Two days later, the number still stands out.
Twelve.
SEE RELATED:
Twelve true freshmen appeared in Maryland’s season-opening 7-6 defeat of William & Mary. It isn’t so much that the number was a shock —- nine seemed like a conservative number heading into the game thanks to injuries and offseason departures —- but it sure stands out.
Twelve.
Yes, Maryland is that young, that inexperienced, that likely to make the sort of mistakes most true freshmen are bound to make.
The Terrapins have been young before in the recent past. Just three years ago, they used 10 true freshmen on the season.
Only four actually played in the opener.
In fact, four was the maximum of any season opener since 2000 until Saturday. The 10 newcomers who played in 2009 was the previous season-high in that span.
Here’s a year-by-year look since 2000 at the number of true freshmen Maryland used in a season and its opener, as well as the guys pressed into duty from Day One:
| Year |
Total
|
Opener
|
First Game
|
| 2000 |
5 |
2 |
CB Dennard Wilson, CB Rovel Hamilton
|
| 2001 |
5 |
4 |
TB Jason Crawford, WR Rich Parson,
DL Randy Starks, LB Maurice Smith
|
| 2002 |
8 |
4 |
WR Jo Jo Walker, LB Shawne Merriman
LB William Kershaw, LB D’Qwell Jackson
|
| 2003 |
5 |
1 |
TE Vernon Davis
|
| 2004 |
8 |
2 |
DB Christian Varner, S J.J. Justice
|
| 2005 |
7 |
4 |
WR Danny Oquendo, S Jeff Allen
DE Jeremy Navarre, T Jared Gaither
|
| 2006 |
1 |
1 |
FB Cory Jackson
|
| 2007 |
4 |
3 |
S Dominique Herald, P Travis Baltz
T Bruce Campbell
|
| 2008 |
4 |
3 |
S Kenny Tate, RB Davin Meggett
TE Matt Furstenburg
|
| 2009 |
10 |
4 |
K Nick Ferrara, LB Darin Drakeford
G Bennett Fulper, DT Zach Kerr
|
| 2010 |
5 |
2 |
S Matt Robinson, LB David Mackall
|
| 2011 |
8 |
4 |
LB Alex Twine, RB Justus Pickett
FB Tyler Cierski, DE Keith Bowers
|
2012
|
12 |
12 |
RB Wes Brown, RB Albert Reid
T Mike Madaras, QB Perry Hills
K Brad Craddock, WR Stefon Diggs
WR Levern Jacobs, DE Quinton Jefferson
S Sean Davis, DB Anthony Nixon
DB Alvin Hill, LB Avery Thompson
|
—- Patrick Stevens
