Maryland, as it often does in the spring, has shifted some positions around.
A bit of it is tinkering. Former linebackers Drew Gloster, Bradley Johnson and Marcus Whitfield are all listed at defensive end. That's a change, but not an ultra dramatic one.
The most notable change is the switch of Maurice Hampton from offense to defense.
Hampton started a game at left guard last season, but for the most part has played sparingly in his three years in the program.
Now, the 6-foot-2, 280-pound junior-to-be is listed at defensive tackle.
"We're hoping that's going to work out for us," coach Ralph Friedgen said. "Maurice is a guy that runs very, very well and is a very hard worker and very conscientious guy. He struggled with assignments on offense. We're hoping we can use his assets, which are speed and strength, to help us on the defensive side of the ball. We're trying to find a spot for him because he's a very hard worker."
There will certainly be opportunities on defense, where the line lost three starters from a season ago. A team that carried all of seven career starts among its defensive linemen into last season isn't a substantially better-known quantity this time: A.J. Francis started 10 games a year ago.
So maybe that's where Hampton can slide in. If nothing else, it's what he wanted to do as early as the opening stages of last season.
"I think he passionately cares about being a good football player, so we're trying to get him in the right spot," Friedgen said. "Last year he wanted to go to defense, I told him I couldn't do that at that time. First of all, I didn't think he could learn the defense and we had too much invested and with the injury situation, I couldn't make the move. I told him when the season was over, we would move him to defense and I've kept my word on that."
Recent Comments