Q&A with Maryland's Will Yeatman

He's a starter on Maryland's lacrosse team, but will join the Terrapins' football roster next season as a tight end as well, a subplot that figures to be one of the more interesting developments during camp. Will Yeatman, the former Notre Dame two-sport athlete who transferred to Maryland after some tumultuous times in South Bend, discussed his immediate future in both of his sports just a few days before the lacrosse team opens its season on Saturday at Bellarmine.

PS: It sounds like playing football is good to go for you at this point. How much are you looking forward to when the opportunity presents itself come the summer?

WY: I'm really looking forward to it after sitting out for a fall you kind of realize what you've missed. Your love for the sport rekindles a little bit. I'm really looking forward to it. It'll be cool playing with a new team, a new program and a new school. It's not like I haven't gone through a similar situation with it here in lacrosse, so it should be fun.

PS: How much have you talked with [football offensive coordinator] James Franklin in particular?

WY: A lot. We talked a lot during the fall and we still continue to talk. I'm excited for it.

PS: Were there times in the fall --- I know you guys are practicing over on the other field and football is practicing right next door. Were the eyes wandering maybe a little bit at that point?

WY: Yeah, a little bit. You look over there. Last spring in particular, I remember thinking 'Wow, I am starting to really miss that,' just watching them walk out there in all of their equipment, you miss it. I'm really excited about it, like I said. It should be a good experience for me.

PS: How much of a difference in terms of weight training issues do you think there might be, or do you think there will be a pretty steady segue from one to the other when the lacrosse season ends?

WY: In lacrosse, we're lifting three days a week. It's certainly not as rigorous lifting, but my body's in really good shape and once summer rolls around, I can focus on football weightlifting. I'm not going to be worried about it all. I'll get right back into the swing of things. I've been a strong person my whole life, and gaining muscle back is a lot easier than gaining muscle never had. I'll just be gaining back a lot of muscle I used to have. You get skinnier as the lacrosse season goes on, but it's not anything I'm worried about.

PS: You played at Notre Dame at, what, 280 or so?

WY: No, no, 264 was probably my weight there. Right now I'm probably 255. So I'll be able to put that back on in two weeks. I'm not worried about that.

PS: On lacrosse, since you're wearing lacrosse gear at this point and you might want to talk about that. What sorts of things do you feel like you've done in this offseason to prepare yourself to be able to hold up a little better over the course of a full year than a season ago?

WY: Last year if you remember I injured my ankle which was really unfortunate. That hindered me a lot, especially toward the end of the season after I was slowly coming back onto the field. I've been able to play fall lacrosse. That's the biggest thing. I've never had an offseason where I could focus solely on lacrosse. This year I've been able to do that. I think it's really helped me be comfortable out there. Last year, I was comfortable out there. I'd played lacrosse my whole life. You're just spending more time with your teammates. You know everyone that much better. Your stick's in your hand that much more. It helps you out that much. Just playing fall lacrosse has been the biggest benefit.

Also, we have individual workouts with the coaches where it's one-on-three or one-on-five, one coach and five individual guys and it gives you a lot more time with the coaches and that helps out a lot as well.

PS: I would think with the unique situation you guys had offensively with as many big bodies as you had, throwing that together  on the fly created some sort of an adjustment period. How much better off are you now knowing what it's like to have you, Grant Catalino and Travis Reed and everybody all being on the field at the same time?

WY: It's great. There's a lot of different ways we're going to get all of us on the field, and it's going to be really beneficial for all of us. We all know how one another plays now. We're all used to playing with one another and it's a lot of fun. That comfort factor is something that's very important, and just knowing the people you're playing with. Last year, I didn't know a lot of them personally. We got to know each other as the season progressed, undoubtedly. But also it's tough when you're forcing yourself in there and getting to know someone in a short amount of time when it's kind of a forced relationship rather than one where it's a natural progression of becoming friends. That's where it's at now, and I'm excited to see where it goes.

Comments

[Eddie T]

"There's a lot of different ways we're going to get all of us on the field, and it's going to be really beneficial for all of us."

Hmmm...can we assume that might mean some mixing in with the midfield units?

[D1scourse]

Eddie T ---

Guess youll have to wait until later in the week for some Maryland preview stuff.