2007 Football Season Outlook - Part III
8/1/2007 8:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 1, 2007
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The following is the third installment in a four-part series previewing the 2007 University of Maryland football team.
The Terrapins open fall practice on Monday, Aug. 6 in preparation for their season opener on Saturday, Sept. 1 (6 p.m.) against Villanova at Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium.
Today's portion of the outlook previews the defensive line and linebackers.
Outlook Schedule on umterps.com: Overall Overview/Quarterbacks/Running Backs Thursday, July 26 Wide Receivers/Offensive Line/Tight Ends Monday, July 30 Defensive Line/Linebackers Wednesday, Aug. 1 Secondary/Specialists Friday, Aug. 3
Defensive Line
Maryland lost one of its three starters along the defensive line, but does return a part-time starter.
Junior Jeremy Navarre started 12 games at defensive end and tied for the team lead with 3 ½ sacks. He'll be joined by tackle Dre Moore who started 10 games at defensive tackle.
"Depth along the defensive line is one of our concerns on defense," Friedgen said. Navarre missed most of the spring with a knee injury, but it did give some other guys reps.
Moore, who had a solid spring practice, collected 47 tackles, including a team-high tying 3 ½ sacks, last season and did a good job clogging up the middle.
Senior Carlos Feliciano will step into the defensive-tackle role which was occupied by Conrad Bolston last season. Feliciano actually started seven games along the line and saw significant action all season.
Backups at defensive tackle include sophomore Travis Ivey. Junior transfer Olegbemi Otulaja and Dean Muhtadi will add depth in the middle.
Junior Mack Frost and sophomore Jared Harrell are the backups at defensive end with Frost having the most experience with 19 career games under his belt.
"Mack played very well in the spring," Friedgen said. "He got some more reps with Jeremy's injury and played well."
The Terps have some depth at defensive end. Backing up Navarre and Frost are sophomore Deege Galt and junior Ricardo Dacosta.
True freshmen who could see action include Dion Armstrong, one of the top-rated linemen in the country last season, Bruce Campbell, a PrepStar All-American, Ian Davidson and Joe Vellano.
Linebacker
The linebacking corps may have the most question marks among the defensive units, but it's certainly not because of a lack of talent. The only thing holding this group back is experience.
There were battles at nearly every spot in the spring and some will continue into the fall.
Junior Erin Henderson returns to headline this unit. Henderson, the starter at Will LB, is coming off a season in which he recovered from a serious knee injury quite nicely. He posted a team-high 8.8 tackles per game, which ranked second in the ACC and 31st nationally.
Henderson, who missed all of 2005, claimed second-team All-ACC honors in 2006 and should be among the most feared defensive players in the league this fall.
He was named to the 2007 Playboy Preseason All-America team and may be in the running for some postseason awards as well.
Juniors Dave Philistin and Rick Costa are behind Henderson, but both are more than capable of filling in at Will.
Philistin played in all 13 games last season, while Costa showed an ability to rush the passer off the edge. Costa is a player who could see time in nickel situations.
The other two linebacking spots are a little more open.
Junior Chase Bullock and redshirt freshman Alex Wujciak will look to replace Mike LB Wesley Jefferson who graduated in January and gave up his final season of eligibility to pursue a career in law enforcement.
Bullock, who enters the fall No. 1 on the depth chart with Wujciak, played sparingly last season. Bullock saw action in six games as Jefferson took most of the reps inside en route to posting 110 tackles.
"Both Chase Bullock and Alex Wujciak are very good players," Friedgen said. "They had a good battle in the spring."
Junior Moise Fokou and redshirt freshman Adrian Moten enter the fall No. 1 on the depth chart at Sam. These two enjoyed a tough battle in the spring to replace David Holloway, one which should continue into fall camp.
"Fokou and Moten had a good battle at Sam in the spring," Friedgen said. "Both will be good players."
Fokou is a versatile player who played in all 13 games as a reserve linebacker last season.
Alex Schultz, Brian Dickerson and Aaron Ball are reserves who provide depth at each linebacker position.
Junior Trey Covington is back to man the LEO, a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker position.
Covington made 11 starts a year ago, tallying 41 tackles. He did miss most of the spring with an injury.
Redshirt freshman Chris Clinton and sophomore Jeff Clement enter the fall as the backups at LEO.
Senior Jermaine Lemons and redshirt freshman Brian Whitmore are behind Clinton and Clement at LEO.
Newcomers at linebacker include Derek Drummond and Ben Pooler.
