June 12, 1997
Terps Football Players Rated among Best
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Three Maryland players, including running back Buddy Rodgers and defensive linemen Johnnie Hicks and Rasheed Simmons are pre-season First-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selections and defensive end Eric Ogbogu is a pre-season Second-Team All-Conference selection according the pre-season college football issue of Lindy's ACC Football Magazine.
Rodgers, a Second-Team all conference selection in 1995 and an Honorable Mention all-conference selection in 1996, is ranked as the number 24 running back in the nation by the publication. He is the Terps' leading returning rusher with 1,312 career yards. He led Maryland in rushing in 1995 with 718 yards and was second on the team with 447 yards in 1996.
Hicks is ranked as the 8th best defensive tackle in the nation and is a pre-season First-team All-ACC pick for the second consecutive season. He was fourth on the team with 67 tackles and added a career-high seven tackles for minus yardage and one quarterback sack. Hicks recorded a career-high 14 stops versus Clemson which tied for the individual team high on the season.
Simmons, who will begin his first year with the Terps after transferring from Michigan, is rated as the nation's 12th best defensive end. He played at Michigan as a true freshman in 1995 and recorded 22 total tackles and one quarterback sack.
Ogbogu is ranked by the publication as the nation's 20th best defensive end. The two-time All-ACC selection led the team with seven sacks and finished fifth on the team in tackles with 64 in 1996.
Kendall Ogle, another in a long line of strong Terps' outside linebackers, is ranked as the 16th best in the nation at his position. He was the Terps third leading tackler with a career-high 75 total stops and was second among Terps in solo tackles, 48 as a junior.
In Lindy's ranking of the nation's 112 Division 1A teams, the Terps were placed at No. 35 under the heading of "Those teams with a good shot at a bowl." A total of six of the Terps opponents were placed in the top 50 including number 4 Florida State and number 5 North Carolina.
Maryland'S 1997 Football Schedule
Sept. 6 Ohio University
Sept. 13 at Florida State
Sept. 20 North Carolina
Sept. 27 at Temple
Oct. 4 Duke
Oct. 11 West Virginia
Oct. 18 at Wake Forest
Oct. 25 Clemson
Nov. 1 Virginia
Nov.8 at N.C. State
Nov. 22 at Georgia Tech
