Bolston's Intelligence Helps Lead Terps
12/4/2006 7:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 4, 2006
By, Mariel Brady
Conrad Bolston is smart. Smart enough to know that he needed to make a position change this year. Smart enough to know that Maryland's bowl eligibility is not only important for this year's team. And smart enough to know that he needs an education to fall back on, just in case the NFL doesn't work out.
But Bolston's intelligence wasn't just luck. His mother, Adria, who he calls his biggest role model, made sure her son always knew the importance of education and family, which is part of the reason he chose to attend Maryland.
"It was close to home, close to my family," the Washington, D.C. native said. "It's also a really good school and I liked the players and coaching staff."
And for Bolston, that was very important. The senior nose tackle plans to "take a shot" at the NFL draft this summer, but if that doesn't work out in his favor, he has worked hard at obtaining a degree in Environmental Policy.
"If the draft doesn't work out, I'll follow in my mom's foot steps and get a government job," he said. "Hopefully I'll be able to do something with my degree."
But for now, Bolston is only concerned with the 2006 Maryland football team and the tean's return to a bowl game after a two year absence.
"Being bowl eligible is huge," the senior nose tackle said. "We haven't been there in a while, so it's going to be great to go out with a bowl. It's also really important to get the younger guys there to see what it feels like."
While Bolston acknowledges the importance of senior leadership on this year's team, he is also quick to credit the underclassmen.
"There has just been a lot of guys stepping up, regardless of whether their seniors, juniors or sophomores," he said. "We've had guys stepping up and making big plays and doing what it takes to win."
Knowing what it takes to win is one of the things that makes this team so special, according to Bolston. And he knows that returning to a bowl is big for the entire football program and is sure to continue to make an impact in the next few years.
"This year, it took us a little while to get our confidence back," he said. "Team confidence came after the first couple of big wins, but making a bowl game helps a team to have confidence from the start of the season."
Led by their coaching staff, the Maryland football team now expects to win in big spots and trusts each other to get the job done.
"Guys on this team know that people are going to do what it takes to win," he said. "The defense knows the offense is going to do what it takes to win and we won't be let down, and vice-versa."
And that trust began growing in the off-season, when players like Bolston were hard at work preparing for this season.
"I worked a lot this summer on my lateral movement and my hands, since I have to pass rush," he said. "We all put a lot of work in the weight room. We're all really strong, the kickers, the quarterbacks; everyone. Its something we take pride in."
Bolston has played almost every position on the defensive line throughout his career at Maryland, and he began this season at defensive tackle. But the senior said he never got totally comfortable there and he knew he had to step up and ask the coaches to move back to nose tackle.
The coaching staff agreed, and the 6-foot-3, 303 pounder, moved back to nose tackle, where he has helped lead the Terrapin defense.
"We may give up a lot of yards overall, but I think we're pretty good in the red zone," he said. "We're good at limiting points by making teams punt or kick field goals. I don't think that's a bad thing to concentrate on."
And if Conrad Bolston think so, then it's probably true. After all, he is pretty smart.
