July 8, 2004
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The following is the second in a nine-part series previewing the 2004 University of Maryland football team. The Terrapins open fall practice on August 11th in preparation for their season opener against Northern Illinois at Byrd Stadium on September 4th.
Today's portion of the outlook for 2004 takes a quick look at the Terrapins' tailbacks and fullbacks. Check back every Tuesday and Thursday in the month of July for a breakdown on each component of this year's team (a complete list of when each position's synopsis will be posted on umterps.com can be found at the bottom of this page), a squad ranked by most preseason publications in the top 25 nationally.
Tailback
In what is becoming a tradition in recent years at Maryland, the tailback position is very deep and talented while having a good mix of experience and youth. Though much deeper and established, one similarity between tailback and the quarterback race is that there are a pair of players at the top of the depth chart who have set themselves apart from the rest of the group while a good battle remains over who will get playing time behind the duo at the top.
Junior Josh Allen has had two strong years as a Terp with his 2003 campaign showing that he is a starting-caliber back capable of putting up numbers as big as any tailback in the country. He led the team in rushing in 2003 with 922 yards and has posted 16 rushing touchdowns in his short time in the program. He is strong, sees the hole well and has the speed (4.49) to outrun the secondary once he gets through a seam.
The perfect compliment to Allen is senior Sammy Maldonado, a senior who did not participate in contact drills in the spring, but seems to be prepared for his last season as a collegian to be his finest. "The Bull" earned his nickmane from teammates for his hard-charging style but he also has good hands, is a strong pass protector and has surprisingly good feet for a player his size (233 pounds). Alone, the tandem of Allen and Maldonado would be among the best in the ACC but they have a stable of young tailbacks who will battle for playing time behind them, making for one of the more interesting progressions to watch.
Sophomore J.P. Humber left spring as the next in line for playing time but the battle will be ongoing between he, junior Mario Merrills and redshirt freshman Lance Ball. Humber had a strong outing in the spring game and gives the team a classic "big back" with good quickness and good receiving skills. Merrills - who has successfully recovered from a hamstring injury suffered last season -- continued to show the burst that makes him a threat on any carry while Ball showed a nice mix of size, vision, good feet and acceleration that makes him a strong candidate to challenge as a starter down the road. The lone characteristic that may have set Humber ahead of the other two is his ability to hold onto the ball, a quality Friedgen ranks as paramount when deciding who will see the field.
One other player who could factor in the mix as a backup is first-year back Keon Lattimore, the younger brother of Baltimore Raven Ray Lewis. Lattimore made his mark as a prep as a slashing-type back with breakaway speed.
"We have a lot of good, experienced players at tailback," said Friedgen. "Josh Allen had a great year for us last year and Sammy Maldonado showed us what he could do. Sammy is a different type of runner than Josh. Josh has more speed and acceleration but Sammy is a more punishing runner, has good hands out of the backfield and is doing a very good job in pass protection. If they stay healthy, we should be pretty good with those two guys."
Fullback
As in the previous two seasons, Maryland enters 2004 having to replace a starter at fullback. The plan for spring was to choose an incumbent based on the performance of returnees Ricardo Dickerson and Maurice Smith. Due to injury, Smith was not able to compete, but fortunately for the Terps, Dickerson performed very well and is a clear number one heading into fall camp. Even with Dickerson's success, Maryland will likely employ a strategy this season that also uses more one-back sets and the use of H-backs, thus making the team's depth at fullback less of a concern.
Dickerson, a junior, played both ways last year, seeing limited time at fullback while getting on the field in dime situations from a rush end position. He will continue in the same role despite being the likely starter on offense. He showed in the offseason that his blocking skills are much improved and after starting his career as a linebacker, he now appears firmly entrenched in role as fullback-then-linebacker.
Smith served as Bernie Fiddler's primary backup most of the season a year ago and his playing time will depend on how far he has made it back after the missed time. Newcomer Matt Deese is also a possibility at the position as he has good size (245 pounds) and showed ability as a ball carrier as a prep (1,692 yards, 23 TDs as a senior).
"Ricardo (Dickerson) is much improved," Friedgen said. "I think he did a nice job in the spring. I thought he improved on his leverage, blocking, pass-catching and assignments. Mo Smith missed most of spring so we will have to see how much better he has gotten. Deese could factor in based on how fast he learns and picks things up but the fact that we have Vernon (Davis) and Rob (Abiamiri) who can play that position gives us some flexibility."
Outlook Schedule on UMterps.com:
Offense/Quarterbacks Posted July 6
Tailbacks/Fullbacks Today
Wide Receivers Tuesday, July 13
Tight Ends Thursday, July 15
Offensive Line Tuesday, July 20
Defense/Defensive Line Thursday, July 22
Linebackers Tuesday, July 27
Defensive Backs Thursday, July 29
Specialists Tuesday, August 3
For season ticket information, please call the Terrapin Ticket Office at (301) 314-7070 or (800) 462-TERP (8377).
