Oct. 5, 2007

By Bill Hass
theACC.com

GREENSBORO, N.C. - There's nothing like a good drive, with most of the yardage coming in the running game, to put a smile on the face of an offensive lineman.

"The satisfaction is during the fact," said Andrew Crummey, Maryland's right guard. "You get five yards, four yards, eight yards, 14 yards. Getting those chunks, coming off the ball and getting into the defense, moving the ball downfield - an offensive lineman gets into a rhythm."

Crummey has helped the Terps keep a rhythm in their running game all season, peaking in last week's 34-24 win over 10th-ranked Rutgers. Maryland piled up 239 yards on the ground, with Keon Lattimore gaining 124 and Lance Ball adding 90 more.

More of that will be needed Saturday when the Terps host Georgia Tech at noon. The Yellow Jackets are coming off an impressive defensive performance, holding Clemson's explosive running duo of James Davis and C.J. Spiller to 62 yards on 19 carries during Tech's 13-3 win.

"Maryland is much more of a power, right-at-you running game," said Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey, "whereas Clemson is a lateral, try to get outside with their great speed type of run game. It does present a brand-new problem for us."

For his part, Crummey is impressed with what he has seen on film of Tech's defensive line and linebackers.

"It's another week for us to step up," he said of the offensive line. "People have played some difficult schemes against us, and this is another one. We have to go out and execute."

It's not always easy, even to the well-versed fan, to pick out a good offensive lineman. Even opposing coaches usually look at how a unit functions together as opposed to individuals.

Crummey, a fifth-year senior, is on the "watch lists" for the Lombardi and Outland awards for the nation's best lineman, although Maryland coaches regard those as team accolades. He will be starting the 34th game of his career this week, so he has been a fixture in Maryland's line for three years.

"I know he's the name that popped up as soon as (the defensive coaches) started talking about their offense," said Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe before the Deacons played the Terps. "He moves around, he's athletic and a real physical kid, gets on blocks, stays on blocks, those things you look for in good offensive linemen."

Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen likes the way Crummey can pull to lead a running play.

"His athleticism is what sets him apart," Friedgen said. "He's very bright, a good student, and he's a very aggressive kid. When you put all those things together - he's got the experience, he's got the athletic ability, he's got the toughness - that all adds up to being a very good offensive lineman."

Generally, Maryland's coaches prefer their tackles to be 6-7 or 6-8 with long arms and the "shorter" linemen to be guards and centers. As a high school senior in Van Wert, Ohio, Crummey was 6-5 and 270 pounds and fit the Terps' bill as a guard or center.

"He was almost like a wild colt when he first played," said offensive line coach Tom Brattan. "He was very quick but he didn't have all the movement that we need to contain all this quickness.

"For most offensive linemen, it's a steady progression. He has gotten bigger (now 300 pounds), his strength has improved, his knowledge of the game has improved, he moves exceptionally well for a big guy and we can do a lot of things with him at guard.

"I like to think he's got a bunch of positives. Is he a finished product? An offensive lineman is never a finished product. It's a work in progress continually."

Crummey said he had always played with one hand on the ground - the traditional offensive lineman's stance. In first two years at Maryland, one of which was a red-shirt season, he was asked to play some at center as well as guard.

"I had never felt the ball before," he said. "They asked me to center it back in the shotgun formation and I didn't know what to do. I didn't know which way to pick it up. I learned pretty quickly, though."

Crummey has always been a quick study. He earned enough credits to earn a degree in political science in three years, then added a second major in geography. An internship in the House of Representatives one summer gave him some insight into the inner workings of government.

"I have a passion, not so much for politics, but for civil service and government affairs," he said. "I don't want to pursue it right away, but football only lasts so long and there are things I want to do down the road."

Maryland has a recent history of sending offensive linemen, usually tackles, to the NFL and the coaches believe Crummey is capable of joining them as a guard or perhaps a center. He knows getting to the NFL is a long process and he doesn't want the distractions to interfere with his play in his senior year.

So far, so good. Coming off an overtime loss to Wake Forest, in which they gave up a 21-point lead, the Terps won a critical game last week to push them to 3-2. Despite a good start against Rutgers, the Terps fell behind by halftime and Friedgen sensed the team was down. In addition, quarterback Jordan Steffy was out with a concussion and backup Chris Turner had to start the second half.

"I thought they rallied together and played with their hearts," Friedgen said. "I was very proud of them because it wasn't an easy thing to do, and we did it."

Turner's excellent play, leading two scoring drives in the fourth quarter, helped push the Terps to the win. By the middle of this week, Friedgen was not sure if Steffy would be sufficiently recovered to start.

"We were in a state of shock after Wake Forest," Crummey said. "When we reflected on it, we saw it was a matter of us not finishing the game. So nothing changed in our confidence. At Rutgers, the offensive line said `Let's put the game on our shoulders and run the ball.'

"We came out before the game and said `Let's hit those guys in the mouth. Let's come out and rock these guys.' I think we crossed a threshold."

Friedgen said the Terps couldn't afford to let the Wake game consume them. A season is judged on its balance when the schedule is finished. So, just as the Terps put that game behind them, they must put the Rutgers game behind them, too.

Crummey said the offensive line is now playing "at a level we weren't even close to last year. Even in practice, if we make a mistake we understand what happened. That will pay dividends down the road."

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Bill Hass is a long-time observer of ACC sports. His career at the Greensboro News & Record spanned 36 years, from 1969 until his retirement in March, 2006. He is now writing "Bill Hass on the ACC" for theACC.com. His weekly columns will keep fans plugged in to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

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