Dec. 19, 1999

Final Football Notes
Game By Game Rundown
Terp History And Facts
Terp Honors
Terps At A Glance
Terps By The Numbers

Quarterback
Redshirt freshman Calvin McCall's season was cut short by two games (torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee Nov. 9 vs. NC State) but the rookie signal-caller still finished second (to Virginia Tech's Michael Vick) among freshman I-A quarterbacks in passing efficiency and total offense ... McCall was runner-up for ACC Rookie of the Year honors ... a nine-game starter, McCall completed 93 of 179 passes (.520) for 1,264 yards and five touchdowns while breaking all major Maryland freshman passing and total offense marks ... he threw just three interceptions over the course of the season, finishing with the best interception ratio (nearly 60:1) in the Atlantic Coast Conference ... with McCall starting nine games and true freshman Latrez Harrison picking up two starts, Maryland has now opened with a freshman or redshirt freshman at quarterback in 15 of its last 17 games dating to the 1998 season ... McCall was a two- time ACC Rookie of the Week, capturing the honor after efforts vs. Western Carolina and West Virginia ... McCall threw for a career-high 221 yards at Georgia Tech and tossed a career-best two TD passes vs. West Virginia ... the triggerman in the Terps' rejuvenated offensive attack, McCall helped Maryland rise from 105th nationally in 1998 to 54th overall in 1999 in final NCAA total offense rankings ... Harrison saw spot duty as McCall's backup before getting starts in the final two games of the season ... Randall Jones, a four-game starter at QB in 1998, was switched back to the secondary when McCall won the starting job, but was pressed back into duty for the season finale vs. Virginia, and nearly led the Terps to a come-from-behind win.

Running Back
All-American LaMont Jordan ran for more yards than any other running back in the nation over the final six games of the season (1,101) and ended up fifth nationally in average yards per game (148.4) in final NCAA rushing rankings ... Jordan captured a number of postseason All-America honors, including second team citations by Football News and College Football News and third-team honors from The Sporting News ... he was one of eight semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award ... Jordan is the top career rusher entering the 2000 season among all Division I-A running backs ... Jordan set a host of Maryland records, including marks for single-season (1,632) and single-game (306 vs. Virginia) rushing- yardage and for single-season touchdowns (17) and rushing touchdowns (16) ... during the course of the '99 campaign, Jordan rushed for at least 100 yards seven times and at least 150 yards six times ... his 306-yard effort in the season finale vs. Virginia was the third-best effort in ACC history ... three of his top four rushing games came against bowl teams, including 169 yards vs. Florida State (the most given up by the Seminoles since 1995) ... he had a stretch of 188 consecutive touches without a fumble, and had just three fumbles (losing only one) all season ... Jordan was the Terps' second-leading receiver with 19 receptions ... against all five ACC bowl teams, Jordan either ran for more than 150 yards or contributed a breakaway rushing, passing or receiving touchdown, and averaged 217 rushing yards per game ... fullback Matt Kalapinski was a 10-game starter and his blocking was crucial to Jordan's success on the ground ... Maryland finished first in the ACC and 12th nationally in rushing yards per game (234.1).

Wide Receiver
Numbers were evenly balanced among Maryland's group of wideouts, with sophomore Guilian Gary (24 receptions, 257 yards), senior Jermaine Arrington (17 for 302) and junior Jason Hatala (11 for 250) reaching double figures in receptions ... Gary emerged as a reliable target during the 1999 season, recording 11 of his team-high 24 catches in the final four games of the year... he had five catches vs. Wake Forest and NC State ... junior Omar Cheeseboro had nine catches, four in the last three games, and true freshman Scooter Monroe showed flashes of potential with increased playing time.

Tight End
Blocking specialist John Waerig captured second team All-ACC honors and Eric James had more TD catches (3) than any tight end at Maryland since 1986 ... Waerig, called the "best blocking tight end in the ACC, bar none" by head coach Ron Vanderlinden, was instrumental in the Terps' No. 12 NCAA ranking in rushing offense ... a senior, Waerig also had 14 receptions to finish fourth on the team in that category ... James, only a sophomore, made the most of his playing time, turning three of his six catches into touchdown receptions ... the duo combined for 20 catches and four TD's.

Offensive Line
Maryland had the ACC's top offensive line if final team rushing and sacks-allowed totals are any indicator ... two years after finishing ninth in the league in rushing yards per game, the Terps in 1999 led the ACC and finished 12th nationally with an average of 231.4 yards per game ... moreover, Maryland allowed an ACC-low of 11 sacks just two years after yielding a whopping 56 sacks in 1997 ... senior tackle Brad Messina and senior guard Jamie Wu both earned second team All-ACC honors, and redshirt freshman tackle Matt Crawford was a third-team Freshman All-American by The Sporting News ... Messina also was a first team All-ECAC choice ... the consistent play of the offensive front was a key reason for the Terps rising 51 spots (to 54th) in final NCAA total offense rankings compared to final 1998 rankings ... four offensive linemen started all 11 games and another started 10 games during the season ... the Terps will lose a pair of seniors from the starting front five: Messina, who made 32 starts during his career, and Wu, who started every game during the 1998 and '99 seasons ... returning starters in 2000 include center Melvin Fowler, who has started all 22 games the past two seasons, left guard Todd Wike, who started the final 10 games of the '99 season, and right tackle Matt Crawford, who started all 11 in 1999.

Defensive Line
The Terps finished third in the ACC and 39th nationally in rushing defense, allowing 126.4 yards per game, and senior nose tackle Delbert Cowsette was a first team All-ACC and first team All-ECAC selection ... against Virgina, the Terps limited the Cavaliers to just 110 rushing yards and only 91 by Heisman Trophy candidate Thomas Jones, his second lowest total of the season ... the front four was dominated by three seniors Cowsette, Peter Timmins and Erwyn Lyght who combined for 78 career starts ... Cowsette shared the team lead in sacks (6) and was second on the squad in tackles for losses (11) ... he finished his senior campaign with 81 tackles (7.4 per game) and totaled 280 for his career ... Lyght was right behind Cowsette with 80 tackles in 1999, including six sacks and 10 tackles for losses ... Timmins totaled 47 tackles, including seven for losses, and returned a fumble for a touchdown in his final collegiate campaign ... junior Kris Jenkins started the first eight games of the season at a tackle position before giving way to sophomore Charles Hill, who started the last three games.

Linebacker
An all-sophomore linebacking crew finished 1-2-3 on the squad in tackles, led by Marlon Moore (130), who finished second in the ACC in average per game (11.8) and Aaron Thompson (111), who finished seventh in the ACC in average per game (10.1) ... fellow sophomore Kevin Bishop was on pace for a 100-tackle season but suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament vs. NC State which shelved him for the remainder of the season ... Bishop underwent successful surgery in December and his return is anticipated in August when the 2000 team reports to fall camp ... Moore and Bishop moved into the starting lineup to replace standouts Eric Barton and Kendall Ogle, who finished 1-2 in the ACC in tackles in 1998 ... Moore reached double figures in total tackles in nine of 11 games he had a career high 16 stops vs. Clemson while Bishop totaled a career-best 20 total tackles vs. Clemson ... Thompson, who has started all 22 games at outside linebacker during his career, had 10 or more tackles eight times in 11 games in 1999 and ranked among the league leaders in tackles for losses (17) ... Thompson now has 26 career tackles for losses in 22 career games.

Secondary
Maryland will return three of four starters from its secondary unit when spring drills commence in March ... cornerback Lewis Sanders, a first team All-ACC selection and a third team All-American by The Sporting News, leads this unit ... in 1999, Sanders made a remarkable return from a shoulder injury which kept him out of the entire 1998 season, sharing the NCAA lead in takeaways (six interceptions, three fumble recoveries) and finishing tied for 10th nationally in interceptions and 12th nationally in kickoff return average ... Sanders, who finished fourth in the ACC in pass breakups (14), will enter his senior year as one of the nation's leading candidates for the Thorpe Award, given annually to the nation's top defensive back ... Sanders opened the season by picking off a pass in each of the Terps' first five games ... he also led the nation in kickoff return average for a good portion of the season before finishing 10th with an average of 26.8 yards per return ... the Terps also will return safeties Rod Littles (84 tackles) and Shawn Forte (47 tackles) as well as opening-game starter Tony Jackson, who was lost for the season after suffering a broken ankle in the opener vs. Temple ... cornerback Tony Okanlawon, who started the final three games at cornerback opposite Sanders, also returns to the secondary unit.

Specialists
Kicker Brian Kopka, an honorable mention All-American by Football News, will enter his senior season as a top candidate for the Lou Groza Award following a junior campaign which featured him connecting on 16 of 21 field goal attempts, 32 of 33 PAT tries and 57 percent (35 of 61) of his kickoffs resulting in touchbacks ... Kopka's 16 field goals were one shy of the Maryland single-season record ... for his career, Kopka is 34 of 49 on field goal attempts ... redshirt freshman punter Brooks Barnard was a third team Freshman All-American by The Sporting News after punting for a 42.1-yard average, the best mark by a Terp since 1993 ... the Terps finished the season 62nd nationally in net punting, rising 41 spots after Barnard took over the starting punting duties in early October ... 11 of Barnard's punts were at least 50 yards in length ... Lewis Sanders finished 12th nationally in kickoff return average (26.8) and tied the Maryland career record with his second return for a TD, going 98 yards for a score vs. Western Carolina ... the Terps finished fourth in the ACC in punt cover (7.5) and fifth in the ACC in kickoff cover (20.8).