Maryland’s decision to start Bennett Fulper on Saturday got me thinking about the true freshmen who made an impact in the last decade or so for the Terrapins.
Fulper, who drew the nod at left guard, became the first Terp offensive lineman to draw a start as a freshman since Bruce Campbell got the nod against Clemson in 2007.
SEE RELATED:
He’s also the first non-specialist to draw a September start for reasons other than injury or suspension since Jared Gaither and Jeremy Navarre in 2005.
Going back to 1998, Fulper is the only true freshman to start at either guard or center for Maryland. And he’s the 15th true freshman to start at any position since Friedgen took over.
Here’s that full rundown, with player, freshman season, freshman starts and career starts included (*-still active; #-left early):
| Player |
Fr. Year
|
Fr. Starts
|
Career Starts
|
CB Domonique Foxworth
|
2001 |
2 |
40 |
DT Randy Starks#
|
2001 |
1 |
28 |
LEO Shawne Merriman#
|
2002 |
1 |
17 |
LT Stephon Heyer
|
2002 |
1 |
38 |
NT Justin Duffie
|
2002 |
1 |
1 |
TE Vernon Davis#
|
2003 |
1 |
18 |
DE Jeremy Navarre
|
2005 |
10 |
48 |
LT Jared Gaither#
|
2005 |
8 |
17 |
WR Danny Oquendo
|
2005 |
1 |
11 |
FB Cory Jackson
|
2006 |
3 |
19* |
P Travis Baltz
|
2007 |
13 |
28* |
LT Bruce Campbell
|
2007 |
1 |
9* |
RB Davin Meggett
|
2008 |
2 |
2* |
K Nick Ferrara
|
2009 |
2 |
2* |
LG Bennett Fulper
|
2009 |
1 |
1* |
—- Patrick Stevens
