Jordan And Thompson Among ESPN Players
9/7/2000 8:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 7, 2000
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Senior tailback LaMont Jordan and junior linebacker Aaron Thompson will represent Maryland this season not only on the playing field, but among ESPN.com's elite group of national college football stars as they answer weekly questions pertaining to the game and their careers.
Jordan and Thompson answered their first questions this week for the ESPN.com feature. A full look at the weekly feature and some of the other national stars can be seen by visiting the ESPN site.
Here is a sampling of what each Terrapin had to say regarding this week's questions about the first game of the year, whether to play a "cupcake or a contender," and what kind of pregame superstitions or rituals each builds into his schedule:
LaMont Jordan
"I prefer to play a top-ranked opponent because during two-a-days it gives you something to look forward to right out of the blocks. I think the first game of the season is definitely different from the rest of the games on the schedule because during two-a-days you get tired of practicing against one another. You want to get out there and play somebody else because you work so hard during the off-season."
"I don't prepare any differently for any game. I prepare the same for any game, whether it's the first or the last. As far as any rituals I go through, something I picked up toward the end of last year was a "war" thing where I paint my face (with eye black) like I'm getting ready for a war, like I'm in the army. I paint my face and listen to music, that's about it."
Aaron Thompson
"If it were up to me, I think I'd play a team right out of the blocks that we might be heavily favored to beat, only so my team would get the feel for playing the game again. In the first game, you tend make a lot of mistakes. I'd rather make those mistakes against someone that you're leading by 40 points, or someone that you can come back against after making those mistakes, rather than against a rival team where those mistakes could wind up costing me dearly."
"The first game of the year is a little different than the rest of the games. The first game is probably your most exciting game because you're coming out of that grind from two-a-days where you've been scrimmaging each other constantly. You can't wait to see another uniform."
