Terps At A Glance
11/9/1999 7:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 9, 1999
Quarterback
True freshman Latrez Harrison is slated to move into the starting role Saturday at Florida State as a result of the left knee injury suffered by Calvin McCall in last Saturday's game at NC State ... McCall, who suffered a tear to the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, has been ruled out of the Florida State game ... in nine starts this season, McCall established himself as a front-runner for ACC Rookie of the Year honors by setting Maryland freshman passing marks for attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns and for being the triggerman in the Terps' rejuvenated offensive attack ... on the year, McCall has completed 93 of 179 passes (.520) for 1,264 yards, five touchdowns and just three interceptions ... his interception ratio of nearly 60:1 is the best in the ACC ... he was listed among the nation's top newcomers in mid-season reports by CNN/SI and CBS Sportsline ... a two-time ACC Rookie of the Week, McCall this week ranks second among NCAA freshmen in total offense and passing efficiency ... the Terps, who finished last in the ACC and 105th nationally in total yards per game last season, currently rank third in the ACC and 53rd in NCAA total offense rankings ... Harrison, rated among the country's top prep quarterbacks a year ago, is scheduled to make his first career start on Saturday ... Harrison has seen very limited action (four games) in relief of McCall this season ... by making a start against Florida State, it will mark the 14th time in 16 games that the Terps' offense has been led by a freshman or a true freshman (Calvin McCall and former QB Randall Jones account for the other 13 starts).
Running Back
Junior tailback LaMont Jordan has been the featured performer in Maryland's offensive attack and one of the nation's most productive backs in 1999 ... Jordan enters the Florida State game high on a number of NCAA statistical charts, including eighth in rushing (128.6 ypg), tied for seventh in scoring (10.0 ppg) and 15th in all-purpose yards (150.7 ypg) ...moreover, he has gone 177 consecutive touches without a fumble ... he goes into the Florida State game needing 203 yards to surpass Charlie Wysocki's single-season school rushing mark (1,359 yards in 1980) ... he is just 566 yards away from Wysocki's Maryland career record (3,317 yards) with a full season to go ... Jordan this season has eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark five times to bring his career total to 12 ... all five of his 100-yard rushing games in 1999 have been at least 147 yards, including his career-best 227-yard effort two weeks ago vs. Duke ... Jordan's 14 rushing touchdowns and 15 touchdowns overall are just one shy, respectively, of matching the single-season school records in both categories ... Jordan has been particularly dangerous at home, averaging 174.6 yards in five games and establishing personal rushing bests on four occasions ... prior to last weekend's 75-yard effort vs. NC State, Jordan had averaged 183 rushing yards in the Terps' previous games, rushing for 227 yards vs. Duke, 147 vs. North Carolina and 177 vs. Clemson ... Jordan is bidding to become only the fourth junior in ACC history to reach 3,000 rushing yards ... behind Jordan are junior Mukala Sikyala, who has been impressive in his brief appearances (Temple, Duke), and true freshman Bruce Perry, the Philadelphia city prep offensive player of the year last year ... fullback Matt Kalapinski, in his second season as a full-time starter, has been an effective blocker in Maryland's run game, which this week ranks 15th nationally.
Wide Receiver
Maryland's wideout corps has been evenly balanced, with sophomore Guilian Gary (20 catches), senior Jermaine Arrington (15) and junior Jason Hatala (11) dividing most of the work ... Gary is coming off a career-high-tying five catches in last week's game vs. NC State ... Hatala had a season-high four catches (for 91 yards) vs. Clemson ... Hatala has scored a pair of touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving), but missed the NC State game with a broken finger ... Arrington, a former track star who originally went to Memphis on a track scholarship, is averaging 18.2 yards on his 15 receptions ... the Terps' wideout corps has been involved in a number of big plays this season, with touchdown catches measuring 76, 72 and 60 yards ... also seeing significant playing time is junior Omar Cheeseboro, with true freshman Scooter Monroe a talented prospect to keep an eye on.
Tight End
A major reason for the Terps' success on the ground has been the impressive blocking of senior tight end John Waerig, who is called the "best blocking tight end in the ACC, bar none," by head coach Ron Vanderlinden ... Waerig, who played his first two seasons at Wisconsin before transferring to Maryland, also has 12 receptions for 163 yards ... Waerig is backed by sophomore Eric James, who has a pair of touchdown catches this season ... the duo has combined for 17 catches this season.
Offensive Line
Maryland's offensive front, a mixture of experience and youth among the starting five, has played a key role in the Terps' offensive turnaround this season ... it has provided solid run-blocking and pass protection for a unit that this week ranks 53rd nationally in total yards per game, a full 52 spots higher than last year's season-ending total offense ranking (105th) ... the Terps have been charged with just 10 quarterback sacks allowed this season after giving up an average of nearly three per game last season ... three of the starters on the offensive front began their Maryland careers at different positions: right guard Jamie Wu (defensive line), center Melvin Fowler, Jr. (defensive line) and left guard Todd Wike (tight end) ... the anchor of the line is senior left tackle Brad Messina, who will make his 31st career start on Saturday when the Terps travel to Florida State ... at the right tackle spot is redshirt freshman Matt Crawford, who has taken over a spot vacated by NFL free agent signee John Feugill ... Fowler has started the past 20 games at the center position after moving to the offensive side of the ball in an emergency 10 days prior to the start of the 1998 season ... Wike has played through a pair of injuries (broken bone in his right hand, broken nose) this season ... the Terps have opened with the same lineup for the last eight games.
Defensive Front
The Terps start a veteran front four featuring three seniors in the starting lineup ... all have seen significant action, with the trio combining for 74 career starts entering the Florida State game ... All-ACC candidate Delbert Cowsette, who is averaging 8.3 tackles per game despite constant double teams, leads the way ... Cowsette had 14 tackles vs. NC State and he has 10 TFL's on the season ... at one end spot is senior Peter Timmins, one of the emotional leaders of the unit who led the team in sacks (5.5) a year ago and who is averaging just under five tackles per game this season ... senior Erwyn Lyght, the team's sack leader (5), is a combination linebacker/rush end who brings outstanding athleticism from the edge ... Lyght had three sacks in the Oct. 9 win over Wake Forest to earn ACC Player of the Week recognition ... Lyght is averaging 7.3 tackles per game.
Linebackers
Maryland starts an all-sophomore linebacking unit, with All-ACC candidate Aaron Thompson the featured performer in this group ... Thompson, a former all-star prep running back who has started all 20 games of his career, is averaging 10.8 tackles per game this season and is among the ACC leaders in tackles behind the line of scrimmage (16) ... over the course of his career, Thompson is averaging better than nine tackles per game, with 25 tackles for losses ... new to the starting unit this season are sophomores Marlon Moore and Kevin Bishop, who have stepped in to replace Eric Barton and Kendall Ogle, who finished 1-2 in the ACC in tackles last season ... Moore is averaging a team-best 12.0 tackles per game, with a career-high 16 in the Clemson game Oct. 16, and is close to Ratcliffe Thomas' school record for tackles by a sophomore (137 in 1994) ... Moore has reached double figures in all but two games (when he had nine each) ... Bishop, a transfer from South Florida, had his season short-circuited this past weekend when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee ... Bishop, the team's third-leading tackler (84 stops), will undergo surgery and is out for the remainder of the season.
Secondary
Honors candidate Lewis Sanders, who has nine of the Terps' 23 takeaways, headlines Maryland's secondary unit ... Sanders leads a secondary unit that has accounted for 11 of the team's 12 interceptions ... Sanders, who plays both cornerback and safety, also has a team-high 10 pass breakups in addition to ranking seventh in the nation in kickoff return average (28.1) ... he picked off one pass in each of the Terps' first five games ... junior Shawn Forte is the regular starter at free safety and sophomore Rod Littles starts at strong safety ... Littles has started most of the season in place of the injured Tony Jackson, who suffered a broken ankle in the opener vs. Temple.
Kicking Game
Special teams have been solid for the most part through the season's first nine games, with particular improvement shown of late in the punting game ... since Brooks Barnard took over the starting punting duties following the Sept. 30 game vs. Georgia Tech, Maryland has jumped to 49th nationally (from 103rd) in net punting average ... Barnard has punted for 41.5-yard average in his six games and has had seven punts of 50 yards or longer ... Maryland ranks fourth nationally in kickoff return average (25.6), thanks to the efforts of returners Lewis Sanders, Guilian Gary and Scooter Monroe ... place kicker Brian Kopka, who ranks second on the team in scoring (64 points), is 12 of 15 on field goal attempts this season and 30 of 43 for his career ... Kopka has connected on 10 of his last 11 attempts ... in addition, 30 of Kopka's 51 kickoffs have resulted in touchbacks ... the Terps are giving up an average of 20.1 yards on kickoff returns and 5.2 yards on punt returns.
