Maryland Preview
September 15, 2004 12:26 PM | General
September 15, 2004
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| Allen | Foxworth | Jackson | Statham | Suter |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia (2-0) is looking to snap several disturbing trends when it takes on nationally ranked Maryland (2-0) Saturday afternoon in a game to be televised by ESPN2. Among those trends:
West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez spent a good deal of his summer perusing West Virginia-Maryland game tapes trying to come up with the right formula for a different outcome this season.
“As much as I’ve studied them I’ve done everything but hire a voodoo doctor and a psychiatrist to help us out mentally,” Rodriguez joked earlier this week.
But the coach readily admits there are several reasons why Maryland has had its way with West Virginia.
“One, they’ve had some really good players if you’ve looked at the guys they have that have gone on to the NFL over the last several years,” he said. “Two, their coaching staff has done a great job and they understand their system. And three, for whatever reason mentally we’ve gotten behind against them and I don’t want to say we’ve shut it down, but we certainly weren’t able to battle back and get into the game.”
Rodriguez says it is important for his team to stay in the game so the large crowd expected for Saturday’s contest will also stay in the game.
“That’s one of my goals,” he said. “If we’re playing well then they’ll be in the game and if not, they probably won’t.”
While Friedgen’s system is firmly in place, the players running it have changed somewhat since last year. Sophomore Joel Statham (6-1, 212, So.) has replaced Scott McBrien at quarterback and has gotten progressively better.
In Maryland’s opener against Northern Illinois, Statham completed 12 of 22 passes for 169 yards in a close, 23-20 win at College Park. Last week against Temple, a more comfortable Statham posted career highs of 18 completions in 25 attempts for 268 yards and a pair of touchdown passes. Statham also ran five times for 29 yards.
“He was almost perfect in the first half against Temple and showed a lot of poise,” Rodriguez said. “Their quarterback has a lot of responsibility as far as getting them into the right play and doing the right checks and he seemed pretty comfortable out there.”
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| QB Rasheed Marshall is looking to snap a three-game losing streak as a starter to Maryland.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
Maryland’s big offensive weapon remains senior wide receiver Steve Suter (5-9, 194, Sr.), who also doubles as a dangerous kick and punt returner that has burned West Virginia in the past. Suter shows three catches for 56 yards this season and has accounted for more than 100 yards in punt and kickoff returns. Suter comes into Saturday’s game having accumulated 2,935 all-purpose yards and is close to having 1,000 career yards in receiving, kickoff returns and punt returns.
Rodriguez believes Suter is Maryland’s most dangerous weapon. “You have to consider what he does in the return game and what he does as a receiver,” he said.
Paired up with Suter on the other side is junior Derrick Fenner (5-11, 186, Jr.), who shows five grabs for 97 yards and a touchdown in two games this season. Fenner is the only returning receiver in the ACC to average more than 20 yards per catch last year.
When Maryland goes to its three and four receiver sets look for senior Rich Parson (5-10, 183, Sr.) and junior Jo Jo Walker (5-9, 167, Jr.) to enter the game. The two have combined to catch 71 passes for their Maryland careers.
The Terrapin running game is in the capable hands of junior Josh Allen (5-11, 202, Jr.) and senior Sammy Maldonaldo (6-0, 233, Sr.). Allen is a smaller, speedier back than Maldonaldo and he has had success in the past against West Virginia running for 116 yards as a freshman in 2002. Maldonaldo gives Maryland a different look with a power back that is averaging nearly six yards per carry in 2004. He gained a career-high 106 yards last weekend in the Temple win and has rushed for 729 yards in 23 career games at Maryland after transferring from Ohio State.
Despite indoctrinating three new starters, the real strength of the Maryland offense is its big, physical offensive line anchored by senior center Kyle Schmitt (6-4, 295, Sr.) and senior left guard C.J. Brooks (6-5, 311, Sr.), an all-ACC candidate. Brooks is considered one of the ACC’s top offensive guards and look for the Terps to run to his left side frequently Saturday.
Maryland’s defense has also done some remodeling without losing much ground. Senior cornerback Domonique Foxworth (5-11, 178, Sr.) and senior free safety Raymond Custis (5-9, 188, Sr.) are the two most experienced Maryland defenders with three letters. They team in the secondary with senior strong safety Chris Kelley (6-2, 204, Sr.) and junior cornerback Gerrick McPhearson (5-10, 190, Jr.).
Middle linebacker D’Qwell Jackson (6-0, 231, Jr.) is a fast and active middle linebacker who did a solid job replacing E.J. Henderson last season. Jackson leads the Terps with 13 stops in two games. Jackson is flanked on one side by weakside linebacker William Kershaw (6-3, 230, Jr.) and strongside linebacker David Holloway (6-2, 222, So.).
“Maryland is a little unique with what they do defensively,” said Rodriguez. “There are a few other teams that do it but they’re a little unique with what guys they put at certain positions and what techniques they use.”
Up front Maryland has two-year lettermen Kevin Eli (6-2, 280, Sr.) and Shawne Merriman (6-4, 245, Jr.) on the ends, with senior Henry Scott (6-2, 271, Sr.) and sophomore Conrad Bolston (6-3, 280, So.) manning the two tackle spots. Nine of Maryland’s top 22 defensive players are either freshmen or sophomores.
“They’ve recruited very well and they’re just plugging the pieces in,” said Rodriguez.
There are no tickets for Saturday’s game set to kickoff at noon.
Briefly: Saturday’s game is the 43rd meeting between these two non-conference border rivals with Maryland owning a 21-19-2 edge in series play … Saturday’s contest between the No. 7-rated Mountaineers and the No. 19-ranked Terrapins represents just the fourth time these two teams have played while both being nationally ranked … it is the first time both teams have been ranked and played in Morgantown since 1982, when West Virginia pulled out a 19-18 thriller … WVU SID Shelly Poe noted Tuesday that scouts from the Fiesta and Orange Bowls will be in attendance … fans can ask WVU quarterback Rasheed Marshall a question on ESPN’s The Show by clicking on this link … Rasheed will be live on The Show at noon this Thursday.
