Maryland's football team isn't getting much affection from members of the media this summer. In many publications Maryland is picked last, or near the bottom, in the Atlantic Division. The ACC media picked Maryland to finish 5th in the Atlantic ahead of only Boston College and only two Maryland players, LB Alex Wujciak and P Travis Balz, made the preseason All-ACC teams. Wujciak is coming off an excellent season in a defense that was designed for the linebackers to make most of the tackles. This year Wujciak has missed most of the off season as a result of knee surgery and it remains to be seen if the new scheme of Don Brown will suit Wuciak's skills. Since Ralph Friedgen came back to Maryland it has been a boon for linebackers and corners no matter the coordinator. Ten former Maryland linebackers are on NFL rosters currently, behind only Miami in the ACC, and the Terps have been putting out some very good corners in the last four years. I look for LB Adrian Moten, who had a injury marred 2008, to become a star in the new defense.
The folks over at the Virginia Tech fansite Gobbler Country held an ACC blogger voting for preseason awards and you can see the results by clicking here. I have yet to really ponder my picks for this ACC season but my first instinct was to pick Florida State to have a return to glory this season and win their first conference title since 2005.
