Two Terps Earn ACC POW Honors
9/7/2010 8:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 7, 2010
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Maryland's Kenny Tate and Joe Vellano were honored Tuesday by the Atlantic Coast Conference for their play in Monday's 17-14 win over Navy.
Tate was voted as the league's defensive back of the week, while Vellano was tabbed the top defensive lineman. It marks the first weekly honor for both who were instrumental in Maryland holding Navy to two scores in seven red-zone chances.
Not only did the Tate notch a career-high 12 tackles, but he also forced a pair of fumbles. None of his tackles was more important however than the last one as the junior stopped Heisman candidate Ricky Dobbs on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 34 seconds left, allowing Maryland to hang on for the win.
One of Tate's forced fumbles also stopped a scoring drive. On the opening possession of the second half with Navy driving to tie the game, he knocked the ball free from Dobbs on a first-and-goal play from the 4 and Maryland's Ryan Donohue recovered.
Vellano, making his first career start, came through with several crucial stops on the interior of the defensive line. The sophomore had 10 tackles, including five solo stops, as well as 3.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. His sack of Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs on third-and-7 at the Maryland 11-yard line early in the first quarter forced the Midshipmen to attempt a field goal, which they missed.
Vellano was a part of the line that helped make four goal-line stops, including one on a fourth-and-1 at the end of the game.
Davin Meggett (offensive back) and Travis Baltz (specialist) were also nominated for ACC Player of the Week honors.
For the complete release from the ACC, click here.
Terp Notes:
Terps Appear in USA Today Poll: Fresh off their win over Navy, the Maryland Terrapins received three votes in Tuesday's USA Today Coaches Poll. The Terps are one of nine teams in the ACC either ranked or receiving votes in the poll.
Terps Featured on ESPN: Two of Maryland's defensive plays were featured ESPN's SportsCenter Monday night. Kenny Tate's last-second stop of Rick Dobbs at the goal-line was play No. 7 and Adrian Moten's incredible leap over the offensive line to cause a Dobbs fumble was No. 1. Click here to view them.
