Notebook: Piggy speaks, RB rotation, Cockerille's return and more
Piggy speaks
Media finally got to speak with newly named starting quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome Wednesday morning and the sophomore opened up about how he was in ‘panic mode’ at times last year, which greatly affected his ability as a passer.
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“I’d say I have a lot to prove with my passing game because running, that’s never really been a big problem for me,” Pigrome said. “Passing, I have a big point to prove. Ever since high school, I always knew I could pass, but it just felt like last year the game was just so fast for me I stayed in panic mode, kind of. I never had my feet in the right position to play or ready to throw the ball and I always threw the ball inaccurately or just threw it short.”
A full offseason that included first-team reps during spring ball and a fierce competition this fall seems to have slowed things down for Pigrome heading into his second season.
“I’ve always been able to throw the ball deep, but the game was just so fast I had to get adjusted to it. During the spring, coach had us going against the ones and I just told him, ‘make sure I keep going against the one [defense].’ So that made the game slow down for me because I get the real action, the real pressure and how much time I have in the pocket. Last year I was never like a scout player, I was going against the scouts. So I never really took those full game-speed reps like I did in the spring. So I feel like going against the first [defense] really helped me a lot.”
Offensive coordinator Walt Bell, who also spoke with media for the first time on Wednesday, agreed with his quarterback that the game has slowed down for him, noting that he doesn’t have to do as much thinking now.
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“In terms of the game, I think he can just play without thinking now,” said Bell. “He can drive his eyes to the right place and let that tell the rest of the story. Where you have seen the game slow down for Pig is his communication at the line of scrimmage, managing the sideline and managing the offense. The really good quarterbacks don’t do a lot of thinking. They can actually process and just play. In terms of the game slowing down, I’m sure it’s his way of saying he feels a lot more confident now. He had the best practice I’ve seen since he’s been here yesterday and hopefully he continues to improve and gets better as we go.”
Running Back rotation
If you’ve watched Walt Bell’s offense, whether it be at Arkansas State or Maryland, you’ve surely noticed he likes to spread the carries around among multiple backs.
Heading into Texas, junior Ty Johnson and sophomore Lorenzo Harrison are listed as co-starters, backed up by sophomore Jake Funk. But don’t expect those three to be the only backs to see touches, as Bell himself on Wednesday noted that it takes an even greater number of backs to have an effective ground game.
“I’ve always said this and I’ll say it again, you need five [running backs], you really do,” said Bell. “Ty Johnson was the fourth man in last year when you talk about Wes Brown, Kenny Goins and Trey Edmunds. At the end of the day, Ty was the fourth guy. Part of the reason we’ve always rotated backs is that if you want those guys to have long, successful careers, which is the end goal for all them--it’s not to run 40 times into the ground and now Week 2 you’re all beat up and Week 6 now he’s not the same guy that he was--it takes a bunch of guys.
Highly touted freshmen Anthony McFarland and Javon Leake, in particular, have looked good throughout fall camp and could very likely see some action Saturday in Austin. But Bell made it clear that Johnson and Harrison should see the bulk of the carries.
“In terms of carries, does Ty [Johnson] deserve a lot of touches? Absolutely,” Bell said. “Is he a guy who should get a lot of touches? Yes. He’s proven to be special with the ball in his hands. Same with Lorenzo [Harrison]. Does he deserve touches? Absolutely. So I could see those two guys getting the lion’s share of touches.”
Shane Cockerille returns to the starting lineup
After missing spring ball this past offseason, it seemed very possible that senior quarterback-turned-linebacker Shane Cockerille had played his last down as a Terp.
Cockerille started 12 games for the Terps in 2016, finishing with 106 tackles, good for second on the team behind fellow linebacker Jermaine Carter Jr.
Despite missing the spring, Cockerille was with the team during fall camp after being given an opportunity to earn back his spot on the squad, which he took full advantage of. Cockerille was listed as the starting WILL linebacker when the first depth chart of the season was released on Monday.
Defensive coordinator Andy Buh was thrilled to have back his second-leading tackler from a year ago and expects him to be a big part of the rotation at linebacker.
“It means a lot,” said Buh of Cockerille’s return. “He fought his way back on to the football team. We didn’t give him anything. He went through the things we put him through to get back on our team. He did a great job. We’re happy to have him back. He is one of four linebackers that we’re going to count on throughout the season. A guy like Shane, who took a lot of reps for us a year ago, has a lot of value as a starter and for depth reasons. We’re extremely excited to have him back.”
Now going into his second year as a fulltime linebacker for the Terps, Buh sees an improved Cockerille and expects big things from the linebacking unit.
“He tends to be in the right place more than he was a year ago,” said Buh. “He hasn’t lost any of his instincts, which is what we loved about him a year ago. You’ll see a better, faster and smarter Shane Cockerille this year. We’re looking for a lot of production out of this position group specifically.”