Feb. 4, 2008

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Six University of Maryland football players secured spots on the 2007 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Team, the league office announced today. Maryland placed the most players on the team of any school in the conference.

Representing the Terps on this year's team were offensive linemen Andrew Crummey, Edwin Williams and Phil Costa, tight end Dan Gronkowski, and special-team starters Obi Egekeze and Travis Baltz.

All will be returning for the Terps next season except for Crummey, a graduated senior who is currently training for an NFL career. Crummey was also a second team All-America selection by The Sporting News.

To be eligible for consideration, a player must have earned a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during his academic career. All 12 ACC schools were represented by at least one selection on the team. There were 40 student-athletes on the team.

Williams and Costa are juniors who helped anchor a Terrapin offensive line that was decimated by injuries in 2007. The pair paved the way for running backs Keon Lattimore and Lance Ball to rush for a combined 1,573 yards and 25 touchdowns.

Baltz, a true freshman, averaged 40.9 yards per punt and placed 16 punts inside the 20. He elevated his game during conference play with a 43.1-yard average, second-best in the league, and was an honorable mention Freshman All-America selection by The Sporting News.

Egekeze inherited the team's field goal duties and responded with an excellent first season. The junior connected on 17 of his 23 attempts, and finished sixth in the ACC in scoring.