Randy Edsall, only Mike Locksley can save you now.

(AP photo)

No, Danny O’Brien isn’t transferring from Maryland because of the uniform.  Although I wouldn’t blame him if he were.  It’s more a case of him being yet another player at that school who doesn’t want to play for the head coach.

It’s not just that Randy Edsall is a dick.  It’s that he’s an insecure dick.

According to The Washington Post, however, O’Brien isn’t the only former player prevented from transferring into Vanderbilt. Offensive lineman Max Garcia and linebacker Mario Rowson, who have also declared their intent to leave the program, were subject to the same 16 schools on O’Brien’s no-transfer list: the entire A.C.C., West Virginia, Temple and the Commodores.

Including Vanderbilt on this list reflects terribly on Edsall, who can realistically cite no other reason to prevent former players from transferring to the program other than his own fear that, should a former player succeed in the SEC, his tenure will continue to pale in comparison to work Franklin is doing in Nashville.

Congrats, Randy.  It’s not easy these days to make James Franklin a sympathetic figure, but you’ve succeeded.

Maryland could have replaced Friedgen with either Franklin – who, after all, was the coach in waiting – or Mike Leach, but instead cast its fate with a man who’s responsible for a train wreck:  “This is Maryland today. Players are bolting in droves: 24 since Edsall arrived, 12 since the end of the last season.”  The way things have been headed, it’s likely that this hire is going to wind up being epically bad.

And with this latest move, Myerberg’s right about Edsall creating a new standard by which he’ll be measured.

… Worse yet, Edsall has created an environment where Maryland is competing with the Commodores — where the Terrapins are using the Commodores, whether out of fear or otherwise, as their built-in barometer. This isn’t where the program should be entering Edsall’s second season. Maryland should be weighing itself against Clemson, Florida State and the rest of the A.C.C., not a perceived rival located hundreds of miles and a conference away.

If I’m Franklin, I’m going public asking for a game between the two.  Might as well make as much hay out of the situation as possible.  If Maryland turns you down, you’ve got a helluva line to use on the recruiting trail.

(And speaking of recruiting, if I’m Mark Richt, I’m checking out Max Garcia about now.)

***************************************************************************************

UPDATE:  Way to jump on it, Mark Richt!

“I’m definitely excited about Georgia being interested in me, and my mother is really happy about it as well,” Garcia told the AJC. “I’ve always considered Georgia since high school. It just never really worked out the first time around. They liked me out of high school. They just wanted me to go to a summer camp, and I was never able to make it up there.”

What if UGA offered? “I’d definitely consider committing. Being so close to home, it would be a great opportunity for me. I’m also going to open it up to other schools, if they’re interested. I want to try to find the best situation for me – as far as being close to home, with what I want to study and how much offensive line depth there is.”