Defensive line showing signs of improvement

Coming into this season, the Terrapin defensive line came across as a rag-tag bunch.

There was the tough-as-nails senior who had barely played. The big man in the middle with a history of injury concerns. The oversized kid next to him, a redshirt freshman with a wide grin and no experience. The towering intellectual whose athleticism had translated into few big plays.

Entering the season, the unit was viewed as a major weakness, particularly after the transfer of tackle Dion Armstrong, a projected starter and a player who seemed on the verge of a breakout year. Depth was an issue, limited by a preseason foot injury to reserve tackle Joe Vellano. And, De'Onte Arnett, the most touted recruit up front, was deemed too weak to play this season and forced to the scout team.

Initially, the projections were accurate. The line failed to create holes for the Terps' playmaking linebackers, allowing their first two opponents to rack up 514 yards on the ground. New defensive coordinator Don Brown had brought with him a blitz-heavy playbook, but inexperience up front allowed opponents to limit the effectiveness of those outside and delayed pass rushes for the early part of the season.

Still, even as the season has slipped out of grasp for the Terps (2-6, 1-3 ACC), the inexperience and lack of chemistry on the defensive front has begun to diminish. The past two games, the line allowed just 1.3 yards per carry in losses to Virginia and Duke. This, even as a number of new players are worked into the mix by defensive line coach Dave Sollazzo. The current unit is deep, young and fits well into coach Ralph Friedgen's plans to prepare for the future through the final four games of the season.

"When you look at the body of work in the first few weeks, you're really worried about it," Brown said. "But then you look at it after eight weeks, we're ranked first in the league in rush defense."

The Terps have now played three true freshmen on the defensive line: tackles Justin Anderson and Zach Kerr, along with end Isaiah Ross. Vellano is back, and redshirt freshman A.J. Francis has emerged after a rough start as an imposing starting defensive tackle alongside seniors Travis Ivey, a tackle, and ends Deege Galt and Jared Harrell.

Redshirt freshman Carl Russell and sophomore Derek Drummond round out the Terps' primary 10-man rotation.

Of the entire unit, only Harrell and Ivey had seen extended in-game action entering the season. But Sollazzo has stuck with his deep rotation, made stronger, he said, by the experience Anderson and Kerr gained while Vellano was out.

"Justin, Zach and Joe have all averaged about eight to 10 reps per game," Sollazzo said. "And that's huge. It doesn't seem like a lot, but that's huge. You want to keep your best guys in the 50s, like Travis Ivey averages in the 50s. So if we're in there 60 to 70 plays, you've gotta have those guys, just like a relief pitcher."

That experience will become increasingly valuable. The Terps return the bulk of their line and linebackers for next season, and the numbers appear to be very favorable in building

toward the future.
Sollazzo also serves as the Terps' recruiting coordinator. This season, he's come under fire for weak offensive line recruiting and a pair of underwhelming overall recruiting classes in 2005 and 2006. But on the defensive front, the Terps have had no such problems.

"You can't have enough good defensive lineman," Sollazzo said. "Then, you could move someone to the offensive line. You want to recruit as many good defensive lineman as you can — you'll find a place for them to play. And we've been fortunate the last couple years."

ajoseph@umdbk.com