Although the Terps have yet to run out of quarterbacks like they did during in 2012 when freshman linebacker Shawn Petty finished the season under center, they could possibly start four-stringer Ryan Brand -- a walk-on and older brother of a Maryland freshman linebacker -- this Saturday against Michigan.

Brand, who enrolled at Maryland with his brother Bryce in the spring, would be the fourth different signal caller to start for the Terps this season. He became the fifth different quarterback to take in-game snaps with the first-team offense when he relieved an injured Max Bortenschlager in last Saturday’s 31-24 loss to Rutgers.

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In one possession alone against the Scarlet Knights, Brand showed why he was called upon to replace Bortenschlager midway through the fourth quarter over North Carolina transfer and former four-star recruit Caleb Henderson. The dual-threat signal caller led the Terps’ longest drive of the season -- a methodical 17-play, 63 yard march down the field -- and came within one call, or one non-call, of tying the game. He completed 8-12 passes for 68 yards and just missed DJ Moore, who appeared to be pushed from behind, in the endzone on Maryland’s final offensive play. He had another touchdown pass to Taivon Jacobs called back earlier in the drive due to holding.

Brand’s relief appearance in what Maryland offensive coordinator Walt Bell called “the most adverse situation you could possibly be in your first 17 snaps of [D-I] college football” looked dramatically different from when Bortenschlager stepped in for Kasim Hill against UCF, or when Henderson relieved Bortenschlager last month at Ohio State. Brand looked remarkably poise and calm in the pocket as he converted three third downs and one fourth down through the air in the final minutes of Saturday’s must-win contest.

Brand looked surprisingly polished in his unplanned debut.

“In my heart of hearts, did I think that we would go out there and be as efficient as we were? Probably not, knowing that it’s the first time Ryan’s ever been in a game here at Maryland,” Bell said. “Not because he did something otherworldly or something that I haven’t seen him do before, but I think it’s a compliment to him that he takes practice and … to see those things transition into a real game .... I’m just really proud of him and how he played.”

If Bortenschlager, who is listed as a gametime decision after taking a hard hit to the upper body, is unable to go this Saturday it’ll be Brand once again who takes his place. Bell said Brand won the backup job over Henderson during the last two weeks of practice because he “sprayed the ball around a little bit better and he does give you something with his feet.”

Brand’s performance Saturday only separated himself further from Henderson, who at one-time was considered a favorite to win the Terps’ starting job before he missed the entire summer and some of fall camp with a foot injury.

“When it comes down to it, will [Brand’s performance] always be remembered when we have to make a choice [at quarterback]? Yes sir,” Bell said. “There’s no substitution for going out there [in a game] and doing your job at a high level.”

It’s not exactly the scenario Bell imagined at the beginning of spring practice or even couple of months ago, but injuries to Tyrrell Pigrome, Hill, Henderson and now Bortenschlager helped Brand become the most talked about player in College Park this week.

Just a year ago, the 5-foot-11, 182 pound signal caller was finishing up his freshman season at a junior college in California -- where he totaled over 1,000 yards and 13 touchdowns -- after spending the previous season redshirting at Air Force. Fast forward to Wednesday, Bell was offering the former cadet to his future daughter.

“As cliche as it sounds, if my daughter ever brought home a kid like Ryan Brand, I would be ecstatic. And that is the truth,” Bell said. “He’s just unbelievable. A great human being, a great kid. He’s what you want out of that role.”

Bell, though, stopped just short of tying the knot and committing to Brand as Saturday’s starter although both he and linebacker Isaiah Davis strongly hinted at that being the most likely scenario.

Unlike the last time Bortenschlager was a gametime decision when he went down late in the game against Ohio State with a similar looking injury, DJ Durkin didn’t firmly commit to the incumbent quarterback -- who’s lost four of his last five games -- as the starter moving forward either, even if he’s healthy.

Asked if Brand put himself in the conversation to be the starting regardless of Bortenschlager’s health, Durkin said “there’s a lot of hypotheticals and what-ifs in that. I don’t know. Like I said Ryan’s done an outstanding job since he’s been here of showing us that he does have ability and is capable of helping us. He’s a guy we talk about often and he finally got an opportunity to go show it and he did that. That’s great for him. All we do is evaluate things day to day.”

Bell said Saturday’s game came down to three plays: Bortenschlager’s pick-six in the first half, Jacobs’ dropped touchdown in the third quarter and the holding call against Derwin Gray on the final drive that negated another would-be Jacobs score.

On the interception, Bell said: “If we just slide up in the pocket and go to number two in the progressions, we’ve got a nice easy completion there.” Instead, a panicked Bortenschlager was flushed out of the tackle box. He attempted to throw the ball away but the ball remained within the hash marks as he absorbed a hit from a Rutgers defender.

Bell also said Bortenschlager had “a couple guys open” on the third-and-three play in which he was injured trying to run for the first down. He joked that Brand, who ran the option at Air Force, is a better runner than Bortenschlager “six times a week and twice on Sundays.”

Bell called Brand a “great little athlete” but he doesn’t anticipate running him often if he does start due to durability concerns. (“Even though he and Pig are roughly the same size, [they’re] different builds,” Bell said.) However, the threat alone could help reignite Bell’s struggling unit.