Sept. 26, 2008
By Joey Flyntz, Athletics Media Relations Staff
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Recruited by other big-time football schools like Tennessee, UCLA and Colorado, Maryland football senior Trey Covington certainly had his share of options when choosing where to play college football.
Fortunately for Maryland, Covington's sense of local pride prevailed, and he chose to play for the hometown Terps.
A Prince George's County native from Bowie, Md., and an Eleanor Roosevelt High School product, Covington has always pulled for the home team.
"I'm a hometown person," Covington said. "I love my city. I love Maryland. I love Washington, D.C. Growing up, I always cheered for the Terps, Redskins and Orioles. So, the Terps were my team and I'm a family-oriented person, so coming to Maryland was really a pretty easy choice."
Covington was a highly-decorated defensive end at Roosevelt and was named an all-state selection by the Associated Press and an All-Met nominee by the Washington Post as a senior, finishing his final prep season with 112 tackles and 19 sacks.
The Maryland coaching staff recruited Covington to play the LEO, a hybrid linebacker-defensive end position created by outside linebackers coach Al Seamonson. LEO stands for `Linebacker End Option,' and the position requires a multi-talented player to work correctly.
"I think it's one of the harder positions on the team to play," Seamonson said. "You have to be able to line up on tight ends and tackles, play the run and be a good pass-rusher. You also have to be able to drop into space and be a cover guy, while also playing a vital role in the blitz package."
Covington came to College Park in 2004 and redshirted his freshman season, earning defensive scout team player of the year honors along the way.
The coaching staff planned on limiting Covington to a reserve role in his redshirt freshman season, enabling the young talent to observe and learn more prior to becoming the primary LEO in 2006.
However, Covington was thrown into the fire a year ahead of time due to the early departure of Shawne Merriman to the National Football League. Merriman, now one of the best defensive players in the NFL for the San Diego Chargers, is the prototypical LEO in Maryland's defensive scheme.
Covington tried to learn what he could from Merriman during his redshirt season, but, as Covington learned, players of Shawne Merriman's caliber are few and far between.
"Shawne wasn't so much a vocal teacher with me. He would try to show me how to do certain things, like where to put my hands when engaging a blocker," Covington said. "He would show me what to do in practice. I would try to do what he did, but I couldn't just take a huge offensive lineman and throw him to the ground like Shawne could."
Nonetheless, Covington played in all 11 games that season, starting the final nine at LEO. Covington accumulated three sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss and 15 solo tackles in 2005, earning ACC Rookie of the Week honors following a victory over Wake Forest.
"At the time, I thought I was ready to come in and take over the starting role. But, looking back, I probably wasn't," Covington said of his redshirt freshman year.
The 2006 season was a solid sophomore campaign for Covington, as he started 12 of 13 games as the Terps went 9-4 and won the Champs Sports Bowl. Covington registered a season-high eight tackles in the team's thrilling come-from-behind victory at rival Clemson and netted a crucial sideline-toeing interception late in the second half the following weekend in a victory against Miami.
Covington started all 13 games last season, finishing with a bang, as he recorded two sacks against Oregon State in the Emerald Bowl.
So far in 2008, Covington, who has seen action in each of the last 41 games, has tallied 15 tackles and one-half sack, continuing to serve in a versatile role for the Terps defense.
After years of beating on other players' bodies, Covington plans on helping others improve their bodies once his football career comes to an end. A kinesiology major, Covington would like to attend physical therapy school with plans on becoming a physical trainer.
