Justin Anderson may yet be a defensive tackle at Maryland.
For now, though, he'll serve as a starting defensive end when the Terrapins play Navy on Sept. 6.
"Justin Anderson, he's the Anchor, clearly," coach Ralph Friedgen said.
The Anchor is the end that lines up opposite the tight end. And Anderson, at 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, is a big defensive end.
Isaiah Ross is Anderson's backup, with several other options available. If those guys collectively improve, it would provide Maryland some wiggle room to move Anderson back inside to tackle, where he played as a reserve in the second half of last season.
"I'd like to get someone else to come along --- Carl Russell back in action," Friedgen said. "I'd still like to see more of Ian Evans. That's an area, if we can get some guys coming on, it would allow us to get some more depth with Justin going inside, too. I think that's where he's more natural at, inside."
At the moment, though, Maryland is actually fairly sound on the interior of the line. A.J. Francis is an established nose tackle after starting as a redshirt freshman, and Joe Vellano was a revelation during spring practice.
Toss in sophomore reserve Zach Kerr and converted offensive lineman Maurice Hampton, and Maryland appears to have enough bodies to effectively rotate on the interior of the line.
"With Vellano playing and Zach Kerr and Maurice Hampton's playing pretty good, we have four guys inside who I feel pretty good about," Friedgen said. "I'd like to keep Vellano fresh because when he gets tired, he doesn't have the quickness and that's his game --- his quickness and his effort."
Comments