 of the last 9 games, the Terps need all the wins they can get at this point with 4 of their last 7 opponents being ranked in the top 15. Clemson, next week’s opponent, is the only ranked team out of the top ten at #11.
Maryland played with intensity, but during many times of the game, they looked lost. They looked unfocused. During the last few minutes of the game, they looked as if they wanted to leave the court and jump on the bus for College Park. As they move into a critical stretch to end the season, many questions remain for this team. Where was Adrian Bowie and Landon Milbourne sunday night? Why can’t they defend the three? Why does Gary give only 7 players more than 10 minutes a game when he buses around 13? The last question was just icing on the cake. I realize some of these players aren’t proven, but someone like Braxton Dupree and Jerome Burney have played ACC games and can only get better with experience. Besides, with the Terps looking at Dave Neal and Landon Milbourne as their only big players inside, Braxton and Jerome would bring a new presence to the team and provide good inside minutes.
These are legitimate questions. The ACC is a tough conference, a young conference at that. Maryland needs to groom their players just as everyone else is in the league or other teams are going to surpass the Terps in experience. Why can’t Gary use these young players to break into the top 25 just as Wake and Clemson? Some may say these players aren’t of the same caliber as those teams, but Gary has always gotten the best play out of middle-tier players. Just look at the Osby’s, Holden’s, Baxter’s and Dixon’s of his past teams.
As for the positives, Maryland did use the zone defense with success again tonight. They were able to stop Tech from coming inside often. Maryland also defended the three a bit better. Georgia Tech still shot 20 three’s, but because the Terps defended better on the outside, they only made 7 and any more than that would’ve given the Terps a loss. The Terps did get to the line 19 times, only making 12, but I think they’re beginning to realize the benefits of driving to the basket. I’d still like to see them get to the line 25 times a game so they can control the flow of the game and open up the three’s more. Maryland did have 12 steals as a team, which shows they are trying to defend the passing lanes (I’m stretching here). Their rebounding wasn’t that bad considering Tech’s size inside, but with 10 of those rebounds being offensive to go along with 20+ three’s, it shows they were following their shot to the basket.
Maryland now has close to a week off before their next game against Viginia Tech. They’re going to have to practice hard this week as Virginia Tech plays tough defense and points will be hard to come by. If Maryland gets off to a slow start and doesn’t control the game, they could be in for a long night.
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