Offensive lineman has an unmatched dry wit There’s no question the players on Maryland’s football team include some interesting characters and great talkers.
Quarterback Danny O’Brien is unfailingly polite and engaging. Defensive tackle A.J. Francis never fails to amuse. Defensive tackle Maurice Hampton always can be counted on for an interesting sideways take. Wideout Quintin McCree is laugh-out-loud funny. Running back Davin Meggett is serious and direct, and his words carry weight. Defensive tackle Joe Vellano talks like he plays, always showing up and giving 100 percent.
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| Up next |
| Maryland at N.C. State |
| When » Saturday, 12:30 p.m. |
| Where » Carter-Finley Stadium, |
| Raleigh, N.C. |
| TV » Ch. 5 |
The driest wit belongs to offensive tackle R.J. Dill. This was his response when he was asked how the Maryland offense is different for him this year under coach Randy Edsall and offensive coordinator Gary Crowton.
“I stab. I come off the ball. I hit somebody. I think it’s pretty similar,” the junior said. “It’s different for maybe quarterbacks having to read a D-end or different route concepts. But that’s not really my world. I bang my head against 300-pound men for a college education.”
The season concludes Saturday for Dill and Maryland (2-9) at N.C. State (6-5), where the Terrapins will try to snap their seven-game losing streak and prevent the Wolfpack from clinching a bowl berth.
Dill has been a constant on a veteran offensive line that has been one of the team’s few bright spots. The unit has paved the way for the Terps to average 4.8 yards a rush, second best in the ACC, and to allow just 15 sacks, fourth best in the conference and even better considering how much Maryland has played from behind this season.
The 6-foot-7, 300-pound Dill is one of several Terps who were forced to play in 2009, when the line was decimated by injuries. It was a rough baptism for the redshirt freshman, but it also accelerated his development along with that of players such as Bennett Fulper and Justin Gilbert.
“In 2009, we had maybe three guys who had no business being on a college football field, myself included,” Dill said. “Trial through fire. But I ended up benefitting from it.”
Many parallels can be drawn between the injury-riddled 2009 Terps, who finished 2-10, and this year’s squad. This fall, injuries to the defense have had the same debilitating effect, exposing a lack of depth as seven different freshmen have started, including three linebackers.
As a result the Terps have struggled to stop the run. Maryland ranks 115th out of 120 teams in the FBS in rushing defense (227.7 yards a game). But the lessons learned by the force-fed freshmen should bear fruit in the future.
“Hopefully that’s a positive that we can pull from this year’s team,” O’Brien said. “We have young guys in there playing. Whether it’s before they would’ve or not, they’re in there and that’s the end all, be all. They’re gonna get better from it.”
Note » For academic reasons, senior wideout Ronnie Tyler will not make the trip to N.C. State.
