Lewis Sanders Makes Strong Return To Gridiron
9/15/1999 8:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 15, 1999
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Lewis Sanders didn't play any football last year. Now he can't get enough of it. Sanders, a cornerback for Maryland's unbeaten football team, watches game film five days a week. On Saturdays he's all over the field, lining up against the opposition's best receiver and playing special teams with unyielding enthusiasm.
After spending all of last season recovering from shoulder surgery, Sanders is so delighted to back that he can't stand the idea of watching another play from the sideline.
"I think Lewis benefited from the year off," Maryland coach Ron Vanderlinden said Tuesday. "You don't know how much you appreciate the game. We're all like that - we don't appreciate what we have until we lose it. In Lewis' case, not being able to play a year ago really made him very hungry to play."
Lewis, a junior, sustained nerve damage in his shoulder in the final game of the 1997 season. He hated watching games in street clothes last year, knowing that perhaps he could have made a difference on a team that finished 3-8.
"It made me realize how much I really enjoyed playing football," Sanders said. "When you're not out there, watching week after week, you're sort of like a coach out there. That helps you out a lot when you get back on the field."
Sanders has emerged as one of the team's most impressive impact players. He has an interception in each of the Terrapins' two games and last week returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown in a 51-10 rout of Western Carolina.
Sanders has twice been named Maryland's defensive back of the week. He was also cited as special teams player of the week for his performance against Western Carolina.
It hasn't been an easy road back. During spring practice Sanders was burned several times on deep patterns as he tried to reacquaint himself with the game. Before the year of inactivity, he had played in 21 games at free safety for Maryland.
"Everything was hard. Even backpedaling. I was uncomfortable doing that," he said.
It showed.
"He really had a rough spring because he had to get back into the groove and learn technique," Vanderlinden said. "But I think that helped him focus. Now he comes in and studies more tape than almost everyone. He's really becoming a student of the game."
Sanders and the improving Maryland defense will be severely tested Saturday against a West Virginia offense that is averaging 33 points per game. Senior quarterback Mark Bulger has seven career 300-yard games, 53 touchdown passes and has thrown for at least two scores in six straight games.
"It's going to be challenge for us," Sanders said. "But I'm looking forward to it."
Sure beats watching from the sideline.
