| Injured Terps left with few options on depleted offensive line |
 |
| Written by Admin |
| Tuesday, 23 October 2007 22:19 |
|
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -Even though Andrew Crummey and Jaimie Thomas are gone, Maryland still has enough experienced players to patch together a decent offensive line for Saturday's game against Clemson. Scott Burley and Dane Randolph will play the tackle positions, and Phil Costa and Jack Griffin will be the guards around center Edwin Williams. After that, however, things get a little dicey. The backups include walk-ons Paul Pinegar and Danny Edwards, true freshmen Stephen St. John and Lamar Young - both of whom have absolutely no experience - and true freshman Bruce Campbell, who hasn't seen action since participating for 13 plays in the opener against Villanova. ``We're trying to bring some other kids along,'' coach Ralph Friedgen said Tuesday. ``You can put them in a game and I think they'll know what to do for the most part. It's a matter of whether they can match against who they've got to play.'' To make matters worse, the Terrapins (4-3, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) will be without fullback Cory Jackson, who's out after undergoing surgery on his hand. He will be replaced by freshman Haroon Brown. There's no telling the impact that a makeshift offensive line and a young blocking back will have on a running game that ranks second in the ACC. The situation might also force quarterback Chris Turner to throw much quicker than usual. ``Our line was pretty good with Crummey and Thomas,'' Friedgen said. ``Costa and Griffin played just as much; our concern is, can they play 70-80 plays a game? You lose two of the better offensive guards in the conference, that hurts you.'' Crummey broke his left leg against Georgia Tech on Oct. 6 and Thomas broke his right leg in last weekend's 18-17 loss to Virginia. That means Keon Lattimore, who leads the Terps with 629 yards rushing, may be looking for holes behind a couple of guys who haven't played since high school. ``That's just part of the game. A couple of guys who were probably going to redshirt will have to step in,'' Lattimore said. ``I've got 100 percent confidence that they can step in and get it done.'' Regardless of who's on the line, Lattimore and Lance Ball can expect to get plenty of work against Clemson (5-2, 2-2). ``That's what we do. We run the ball. We're not going to abandon that part of our game,'' Lattimore said. ``Why change up? We might throw a few wrinkles here and there, but basically we're going to do what we do.'' |
|
|
|
Live Odds, Scores, Injuries And More - 14 Day Free Trial! |
|