Terps Net Seven Selections On All-ACC Football Teams
11/30/1999 7:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 30, 1999
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Reflecting the improved success of the Maryland football program overall, seven Terrapin football players were named today to All-ACC football squads. Heading the contingent were junior running back LaMont Jordan (Forestville, Md.), senior nose tackle Delbert Cowsette (Cleveland, Ohio) and junior cornerback Lewis Sanders (Staten Island, N.Y.) who were named first team All-ACC. It is the most All-ACC first-teamers from the Maryland program since 1986.
Jordan, Cowsette and Sanders joined a trio of Terp seniors who were named to the second team. Offensive linemen Brad Messina (Bogota, N.J.), Jamie Wu (St. Charles, Ill.) and tight end John Waerig (Philadelphia, Pa.) helped anchor the much-improved Maryland running game. Since the Terrapins ranked 106th in the country in rushing in 1997, Messina, Wu and Waerig have started 21 of the last 22 games together to raise the Terps to a No. 50 rushing ranking in 1998 and a hold on the No. 12 spot in 1999. Behind their blocking, Jordan was the nation's fifth-leading rusher overall in 1999 and the nation's top rusher (1,101 yards) over the final six games. Waerig, meanwhile, caught 14 passes as Maryland's fourth-leading receiver.
Also honored was sophomore Marlon Moore (Brandywine, Md.) who was an honorable mention selection at linebacker after leading the Terps in tackles in just his first year as a starter. Moore collected 130 tackles and averaged 11.8 per game while filling the shoes of 1998 All-ACC selection and current pro Kendall Ogle. Moore contributed five tackles for loss and three sacks.
Overall, Jordan is the most heralded of the group, already having earned second-team All-America honors by two publications and mention as a semifinalist for the Doak Walker national running back award. He finished with a school-record 1,632 yards as a junior which was the third-best ever in the ACC and the most by an ACC junior. He is just 91 yards from breaking the Maryland career rushing record and just 1,376 from establishing a new career mark in the ACC. He enters his senior season with 3,227 yards and is within reach of becoming one of the top ten rushers in NCAA history.
Cowsette ended his college career with 33 consecutive starts and was named the Terps' defensive MVP. He led the team with six sacks, and was second in tackles for loss. Cowsette registered 280 stops during a four-year career in which he played in every game.
Sanders, like Jordan, returns to the Terrapins in 2000. Sanders boasted six interceptions early in his junior campaign and for a brief stretch, led the country in both interceptions and kickoff returns. He averaged 26.8 yards to finish 12th in the country in kickoff returns, and recorded nine takeaways on defense including three fumble recoveries.
